Review of Strong Heart
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Milisandia
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Review of Strong Heart
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
Part of the joy of reading a book in a series is anticipating the next book. I read the third of this series first and could not wait to read the first. Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is the first book in the series. He says that storytelling is a very human thing. Passing down legends to younger generations helps to define us. He has passed down a very interesting story.
This story starts with Tom Cooley getting ready to hike with his native friend William and William’s daughter Myra. Tom is not quite 70 and William is ten years younger. They are not physically fit. Still, he wants to go into the Olympic National Forest to make sure his grandfather’s grave is secure. But just as they are ready to leave, a granddaughter he did not know he had, is dropped off. Sarah is 13. She is not happy and really does not want to go on a hike with these people. Myra can fit her out with her old equipment and rather than leave Sarah behind, she goes with them. While hiking, Myra tells Sarah “This is the Olympic Peninsula. This is a land of magic, history, and legend. A place of myth, ancient stories, ancient people.” During one of their breaks, Sarah sketches a bear that she sees, which creates a problem. She is a very good sketch artist and the kind of bear she drew has been extinct for 12,000 years. Did she imagine it? Is she telling the truth? A one point, she leaves camp and cannot be found. She reappears 2 weeks later and has an even more unbelievable story to tell.
Charlie Sheldon is a very good storyteller, both for this time and the before time. His images of life in the open, camping, having to use a canoe for shelter, cooking on a camp stove, or over an open fire are very clear. His descriptions of the rugged terrain they hike are very realistic, especially the challenges of walking off trail for Tom and William, with whom I sympathize. The scenes of traveling in a canoe on the open sea with ice floes and glaciers and storms were very intense. The challenges the first people have with the ice and the animals come vividly to life.
Some of the violent scenes, that were experienced by the first people and the modern people, were too graphic for me.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. I thought it was well-edited with only some minor swearing. There are facts about first people that are very interesting and can be debated. When did they arrive? How did they get to the Northwest Coast? This story answers some of these questions, but is it fact or only a legend?
I would recommend this to people who like stories of struggle and of myths and legends becoming real.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Part of the joy of reading a book in a series is anticipating the next book. I read the third of this series first and could not wait to read the first. Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is the first book in the series. He says that storytelling is a very human thing. Passing down legends to younger generations helps to define us. He has passed down a very interesting story.
This story starts with Tom Cooley getting ready to hike with his native friend William and William’s daughter Myra. Tom is not quite 70 and William is ten years younger. They are not physically fit. Still, he wants to go into the Olympic National Forest to make sure his grandfather’s grave is secure. But just as they are ready to leave, a granddaughter he did not know he had, is dropped off. Sarah is 13. She is not happy and really does not want to go on a hike with these people. Myra can fit her out with her old equipment and rather than leave Sarah behind, she goes with them. While hiking, Myra tells Sarah “This is the Olympic Peninsula. This is a land of magic, history, and legend. A place of myth, ancient stories, ancient people.” During one of their breaks, Sarah sketches a bear that she sees, which creates a problem. She is a very good sketch artist and the kind of bear she drew has been extinct for 12,000 years. Did she imagine it? Is she telling the truth? A one point, she leaves camp and cannot be found. She reappears 2 weeks later and has an even more unbelievable story to tell.
Charlie Sheldon is a very good storyteller, both for this time and the before time. His images of life in the open, camping, having to use a canoe for shelter, cooking on a camp stove, or over an open fire are very clear. His descriptions of the rugged terrain they hike are very realistic, especially the challenges of walking off trail for Tom and William, with whom I sympathize. The scenes of traveling in a canoe on the open sea with ice floes and glaciers and storms were very intense. The challenges the first people have with the ice and the animals come vividly to life.
Some of the violent scenes, that were experienced by the first people and the modern people, were too graphic for me.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. I thought it was well-edited with only some minor swearing. There are facts about first people that are very interesting and can be debated. When did they arrive? How did they get to the Northwest Coast? This story answers some of these questions, but is it fact or only a legend?
I would recommend this to people who like stories of struggle and of myths and legends becoming real.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Mighty Esox by G. Edward Martin
