Lisa Wingate has become a must read author for me. Her books are engrossing, exciting, heart wrenching, and so thoroughly researched. Shelterwood lives up to all of those things. This is historical fiction at it's best.

Shelterwood is full of extraordinary female characters who stand up for themselves, for others, and for what is right. Ollie is a scrappy, intelligent, and resourceful young girl living in the early 1900s. Valarie is an independent, strong, single mother working as a park ranger in 1990. Both timelines are set in or near the mountains of Oklahoma. (I honestly didn't know Oklahoma had mountains). Both characters have experienced loss that has shaped them and how they see the world. Set against the backdrop of a world that exploits Native Americans and especially Native orphan children, the heartbreak is real and devastating.

Shelterwood was inspired by true events in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. The book was written with connecting timelines. One being from perspective of children living in the 1900s who ran from their homes to avoid the exploitation of greedy land barons and the other from a Law Enforcement Ranger trying to solve the case of a missing boy. As she gets deeper into this case, she begins uncover some of the stories from the past. I really enjoyed the story line of this book! I had a hard time with some of the pacing as I'd get into the story of one of the timelines and the book would switch to the other, but that ultimately made it difficult to put down.

Wingate review

1909, Oklahoma. 11-year-old Ollie knows her new stepfather is up to no good concerning the two Choctaw sisters that have taken refuge in her home. When the oldest goes missing, she flees with 6-year-old Nessa, and fights to make it to where they can be free.

1990, Oklahoma. Park Ranger Valerie knows something isn’t right. There are confusing tales told, a missing teenager, and a burial ground with three adolescent skeletons. But she’s the rookie in these parts, and an unwelcome one at that.

Wingate weaves together the stories of Ollie and Valerie in a masterful, lyrical way, bringing light to yet another part of American history that I personally was unfamiliar with. The back and forth between eras worked because I found both storylines interesting, but it was also helpful to have a reprieve from Ollie’s story, which was often very heavy.

4/5 ⭐️
Thank you Lisa Wingate and Ballantine Books for my ARC if this wonderful book. This is a story told in 2 timelines, one in 1909 and one in 1990 about abandoned children from the first one and a park ranger on the second one. Lisa explores stories that she researches so deeply to make sure we get to know them from the perspective of the vulnerable young orphans, and she does an amazing job, make sure you check this book as soon as it comes out on June 2024.

Two stories both set in the southeastern corner of Oklahoma, but in two different time periods -- the early 1900s and 1990. These stories tell about two women -- one a Park Ranger in the newly created national park, and the other a young girl caught up intrigue involving Native American children and the men who take advantage of them. When the bones of 3 children are discovered in a cave in the park and a young man's car is found abandoned, these stories converge.

have read several books by Lisa Wingate and enjoyed them. Her historical fiction expose social ills, are well researched and her characters are sympathetic and believable. This one has those elements, but something is missing. I didn't really feel much connection to either of the main characters, and the story sometimes felt too "preachy". There are several serious issues here -- the abuse of children (especially Native American children), profiteering businessmen who take advantage of needy people, sexism (in both eras), the appropriate use of federal lands and resources, and more. These are all important issues, but sometimes the "story" was overwhelmed by the explanation. This book will likely sell well and, yes, it should be read, but I did not think it was as good as Wingate's others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lisa Wingate is becoming one of my favorite historical fiction authors. I love that she finds little known events and combines her research with her fictional characters to weave a fascinating story.
Sometimes multiple timelines doesn't work for me, but these two timelines are well written. The main two narrators are each written with such distinction that fits each person. The beginning and end were the most powerful aspects. While the middle kept my attention, it did move a little slow. But don't let that stop you from continuing this book through the end.

I love how well-researched Lisa Wingate's stand alone books are. I've read her other two stand alones and absolutely loved them so I was thrilled when I was granted an ARC of Shelterwood. Thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Wingate and Random House/Ballatine Books.

I dove into this book only knowing that it would be a very well written and well researched historical fiction book. It absolutely was. Following the Oklahoma (and other states too I'm sure) seizure of Indian tribal lands and the fall out from this horrible time in our history, this book follows the "elves" left from this stealing of their land. The elves are children, young children, that have nowhere to go and no one to care for them when land barons and others "steal" their land. Too young, too poor, too uneducated to fight for their rights, a woman, Kate Barnard, fights for their rights.

This story follows a couple of the girls left behind to live in the forest, to scrounge for food, to try to survive. This one took me a bit longer to get into versus her earlier novels, but nonetheless, was so good in its heartbreaking simplicity of greedy men who stole what wasn't theirs and left children behind to fend for themselves.

This book has dual timelines. In 1909 11 year old Olive lives with her mom, Mom's boyfriend and two Choctaw girls who are orphans. The boyfriend is no good for the girls and one day the older orphan disappears. Olive decides to save herself and the remaining orphan to go live in the woods.

It's 1990 on the other timeline, and Valerie has just moved to Oklahoma with her son. She works as law enforcement for the national parks. She's trying to rebuild her life after the death of her husband and is facing a lot of negative opinions on being female and in the park service.

An interesting read, a bit slow at times though.

This story was an okay read. I liked reading from the main character's point of view in this book. I would highly recommend this book to people. I look forward to other titles by this author.

Lisa Wingate has once again introduced me to a horrible piece of history that I never learned about in school. This novel examines the treatment of the Choctaw children and the atrocious ploys of the white men to exploit the children and steal their land. I have also been reading about the real Kate Barnard which Wingate introduced me to in Shelterwood. Barnard was the first woman to win a state elected office; and this was before women could vote. Barnard worked for social reforms, especially those related to children and women.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Ballantine Books an Imprint of Random House Publishing Company. Lisa Wingate has wrote another fantastic story. This story has mystery, drama, and much more. In this story you will cheer on the character, be sad and laugh. Character Ollie knows what she has to do about, but will she be able to pull it off. Can she save her life and the life of the kids around her. Valerie has had some adventures in her life. Some good and not so great moments. But when she moves with her son to start over again. Will she be able to accomplish this and be accepted not just with her job but also with the town. She knows the right thing to do but what will it cost her to it. Can she stand up against the stereotypes of not just her job but because she is also a women. This book is for a mature audience but can be read anywhere.

Every time I pick up a Lisa Wingate book I know that I will encounter a well-researched and well-written piece of fiction. Shelterwood is no exception. She is a gold standard author for me in the realm of historical fiction. That said, Shelterwood fell a bit flat for me. The multiple POVs felt disjointed and left me feeling as if I was constantly moving back and forth between two novels - would have loved to see them threaded together a bit earlier and the strings then tightened as the novel moved forward. However, the beauty of her writing style and her use of language is spot on as always - this, combined with a phenomenal amount of research and historical accuracy, make Shelterwood a solid pick for fans of historical fiction.

Thanks to the author and publisher for this advance copy - can’t wait to share my positive thoughts about the book on my Instagram and GoodReads accounts!

I had high hopes for this historical fiction book based on the authors previous books that I've enjoyed. But, this story fell short for me.

First up, this story started out really strong and i was all in! I loved the early 1900's setting and the children involved. I always appreciate the historical plot timelines in these alternating time periods the most. I was unaware of the historical aspect that this book shines a light on and reading the authors notes shone more light on it. Recommend that!

For me, there seemed to be so many holes in these girls and children's misadventures. I just couldn't fathom some of the things they supposedly experienced. Honestly, I started to get bored with the storyline and felt that there wasn't enough plot to push the readers interest along.

The 1990 timeline began with following a female park ranger and I was all in. I'm a lover of national parks and there was a beginning mystery that I was totally in for! Once again, things got kinda crazy and while it may have happened in real life, it just wasn't told in a realistic way for me to accept.

Overall, the historical aspects highlighted were interesting and worth knowing about, but I didn't love the journey that felt slow and I had to push myself through to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the gifted e-ARC

Shelterwood is one of the most beautiful stories I have read in sometime. The story interchanges between Olive Augusta who goes by Ollie and Valerie Boren-Odell. Ollie is a young girl who recently lost her father. Her mother married an evil man who mistreats her and the two Choctaw girls who were under the care of Ollie’s father. Valerie recently transferred to work at a national park and is trying to overcome the sudden death of husband. Lisa Wingale wrote a beautiful, detailed book that I felt like I was with Ollie and Valerie.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and Ballantine Book for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review of the e-book received.

I wanted to love this book because I really liked “Before We Were Yours,” but alas it left me wanting. This book has two storylines — one in 1909 and another in 1990. I don’t love this book structure which is so popular right now. I imagine it hard enough to keep one plot line going and keep the story inconsistent, but two must be even harder to pull off. Either storyline would have been a better stand-alone book, but neither ever came together into a compelling story. Unless you have read every book on your TBR list, I can’t recommend this book.

I enjoyed the main character - Val, a single mother and park ranger investigator — who experiences discrimination as a newcomer and a woman. I might read another book with Val as the protagonist but not if it has two storylines in eras.

NetGalley provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A great read on a difficult topic. This book was well researched and showcases injustices in history—in this case in Oklahoma. The pace is a bit slow but the deep perspective and insight make it worthwhile.

This was a very interesting historical novel. After reading Killers of the Flower Moon, this book adds to the history of Oklahoma Native Americans.
In current time we meet Valerie, a National Parks Ranger, transferred to SE Oklahoma, where she is met with a national park mystery that she can't ignore like her fellow rangers are doing.
The book goes back in time to 1909, where we learn about the Oklahoma Federation of Women's Clubs and their crusades against child labor laws. We meet crusaders Kate Barnard and Gertrude Bonnin.
The book includes snippets from history via newspaper articles, which are very interesting.
I do recommend this book, especially if you like the author, Lisa Wingate.

Lisa Wingate is a must read author and Before We Were Yours is such a masterful novel that sometimes I wonder if it is hard to top a book that is full of so much emotion and heartbreak. While reading Shelterwood, I started to feel intrigued by the subject matter and the historical aspect of the orphaned and runaway children of the early 1900's. The book is set in two time periods; early 1900's and 1990. We are guided on the journey of Ollie (Olive) who is running away from home and bringing along her "adopted" sister. There is a lot of unbelievable moments that these two encounter and it's hard for me to imagine how this side of the story actually could have happened. Valerie is a recently widowed mother of a 6 year old boy who has uprooted their lives to move to the middle of nowhere so she can start over. The amount of crap that she goes through as a women in a "man's" world irritates me but it is so typical.
There is a mystery in both timelines and there are a LOT of characters to keep track of. The middle of this story gets bogged down in the weeds of a lot of stuff that doesn't move the story forward quick enough. At times, I wasn't sure if there was enough interest in what these characters were doing for me to care where they ended up. That intangible desire to WANT to care about these people felt lacking in this storytelling.
All that to say this story does cover an unknown part of the Native American's history that hardly ever gets shared. It is a nice read but I think I would have enjoyed some further editing to get to the point faster.

This book took me so long to finish, but Shelterwood was a really great story. I always appreciate how Lisa Wingate tells emotional, historically rich stories about children and people we wouldn’t otherwise know a lot about. I had a hard time following the storyline at times and it seemed rather slow at moments, but I loved the historical richness of the story and the time. I will always read anything by Lisa Wingate.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. The opinion shared is my own.

I have enjoyed many books by Lisa Wingate and Shelterwood was no exception! This story takes place in southeastern Oklahoma in the Wlnding Stair Mountains.It is told in alternating timelines.The 1990’s are about law enforcement park ranger Val Odell and the 1909 timeline is about Ollie Angie Peele and a band of children.This story very much keeps your interest and is very well researched!Thank you Net Galley and Ballantine Books for allowing me the privelage of reading this ARC!