I really enjoyed this story! I must confess I don't know much about the history of Oklahoma, or the National Park Service. So, both of the timelines and points-of-view were very interesting to me. There is quite a bit going on in the book, but it wasn't too convoluted and it moved along at a nice pace. There were also other relatable elements like grief, and found family. I also think there is a great opportunity for a continuation of the story. I'd love to read more about the three young girls, maybe in the immediate aftermath of these events and further into their adulthood. Just wishful thinking.

For sure a slower read, but so beautiful. Seeing what these kids went through and where they ended up was heartbreaking, but Wingate does that in such an eloquent way.

This story is told in 2 time frames. The early 1900s follows the story of small children escaping from an abusive home trying to find a safe place. The late 1990s follows the story of a ranger who is trying to do her job while caring for a child and dealing with fellow workers.

Shelterwood is a dual timeline book. The 1909 and the 1990 timelines are interesting and I love that they are based on true events.



The 1990 timeline had my full attention every time I was reading it. I love that Valerie was like a dog with a bone. Once she saw that something was not right in the park, she would not let it go. I like that Valerie is a mom, her relationship with Charlie is perfect. Her love shines through and her protectiveness is fierce. I felt like Valerie is a character that was relatable and likable.

The 1909 timeline was a little more slow moving. I struggled to get invested in that timeline. The characters were children left on their own to find their way in the world. I enjoyed that they found a “family” of children to work together. It was interesting to see how they formed a level of command, a government of sorts, to keep their family intact and knowing which job was theirs to take care of.



Shelterwood is a great book, the history is rich and the story is wonderful. Lisa Wingate is an amazing author and I always look for her books.

In 1909, Olive fears that her stepfather is abusing her two Choctaw foster sisters. When the older girl disappears, Olive runs away, taking Nessa, the younger girl with her. The children soon meet up with other orphaned children, mostly Choctaw and they form a community to hide and survive. Olive keeps their hopes alive by telling them of the sanctuary called Shelterwood that they will one day create.
In 1990, Val is a park ranger, new to the Winding Stair National Recreaion Area in Oklahoma. On her first day on the job, the bones of three children are found in a cave but removed by officials before Val can properly investigate. In the meantime, a local teen boy goes missing and a John Doe is found drowned in the park. Val has her hands full with her job as well as being a single parent to her son, Charlie and she enlists help from Curtis, a Choctaw tribal police officer.
This is another great, well-researched historical fiction novel by Lisa Wingate. I really enjoyed the format of the back and forth chapters on the two timelines. The historical fiction aspect involving orphaned Choctaw children was fascinating and so sad knowing that it was based on fact. Val's portion of the story was equally entertaining as a well-written thriller/mystery. The two genres blended together well and the way the stories merged was superb. I also really enjoyed the environmental concerns presented in this book. Highly recommend!

In Shelterwood, Lisa Wingate again turns her attention to mistreated, forgotten children, but this time focuses on the state where she lived as a child in the 1970s. In “Author’s Note,” Wingate explains how, while researching for another book, she stumbled across an attention-grabbing article about Kate Barnard, a woman about whom she knew nothing. Who was this woman who found “elf children” living in a hollow tree, and who were these children? Why had Wingate, who grew up in Oklahoma, never heard of them? Fortunately, for readers, such serendipitous discoveries spark Wingate’s curiosity, and she turns that curiosity into solid research that forms the basis of her historical fiction.

Shelterwood opens with a prologue set in 1990. Back in 1962, Ada, Oklahoma’s high school state championship football team had spent countless hours hanging out in the local Dairy Queen and listening to strange stories told by a mysterious man they nicknamed Sergeant Whittles. Nearly 30 years later, two of those former players driving the area’s Winding Stair Mountains recall the spooky story Whittles had told them at the Dairy Queen on Halloween night. A few drinks and a bet later, the pair find a local man who thinks he can lead them to the place Whittles had told them about and that one of them regards as a figment of Whittles’ imagination. After climbing a mountain and coming face-to-face with a cave entrance, the believer of the pair enters as the skeptic freezes. Afterall, Whittles had told them that his childhood visit to the cave had “haunted him” from then on.

The remainder of the novel consists of thirty-one chapters and an epilogue. Set slightly later in 1990, the odd-numbered chapters center on Valerie Boren-Odell, a law enforcement park ranger at the newly opened Horsethief Trail National Park in the Winding Stair Mountains near Talihina, Oklahoma. Set in 1909, the odd numbered chapters center on a young girl, Olive “Ollie” Augusta Peele. Valerie Boren-Odell assumes her job shortly after the discovery of three skeletons in a cave. As the park’s law enforcement ranger, she sets out to solve the mystery of the skeletons and of why some of those around her seem to be ignoring the discovery. Ollie is on the run from her abusive step-father Tesco Peele, who works for the wealthy Mr. Lockridge. With Ollie is a younger Choctaw girl, Nessa/”Nessie,” who lives in Ollie’s home and whose older sister Hazel has vanished from the home. Through Ollie’s 1909 chapters, readers meet the elf children--Tula, Pinti, and Koi--as well as Kate Barnard, the woman in the historic newspaper article that sparked Wingate’s curiosity.

