This book takes place in two time periods; the 1990’s and the early 1900’s. A National Parks Ranger solves the mystery of forgotten bones found in a cave and uncovers illegal activites taking place in the park. We also follow mistreated orphans and children whose land is being stolen during the early 1900’s. This is a historical novel with strong women leaders including non-fictional Kate Barnet. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about that time period in Oklahoma.

I received an ARC of Shelterwood. I was a big fan of Before We Were Yours, so I jumped at the opportunity to read Lisa Wingate's new book Shelterwood. Shelterwood jumps from two timelines and focuses on the plight of orphan Native American children in the early 20th century. The earlier timeline focuses is told by one of these children, and the later timeline is told by a park ranger in the 1990s. I was not familiar with this part of history, so it was interesting and saddening to learn about it. I liked how the two storylines came together, though they didn't really do so toward the end. I did feel that the later timeline's "mystery" was a little convoluted and not-so-believable. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Lisa Wingate, Random House Publishing, and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Once again, Lisa Wingate brings to light a tragic part of history that I’ve heard very little about. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to think of children abandoned and trying to survive on their own, eating scraps found in the trash.

I liked Ollie immensely—she was a wonderful character and she came to life in this story.

I enjoyed hearing about Kate, and how she helped the children.

I liked Ranger Valerie, although it took a little longer to warm up to her. I was cheering her on, by the end. Sydney and Charlie add a lot of charm, too. Lisa Wingate has a gift for writing about children!

Oklahoma is not a state I consider beautiful, but now I’m interested in learning more about its Southeast corner, and Winding Stair Mountain.

I do have a question for Ms. Wingate: Are there ANY good white men in this story besides the ranger who was injured in the fall? I didn’t even like Dewey.

Thank you to the publishers at NetGalley for the advanced reader copy to review.

This is a story in two time periods that reveals the treatment of Native Americans in 1909 and the life of a female park ranger in 1990. The two stories link together when the ranger is shown the bones of three children in a cave, that the park department doesn't want publicized. The treatment of orphans in 1909 was terrible and at times their plight was hard to read. Thank you Net Galley for the copy of this book.

I absolutely loved "Before we were yours" by Lisa and was so excited to receive this ARC of "Shelterwood". I wanted to love it just as much, but I felt like the book dragged in so many places and took me awhile to get through. The book goes back and forth between 1909 when Olive and Nessa fled their abusive stepdad and had to live on their own in the woods with other children, fast forward to 1990 with brand new Ranger Valerie starts working at the National park that was once their home. When Valerie finds a burial site of 3 children, she starts to go on a quest to find out who they are.

The ending was my favorite part, but this wasn't her best for me.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an honest review. This is an interesting story , based on facts and real people , about the mistreatment of Indians in Oklahoma in the early 1900’s . The US government misappropriated their money thru the corrupt probate court system . The Indian children’s land and mineral rights were taken away from them and unscrupulous guardians were in charge of the children from the 5 tribes in the area. I learned a lot about America in the early 1900’s and the control over the innocent orphan children . The chapters alternate between Oklahoma, 1990 and Oklahoma, 1909. Hazel (13) and Nessa (6) were orphaned Choctaw children in 1909. Ollie (11) had an evil stepfather and a mother who was stoned on opium powders. The “elf” children were runaway Indian children who lived. In the woods and surveyed any way possible. In 1990, in Talihina, Oklahoma, a young single mother accepted a job as a park ranger in the new Horsethief Trail National Park in the Winding Stair Mountains. The two time periods seem unrelated until the last chapter when the stories merge. The story was a little confusing with so many characters.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes 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.


Oklahoma 1909: Olive’s story. Running seems the only answer to the problem in Olive's mind. She knows her step father is going to do something bad to the two Choctaw girls boarding as wards.

When the older one disappears, Olive runs. And she takes a six-year-old Nessa with her. They will begin a journey to the Winding Stair Mountains, a no-mans land of outlaws and bad people.

Along the way they meet others like them. In a land of greed, oil, and men behaving badly, they bad together and try to stay alive.

We skip to Oklahoma in 1990 and the new law enforcement ranger, Valerie, arrived at her new post with her son. And right away you know things are not going to go smoothly.

People don’t want this park here. But, why? Valerie finds an ally in one of the Choctaw Tribal Police and they will find heartbreaking things.

This is a heartbreaking story, much like Before We Were Yours. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

NetGalley/ RHPG/ Ballentine June 04, 2024

Lisa Wingate brings us this gripping historical fiction story of 11-year-old Ollie Augie and the perils of children, especially Native youth falling prey to greed by land grabbers in the early 1900's Oklahoma. Forming a band of wayward and orphaned children the idea of Shelterwood is born. Interposed in this dual timeline is Valerie Borden-O'Dell a law enforcement ranger for the National Park Service and her duty to protect the special land under her care in Oklahoma as she faces local disfavor for her job and all that she threatens to uncover. Providing historically accurate and yet heart-wrenching, relatable characters is an incredible gift by this author and fans of Lisa Wingate's earlier works will also find their thoughts returning to this story.

This engaging and well researched book sheds light on the treatment of native people in Oklahoma of the early 1900's. It shifts in time between 1909 and a girl named Olive who is trying to protect two native girls from what she perceives as the bad intentions of her step father, and 1990, where Valerie, a law enforcement park ranger new to the area is trying to discover the mysteries that surround her new location, including the discovery and public cover-up of an old burial site where three Native American children were laid to rest. There is a lot of mystery attached to both time periods, and eventually the questions are answered and the connections between the past and present are revealed. The characters are real and compelling, their stories really draw you in, and when Wingate wraps up all the puzzles at the end of the story, there are some surprises which now make perfect sense and the ending is very satisfying.

I was captured by these two stories that were beautifully intertwined. The story of the elf children should be taught to our children in school. I had never heard of this fact of history. What a wonderful gift Lisa has to take these bits of history and weave them into a completely enjoyable and informative novel. I feel blessed to have been able to read this before publication and will spread the word of this book.

Shelterwood was the educational experience I never knew I needed. I learned more in this book than I ever did in a classroom. This book will take your emotions on a rollercoaster as you learn about the history of child exploitation, theft of land from Indians and the powerful men that did both in Oklahoma.

Shelterwood, told in alternating timelines from 1909 and 1990 in Oklahoma, is the story of the unacknowledged women that fought to save children being taken advantage of by the lumber and oil tycoons. In 1909, we find Ollie, a runaway from an abusive stepfather and Nessa, a young Choctaw girl her father took in years before. Working together to make their way to Winding Stair Mountains, where Ollie’s father made a home for them years before, the duo will encounter rugged terrain, grifters, outlaws and men who wish to exploit them. In 1990, Valerie is looking for a new start as a widowed single mom. As the first and only Law Enforcement Park Ranger at Horsethief Trail National Park, Valerie isn’t a stranger to controversy. A missing teen and a grave of three little girls are just some of things Valerie encounters in her first week. Find out how Ollie and Valerie’s stories collide and how 1909 really isn’t so different than 1990.

Thank you to netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dual timeline between a girl named Olive and a woman named Val.
1909 Olive has run away from home with her adopted Choctaw sister named Nessa. Their stepfather is an evil man and their mom has taken to opium and drinking. On their journey they've picked up several orphaned Choctaw children. They become a family and live in the forrest. All of the children have been stripped of their land and families.
1990 Valerie is a widowed park ranger with a young son named Charlie. Lots of interesting stuff is happening at the park. They've found the bodies of three dead children from a hundred years ago, had rock falls and a missing teenager. Lots of suspicious stuff is happening.
I loved this book!! What an epic novel about fighting corruption and learning to be the master of your own life. I especially loved Valerie. Her mom life being widowed was written so superbly. I felt the grief and the loneliness. I felt the single mom life.

Lisa Wingate deftly infuses the narrative with moments of profound sadness, as the characters grapple with the scars of their pasts and the challenges they must overcome to better themselves. Through their struggles, Wingate offers a poignant reminder of the power of hope and the capacity for healing within us all. Shelterwood delves into the complexities of human emotion and showcases the strength and courage individuals can summon in challenging circumstances.

Alternating between 1909 and 1990 Oklahoma we follow the paths of Ollie and Nessa as they run away from an abusive home and park ranger Valerie who is now investigating a missing persons case 80 years later in the state park that was formed on the same land Ollie and Nessa once called home.

As I read this book I was sent down a rabbit hole of research about the history of the 1887 Dawes Act that broke up tribal lands and provided individual Native Americans a parcel of land known as an allotment . When the parents of native children died, some naturally and some mysteriously, the children would be appointed to caregivers. Many men took advantage of this and tried to be appointed as caregivers to as many children as possible to claim rights to their land allotments. Many non-native men became weathly off the tribal land allotment and used that wealth to run for public office or influence those that did. Wingate has told the emotional and heartbreaking true story of indiginous children on the Oklahoma plains in the early 1900's through Ollie and Nessa and the reprussions many children suffered from the actions of those put in charge of their care. I felt myself really anxious as I was reading hoping nothing bad would happen to the children and knowing that although fiction, events like this happened to real children and are still happeing today.

If you liked Killers of the Flower Moon this book will tell you a similar story, although through the eyes of children and the brave women who fought to help them.

#netgalley
#52bookclub2024

I will not forget this book--it's in my heart forever. Shelterwood has two storylines--one in 1908, and the other in 1990, and the story goes back and forth between them. Both parts of the story take place in Oklahoma. The first is after the Dawes Act, which broke up tribal lands and granted land allotments to individual Native Americans. Unscrupulous white men took the land from vulnerable native children, leaving them alone to fend for themselves. They are called "Elf children," and this is the story of a group of them who tried to form their own community, with heartbreaking results. And then, nearly a hundred years later, an enterprising ranger in a newly formed national park digs up the first story and solves a current-time mystery. It's a lot to keep track of, but Lisa Wingate beautifully handles all the complications. Both thumbs up, as well as all ten fingers and toes.

I was excited when Netgalley provided me an early (digital) copy of a Lisa Wingate book. I loved Before We Were Yours. Once again, I learned about a form of child abuse I didn't learn in school. I had no idea there were "oil-rich" children with absent guardians in the early 1900s. I did find the book a bit confusing at times with the dual timeline and many characters...particularly the "bad guys" in the 1990 chapters. I didn't detect any plot holes, and it's very well written. It held my interest throughout. Overall, I give it 4.5 stars.

This one is well researched and does a good job at making the past come alive for the reader, however, it's dense and convoluted at times. I found myself rooting for the children but often the focus was lost in the winding narrative. The dual timelines were a bit jarring as well with the transitions too abrupt. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was moving and the plight of children always pulls at my heartstrings. The resilience of these children who had to navigate for themselves is so incredible. We can look back at history and see the mistakes made, I often wonder what mistakes we make today.



Ollie, Nessa, and Hazel were great characters!



The other amazing part of the story was the women who fought to find out the rest of the story. These women give us examples to look to in the problems we face.



Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

Oh wow! This story was incredible! I loved how the story went back and forth with past and present. The characters were so relatable And realistic. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who loves historical fiction.

This story is two in one. It starts in 1909 and switches to 1990 between chapters. It traces the history of yet another abuse of the American Indian and the tribal lands they were promised by our government. As always, might makes right and many people are constantly trying to steal their land for its timber and mineral rights. When bones of three children are found in a cave an investigation begins attempting to find out who the children were and the circumstances of their deaths. The descriptions of the scenery and the everyday travels of these runaway children are interesting as is how they find help along the way. It is also the story of a park ranger who gets involved in solving the mystery of where the children came from and the circumstances of their lives.