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.

I think this is a very important story in our country's history that needs to be told. I enjoyed the dual timeline/point of view format, but the pacing was quite slow, and I struggled to get through this book.
I like how the ending brought everything together, but it felt anticlimactic after waiting so long for something to happen.

A historical novel that skillfully explores political turmoil, land claims, and the vulnerability of abandoned children. It is rich in historical detail and captivating.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Before We Were Yours is one of my favorite books of all time. It is one that I recommend to almost everyone and that I have carried with me for so many years. You can imagine my disappointment then, when I tell you I could not get into this story. It had moments where I felt myself get excited with anticipation and then it would quickly disappear. Such a bummer, but I still consider Lisa Wingate one of my favorite authors.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for my copy!

Set in two different time periods and told in two different voices, Shelterwood is a story of women and children, of love and loss, of courage in the face of injustice and most of all the act of finding the strength and bravery to fight for a place in the world - regardless of the time period. Wingate has managed, once again, to weave a tale that is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Ollie and Val are both such strong, yet vulnerable characters. The reader is constantly bouncing back and forth between pride in their fortitude and worry for their safety. Regardless, it is impossible not to be drawn to them. With an amazing array of supporting characters, Shelterwood is the whole package. It is a must read book for anyone who is looking for a hero or who looks for beauty in the ashes.

5 When the Past Comes to the Present Stars!!!

I’m a huge fan of Ms. Wingate’s writing and this most recent book is a perfect example of why I love her stories. This book takes place in both 1909 and 1990 and we go between both of these timelines every other chapter. It’s also very clear that Ms. Wingate has done extensive research on the fate of indigenous children in Oklahoma early in the 20th Century and the fate that was forced upon them by unscrupulous and evil people of that time.

In 1909 we meet Ollie and Nessa as they are on the run to find Ollie’s family home in the Winding Stair Mountains and along the way they come across others on the run and they form their own community set out to protect each other and just maybe stop the atrocities happening to the indigenous people.

In 1990 Ranger Valerie Boren O’dell begins a new life Horsethief Trail National Park not expecting to be drawn into a scandal involving a missing hiker, human bones found in a cave and a story that seems to be ever changing the more time Val spends with the little sister of the missing hiker.

This story is told with intensity and drew me in from the beginning of the first chapter. I love how the stories are wound together and while there are definitely some jarring moments, and I at times questioned how it was all going to come together because there are so many secrets and deceptions that are uncovered. This book kept me on my toes that’s for sure!! I for one cannot wait to listen to the audiobook of this as I always find with Ms. Wingate’s books I get a different appreciation of her writing and story telling when the book comes to life in my ears!!!

Let me start by saying, I truly love dual time line stories. This was a great one! I absolutely loved how they both tied together so well. Both stories are set in Oklahoma, one in 1909 and then 1990. The characters were wonderful with Ollie being my favorite. I couldn't put this book down as I was so invested in finding out what was going to happen. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Thank you Random House Publishing from Netgalley for the ARC! I really enjoy Lisa Wingate's dual POV takes on historical fiction. I really enjoyed the story of Ollie and the "elf children" that brought awareness to yet another way Indigenous people were wronged. It took me a while to get into the story, but it was very good.

Shelterwood, by Lisa Wingate was such a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed this work of historical fiction and the story of the elf children and the strong women who fought for their rights. I enjoyed the dual timeline, but found the conclusion a bit rushed after a ton of buildup. Overall, I enjoyed the unique voices and perspectives and was fully immersed in the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I look forward to discussing this one with friends!

My Rating: 4 stars

I’ve been quite a bit behind on my leisure reading as of late and while I hope to catch back up as soon as possible, the reality is that it will be a challenge with peak summer reading right around the corner. In addition to being busy with work and school, a few of my favorite authors actually have books coming out this summer, so it goes without saying that I will definitely be doing some prioritizing over the next couple weeks in order to get to everything. With that said, I’ve been able to squeeze in a May / June new release here and there. This time around, the book is Shelterwood, the newest release from Before We Were Yours author Lisa Wingate.