Reading Shelterwood, I could not help thinking of Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann’s non-fiction account of Oklahoma’s 1920s Osage murders and the FBI agents that solved them. The two books, Grann’s history and Wingate’s historical fiction, have much in common, yet each tells a unique story set in a different part of Oklahoma, one with FBI agents to solve the crimes and bring justice to the Osage and the other with strong women to take the lead and bring justice to the Choctaw. As Wingate explains in her Author’s Note, “People should know what happened here and who fought against it.” David Grann would agree.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for an advance reader egalley of Lisa Wingate’s highly recommended new novel.

Historical fiction being my favorite genre and Lisa Wingate’s exceptional ability to tell a story by immersing the reader into the storyline made this read unforgettable. The dual storylines of early 1900’s and 1990, both in Oklahoma kept me reading much past my normal bedtime. The early storyline focuses on 11 year old Olive, escaping her stepfather while trying to save 6 year old Choctaw boarder, Nessa, from his horrific intentions. Along their route they meet many children, abandoned and living in the woods having to steal their food…so very heartbreaking. So loved the foresight and empathy that Ollie had for both Nessa and her pony.
In 1990 we meet park ranger, Val, and her son who are recovering from the tragic loss of her husband. She is thrust into a mystery involving the discovery of three small sets of bones from young females, followed by the hunt for a missing hiker. Her persistence in the path of the male dominated force was truly inspirational. Loved the dynamics between she and Curtis. The two storylines merge in a very interesting way.
The highlight for me was the spotlight placed on the appallingly shameless land grab supposedly upstanding citizens made on the children from native families. So many were treated so abysmally. I loved reading about Kate Barnard, who was instrumental in shining a light on their plight and will definitely be researching more about this amazing woman.
My favorite books are those that teach me more about history and those that make me feel a strong emotion. This read excelled with both. I felt so much anger for those that abandoned, neglected, and/or abused these young children.
Many many thanks to Lisa Wingate for bringing a sad part of our nation’s history forward, and Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this just published engrossing read.

An incredible story told in two time lines. In 1909, Ollie and Nessie, a Choctaw orphan taken in by Ollie’s dad escape a life with her abusive stepfather. They run away to try and reach Ollie’s old home but along the way they encounter abandoned Choctaw children and struggle to survive in a world that does not care for them. With the help of a few adults that champion for them they are able to survive. In 1990, Valerie Boren-Odell has taken a new job as a forest ranger in Oklahoma after the death of her husband, She struggles to survive in her own right against the prejudices that come from working in a male dominant field. But when she discovers the bones of three girls in a cave she discovers that the world she lives in carries its own secrets. Another masterpiece by lisa Wingate it highlights the plight of many Choctaw children who were stripped of their lands and left to die.

2.75/5⭐️

OK, this was my first book from this author, was between a “pick” and a “so-so”, and will probably be an unpopular opinion.

A dual timeline (1909, 1990), this follows Ollie and Nessa, runaways from an abusive stepfather who are making their way to Ollie’s former home in the Winding Stair Mountains of Oklahoma. Along the way they befriend “Elf” children (orphaned Choctaw children who have been victimized for their land) and others struggling to survive any way they can.

Valerie Boren O’Dell, a newly widowed mother of a 7-year-old son, is a Law Enforcement Ranger beginning a new job near the aforementioned mountains. When human remains of 3 children are discovered in a mountain cave and a teenager goes missing, she wants to delve deeper even though she’s been warned not to. Who are the children? Why are they there and entombed as they are? Where is the teenager and why is he missing?

I wanted to like this more. And I did learn a lot about the topic of how indigenous children were exploited and treated abominably by money-hungry land-grabbers out for power and oil wealth. And I was interested to learn about the early women advocates (both political and otherwise) who championed and worked diligently to save and restore property to these impoverished children, especially little-remembered Kate Barnard, who was fascinating as a pioneer in women’s politics (or the lack thereof) at that time. Wingate is also very good with describing the despair as well as the resilience of these children and the surrounding wilderness that became their home.

But the book had a few issues for me. First, it felt too long and dragged for me, and it became more of an effort to engage with it between readings. The dual timeline chapters would abruptly leave a cliffhanger and begin at a new location next time they picked up. And there was not enough depth or background for me with some of the characters so I wasn’t as invested with them as I wanted to be. The final chapter of Ollie’s story stopped abruptly with no further first-person narrative of future events. This was summed up later in the story by another character and was “told” rather than “shown”. The tying up of loose ends at the end felt rushed up, and there was at least one implausible event…one brought about by the “villain” that felt extremely unlikely (no spoilers).

I’m sure that I’m probably being nit picky, and there are many, many others who will praise this book wholeheartedly. It was a good story, just with a few drawbacks for me.

And that cover is absolutely beautiful and fits the story so very well.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for providing the free early arc of Shelterwood for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate is a dual timeline story set in Oklahoma. 1909, eleven-year-old Olive August Radley knows that her stepfather has ill intentions toward the two Choctaw girls who live with her family. When the older girl disappears, Ollie takes the younger girl and flees into the woods. Together they set out on a perilous journey to the rugged Winding Stair Mountains, trying to avoid the outlaws, treasure hunters and desperate men along the way. Eighty-one years later, Valerie Boren O’dell is a law enforcement ranger who arrives at the Horsethief Trail National Park, seeking a quiet place as she tries to balance her career and single parenthood. She quickly learns about a local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker goes missing and a long hidden burial site of three children was discovered deep in a cave. