3 out of 4 stars
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Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon has a very intriguing plot that blends Native American myths and scientific data in a magical adventure. Tom Olsen has planned to visit his grandfather’s grave in the mountains with his Native American friends. The night before his hiking trip, Tom finds himself face to face with his own granddaughter, Sarah. Before that day he had no idea that he was a grandfather. Tom considers postponing the trip but his friends suggest that it would be a great bonding experience to bring Sarah along with them. However, the events that transpire makes them wonder if Sarah is the one that is taking them along on a once in a lifetime journey.
I can truly say that this book was an enjoyable read. The writing style was very simple. This made the book feel like it was written for teenagers or young adults. Sheldon did an amazing job painting the scenery. I admired the towering mountains; I drank the cold water from the river and I even trod along the mountain trail with Tom and his friends.
The story is written mostly in the third person and partially in Sarah’s point of view. Sarah was lost for eight days in the mountains During this time she had an extraordinary experience. The contents of her tale are unbelievable but Sarah’s narration is strikingly convincing because of the depth of detail with which it is told. I found myself emotionally invested in Sarah. Unfortunately, while the other main characters seemed sufficiently developed, I was not able to connect with them as much.
Moreover, the author includes a number of subplots into the novel. All of the subplots are glued together by the theme of family ties. There is even a bit of romance in Strong Heart. I was confused at the start of the story, because the author seemed to hint that Tom was romantically interested in one of his Native American friends, Myra. As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that this is not the case. I was also very disappointed that the novel did not have a conclusive ending. There were still a number of issues that were still not resolved by the last page. This lack of finality may not bother some readers. However, I am sure that there are many people like me that are disappointed when they read novels that seem like they will not have a sequel but still end in a very inconclusive manner.
In conclusion, I rate Strong Heart 3 out of 4 stars. There were very little grammatical errors to complain about and my pdf copy was formatted very well. The only major issue that I had with this book was that it did not have a conclusive ending.
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Strong Heart
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