Shelterwood is a well written story with dual timelines that uncovers the truth of what happened in a National Park. I would highly recommend this one.

Sadly this wasn’t my favorite. I felt like it was really slow. I loved Before We Were Yours so I had high hopes for this. I did enjoy the dual point of view but I just couldn’t connect to the story.

This was a fascinating book, and very well written, but I had some issues with its narrative structure, so it's maybe a 3.5 for me.

First of all, the book doesn't necessarily live up to this pitch: "A sweeping novel inspired by the untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children caught in the storm of land barons hungry for power and oil wealth."

These "women pioneers" are scarcely in this book, other than being referenced. Instead the book focuses on two seemingly unrelated storylines (which, of course, connect in the veeeeerrrrry end). But the two are so different it's like reading two different books and that (in my opinion) made the flow of the book rather choppy.

The more intriguing of the two storylines follows Olive and her Choctaw "adopted" sister Nessa who are running from their abusive father and come across other "elf children" (the true focus of the book) Choctaw youth who were "adopted" by shady characters in order to steal the land they'd inherited.

Olive is an outstanding character, and an excellent narrator. However, again it's weird that this book is ostensibly inspired by the elf children and yet none of them are our central narrators in either storyline. Nor does stealing native land/money precipitate Olive and Nessa going on the run (rather implied sexual abuse). This disconnect gave the book a "white savior" flavor overall.

The second storyline is almost an entirely different storyline about a female park police officer named Valerie trying to solve a missing person's case. This too is a fascinating story, and I would have perhaps read that book as a stand alone too. But, as mentioned, it just seemed choppy.

Again, we have a white woman in the process of saving native characters, assisted by a native cop/love interest who is seriously underwritten. (We don't know his thoughts or feelings on anything. He mostly is there to support Valerie and talk about puppies.)

So, that's my main issue....all of the puzzle pieces were there to create multiple great stories (the pioneer women activists, the elf children, the modern park mystery) and the book was well written with rich descriptions and thorough research. However, I personally didn't love the way this was all baked together. Might work for others though.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Like the author, even though I grew up in Oklahoma and spent all my childhood learning the history of the state, it's become obvious to me over the last 20 years that the history I learned was only a very small part of the story. Shelterwood presents a topic that is significant to that previously unknown history in a very real, very poignant way -- one that is both eye-opening and familiar to fans of Ms. Wingate. The dual timeline is offered in a way that is intriguing and keeps the reader wondering how the stories will eventually connect -- and yet the connection is seamless and perfectly executed. Plus it's set in one of the most beautiful areas in my home state! Highly recommended!

Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours, is back again with another historical novel about the fate of children. The writing is strong and the research is thorough. Dual POVs and Dual Timelines (1909 and 1999) interweave two stories into one, coming together beautifully at the end and into a very satisfying read. The mystery of the bones along with the backstory of Olive and Nessa, kept me engaged. I love how Lisa Wingate takes topics that were socially important in the past and educates us today. I thought this was an amazing book.

I really enjoy Lisa Wingate's writing. She is very good at telling two complete stories in dual timelines.
We follow Ollie and her little orphaned Choctaw Indian "sister" in early 1900's. Ollie lost her dad and her mom was living with a very mean man who did terrible things. Her mom had taken to drugs and alcohol, essentially leaving Ollie and Nessa to fend for themselves.
The other timeline is in 1990 following Valerie a park ranger. Valerie is a single mother to a son, Charlie and she is trying her best to do what she loves as a park ranger and to care for her son. She is not taken to with much kindness as you could say she is a woman working in a man's world. She was an outsider coming into a place where everyone knew everyone and things were done a certain way in this community. She stumble upon some ancient history that others would like to keep buried but she has a feeling something is off and she digs to find out the truth.

As the story unfolds we learn a lot about the Choctaw Indians and several other tribes and how the land they once owned came to be taken from them. We learn of a history that is full of corruption and we learn of the people who took a stand to fight for the rights of those who had no voice. It is a piece of history that we have heard about it many ways but so much of the truth is covered up and we only are told what they want people to know and remember. The truth is much darker.

I enjoyed learning about history in this area of the country and the women who defied the odds to make a positive change.

Lisa Wingate does it again by providing a captivating, informative, thrilling and heart-wrenching historical fiction that I just couldn't put down.

I want to thank both PRH Audio and Ballantine Books for early gifted copies of Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate.

After reading her bestseller Before We Were Yours a few years ago, Lisa has become an auto buy author for me. She pulls her readers into the story within the first page, and you find yourself in a deep dive after you've finished to research the true events. This book was no exception. I found that I had to know what was going to happen next, both in the past and present timelines. I found myself angry for what had happened to so many in the past, and rejoicing in the justice that came about.

Well done, Lisa. I truly believe that this is a book for anyone, and if you're wanting to dip your feet into historical fiction, Lisa is a great place to start.

A dual timeline story set in Oklahoma eighty years apart and involving the mystery of two missing Choctaw girls. In the earlier timeline, a group of children are trying to survive despite having little support and at times, targeted involvement. In the later timeline, a newly instated ranger of a national park deals with the discovery of the bodies of children and tries to figure out what happened to them. Overall, a story of children and women trying to improve their lives and to build the support system they need. The book focuses on the land rights of the Choctaw nation and how they were targeted by men who wanted to take the land for themselves.

Lisa Wingate’s Shelterwood a novel; Pub date 6/4/24

Historical fiction. Women can and do persevere. Rich thieving white Oklahoman men take oil, land, children and so much more. Yet, an outspoken woman can muster storm in righteousness. I am so glad I read this outstanding novel. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my review. And thank you @author_lisa_wingate #Shelterwood #NetGalley #historicalfiction #womensfiction #lisawingate #bookstagram #bookish

This was an interesting historical fiction novel that alternated between two different time periods. The mystery in the book kept me engaged. It provided insight into a tragic part of history that many he unaware of.

3 1/2 stars

I so admire Lisa Wingate and the work she did to help orphans after BEFORE WE WERE YOURS was published. The book and the following TV special captured my heart. I looked forward to reading SHELTERWOOD. At the beginning I liked the two storylines, one set in 1909 and the other in 1990. As the story proceeded, I had a hard time keeping characters straight. I don’t know if it was the long chapters or what. I had to go back to the beginning and keep copious notes. ( I wish I had the character chart I found in the book discussion booklet that came out recently. Maybe if the chapters had been shorter or maybe a Part 1, about Ollie’s and Nessa’s stories and Part II about the woman ranger and her son. Part IiI could bring the two stories together. I plan to come back and reread this book at a future time. My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

I adore Lisa Wingaye's stories. She tells such impactful stories but in a way that gives you so much hope in humanity in spite of the darkness.

This just wasn't it for me. The writing style and the topic just didn't really grab my attention. I don't think the book is bad, its just that I wasn't into this specific story.

The story is told in duel timelines. Normally I enjoy duel timelines. The story was a bit draggy at times. The plot was definitely intriguing and one full of information that was very interesting. I had not heard about this part of American history.
Reading about the plight of Choctaw children in the 1900’s was heartbreaking for sure.
Author Lisa Wingate shares a well researched story of the past.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

In her newest novel, Wingate takes us to 1990 in Oklahoma where Valerie, a single mom, has taken a job as a Law enforcement park ranger at a new National Park. Just as she and her son are settling down, some old human remains are found and local teen goes missing that drags Valerie into secrets from the past.

Parallel to Valerie’s story is the story of Ollie, in 1909, who is grieving the loss of her father who took in 2 Choctaw orphans, Hazel and Nessa. Her new stepfather, Tesco, is evil and her mother is sedated with opium powders. When Hazel disappears, Ollie knows it’s time to go so one night she and Nessa escape in the hopes of finding the secret place that Ollie’s dad told her about. On their journey, they run into other kids in the hopes of creating their own camp Shelterwood. But Ollie lives in fear of Tesco finding them.

The two storylines eventually collide and the truth of how Indigenous orphans were treated by greedy men surfaces. I loved this book as I have loved her previous novels. Definitely read the Author’s note at the end to understand the real history.

Thank you to @ballantinecorp and @netgalley for a digital review copy of this novel.

4.5
This is a well-researched and interesting work. I liked the voices of Olive and Valerie: their stories are equally compelling. The parallel stories alternate and connect at the end. This is an effective story-telling technique which works well here. Lisa Wingate does tells a difficult and sad story with realistic dialogue and characters. I found the pacing to be just right until the end, when it seemed to pick up and wrap up quickly.

In 1909 in Oklahoma Ollie (Olive) realizes she and the other little girl taken in as a ward of the family, Nessa, are not safe in the home in range of her abusive step father. Together they flee and take to the woods with the hope of escaping into the winding stair mountains and creating their own home and safe haven. Along the way they meet the “elves” that inhabit the forest, other wayward children, and form an unlikely crew with one goal, to survive.

80 years in the future, Val is a park ranger looking for a new start and a new adventure for her and her son Charlie. She accepts a ranger post at the newly designated Horsethief Trail National Park and prepares to settle into a calm new life. She quickly discovers her new posting will be anything but a walk in the park when she is alerted to the bones of 3 children found within a cave. There is something off about the burial site and Val’s investigative instincts kick in sparking a much bigger mystery to unfold.

The story is told with this dual timeline alternating perspectives each chapter. The constant back and forth combined with the news report snippets are the start of each chapter made it difficult to connect with either main character fully. I found the history of the region interesting particularly because I knew nothing about the parcel division of Native lands and the things done to try and steal those properties. Unfortunately, the rest of the story fell flat for me. The mystery of the story just wasn’t compelling enough to make me want to keep picking up the book. I also felt like the ending was quite rushed after such a drawn out story. As a whole, this one just missed the mark for me and I was a bit bored throughout.

3.5* There were parts of this story and characters that I really liked and then parts that kept me from picking it up. The audiobook is very well done and really helped me keep going.
The story is told in 2 timelines and it is very thoroughly researched and well written, I just think there were too many drier parts that kept pulling me out of the story and the mysteries.

Thanks Netgalley for giving me the chance to read it in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Shelterwood is Lisa Wingate’s latest novel following the plight of children (particularly Native American children) during the early 1900s who were being exploited and the hardships they faced during this time. It explored the events that happened in the non fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon” with a focus on Native American children rather than the adults.

This book has a dual POV with different timelines which I always enjoy in a book. I felt invested in each storyline and found myself wanting to find out what happened in one storyline when I was immersed in the other. It did feel like the pace was a little slow at times but the dual POV helped me stay invested.

You can tell the author did a lot of research for this book and I found it really interesting. I appreciate that it discussed a less common theme for a historical fiction book and I did feel I learned more by reading this book. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Lisa Wingate has such a poetic way of tying in history I never knew I needed to know about. This story kept me wanting to know more and more. I was so intrigued with each and every chapter.