How did you feel about Sarah in the beginning?

Discuss the October 2017 Book of the Month, Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon.

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Kibet Hillary
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Re: How did you feel about Sarah in the beginning?

Post by Kibet Hillary »

I really disliked her at first given the kind of critique that she was. The first impression of Sarah was bad. However, when I got to learn of her past experiences, I began to understand her. My feelings towards her actually changed as the story went on. She is a strong-willed person who needed some help to help out of the past experiences.
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Post by palilogy »

I did not like Sarah in the beginning as a character. As a person I understand her point of view and background, but it's not enjoyable, in my opinion, to read through. She is often a cliche and I'm not a huge fan of cliche personalities.
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Post by 10mile72 »

I thought she was a snotty brat, but with good reason for being so. I grew to like her more as the story developed.
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Post by LaurenHaupt »

I thought she was acting like a normal kid. Wasn't thrilled to be there because she didn't know these people.
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Post by Verna Coy »

I truly felt for Sarah, even at the beginning. I've known some obnoxious spoiled teenagers who acted worse than her. Sarah was struggling to deal with feeling unwanted, and mad at the world. What was the excuse for spoiled teenagers? At least Sarah had a good reason. I wound up appreciating her resilience and strength.
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Post by tjportugal »

Christina Rose wrote: 02 Oct 2017, 03:37 I found myself with mixed feelings when it came to Sarah in the beginning of the book. Parts of me felt bad for her and her situation. Other parts were annoyed with the way she reacted to Tom, William, and Myra. She was critical of everything from what they were eating to the lack of a television set.
How did you feel toward Sarah in the beginning? Did your feelings change throughout your reading?
I felt that Sarah was realistically portrayed. A (pre-)teen girl with the living experience she had would definitely have some sort of misbehavior. I felt she needed a normal family and time... a lot of time to settle down and realize that some people would be willing to love her unconditionally, even though being told off might not be very pleasant.
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Post by Alice Festo »

At first I felt Sarah was arrogant and spoilt. However after learning of her upbringing I empathized with her apart from her mother Sarah knew no love. She learned to be independent at a very young age with no one to protect her. She used aggression as her defense. She turned out to have an inner strength and quite smart for her age making her lovable.
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Post by Mrunal Tikekar »

I think her character deserved sympathy with whatever had happened to her at such a tender age. But the way her character is painted by the author, I did not feel much sympathy. I was able to forgive her arrogance, given her past, but I was not particularly sorry for her.
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Post by HanElizabeth397 »

I couldn't agree more! I had conflicting feelings at the start becuase I didn't like her bratty behaviour but I also felt sorry for her. By the end I felt like she'd really grown up and she became my favourite
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Post by alkaMish »

At the beginning, I felt angry and annoyed at Sarah for behaving in the way that she was. She might have had a reason to be angry with Tom, giving in to the way she was treated by her step grandfather, but being rude with Myra and William just didn't make sense to me. Later on in the story when I realised that Sarah was just a confused teenager lacking an adult guidance, I could understand her behavior. So, by the end, her behavior didn't seem that unreasonable as it had in the beginning.
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Post by Radhika_puri »

In the starting, I felt she is an annoying child maybe because so much happened at a small age and she is not able to tackle the situation but as the story continues I felt her more mature and not an annoying child.
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Post by Readinggrl18 »

I thought Sarah's attitude was quite tame for the experiences she had in life and being the age she was. She was hurt and broken and was expressing herself in the only way she knew how. She was rejecting Tom before he could reject her. Throughout the story she learned more about herself and started to mature. She built relationships and gained confidence. I really liked her character.
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Post by Ebby Brown »

Actually at first I didn't like her because of the way she treated Tom, her grandpa. But later on she changed and was so loving and cared for Tom, William and Myra. At the end of the story she became my favourite.
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Post by Sarah Schmidt »

Sarah was honestly pretty bratty in the beginning. Her circumstances kind of made that a given, but boy was I glad to see her mellow out. I'm glad that she got stronger and that she rose above her circumstances.
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Post by Goral »

From the start itself I felt that Sarah was a special girl..probably someone who had special abilities. She could draw very well and I simply loved that quality of hers.
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