When it comes to dual timeline historical fiction, I usually prefer the past timeline over the present one, but this time around, I felt that the present timeline, which took place in 1990, was much more engaging than the one from 1909. I think this might be because for most of the 1909 narrative, I had no idea where the story was headed – the pace was slower, some parts didn’t feel entirely believable, and few of the scenes seemed a bit too farfetched, a little like drama was being created for drama’s sake. The 1990 narrative, in comparisons, moved at a much faster pace and I felt more invested in the story (though I noticed these sections were much shorter than the historical narrative, which made the overall pacing much slower than I would have liked). Having said all that, I like that Wingate brought both timelines together in a way that was meaningful and memorable; in all honesty, that moment when all the pieces started falling into place and I finally understood the historical situation that Wingate was trying to shine a light on was when I truly became engaged in the story – though I wish it hadn’t taken so long (more than half the book) to get there.

I love historical fiction because of the way the genre makes history so interesting and I always learn something, even if I’m already familiar with the subject matter I’m reading about. In this case, I knew nothing about Oklahoma’s history and the guardian system that indirectly sanctioned the stealing of land from indigenous children, so I appreciated getting to learn about this (though I highly recommend also reading the Author’s Note, as Wingate recounts the history in way more detail and, for me at least, clarified a few aspects of the narrative that didn’t make a lot of sense at first).

Lastly, I wanted to put in a quick mention about the characters. My favorite stories are the ones with strong, tenacious female protagonists who aren’t afraid to go against the grain – both Ollie (from the past narrative) and Val (from the present narrative) were precisely this kind of protagonist, which I absolutely appreciated.

This one is definitely recommended, though a little bit of patience is needed to reach the payoff at the end. For me, it was worth it!

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

This is a beautifully told tale spanning dual time periods in Oklahoma. Both the main characters, Olive and Valerie, are grappling with significant personal issues, which are deftly explored. The character development and dialectical writing Wingate uses is magnificent. The plot will keep readers hooked through the entirety. This will be a huge hit with book clubs.

Historical fiction stories on topics of which I know nothing about usually end up being among my favorites. Shelterwood is just that. It begins with enough mystery and intrigue that immediately piqued my interest and through a dual timeline narrative weaves a story of the lost and abandoned children of Oklahoma in the early 1900s as well as a national park ranger trying to solve a mystery in her park in 1990, upholding her duty to protect national lands, all the while meeting a lot of judgment and threats both from her male colleagues and the town's powerful men.

What I enjoyed about this book: The writing in this book is really beautiful and paints such a vivid picture. Once I finished the book and really thought about how much detail the author included, I was left even more impressed with this author's storytelling and research abilities. Additionally, I have always been fascinated by national parks and the job of a park ranger so I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. And, of course, I appreciated learning about a time and place that I really know nothing about.

What didn't work for me: The story builds very slowly so you must be patient and at times, I confess, I grew tired of the slowness. But, I was intrigued by how the two narratives would come together and never considered not continuing the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend to all historical fiction readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced digital copy.

The Search

This is a dual timeline story. The first story being in 1909 Oklahoma. It follows several cast-away children as they struggle for survival in a wilderness because of intolerable conditions at home. They are brave, courageous and do what they must to survive. It is also the story of two children looking for a father that left to find gold in Colorado and never returned and their search to find him. Some kind people that helped them along the way, including a card shark, two sisters, and others.

The second storyline is about a young widow raising a son. She is working for the forest department and discovers a mysterious cache in a cave which goes back to 1900’s. Her story is following the mystery even though she is told to let it be. She cannot do so until it is solved.
The way these to stories are tied together is sad, but is the way things were in the 1900’s. You will have a good time trying to guess her mystery and also the story of the children searching for their father which ends on a happier tone.

This was a great read and I enjoyed it immensely, and I think you will as well.

Thanks to Lisa Wingate for writing a great story, to Random House Publishing for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy to read and review.

I was engrossed in this novel from the start. I enjoyed the two timelines set in eastern Oklahoma which overlapped the injustices done to many of the Chocktaw people and children. It is a story I knew nothing about even though I have traveled the area many times. The author took a complicated topic and made it easy to follow and certainly made one want to see history take a different path. I thought the added part regarding women trying to stand up for these lost and abadoned children quite compelling.

The more modern part of the story being set in a National Park service area was a bonus. I enjoyed reading about the area and learning some history behind this small part of the country. The Chocktaw nation is still very much a part of Oklahoma and it's culture. It was wonderful to see the follow up to the children's story later in the novel.. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this book.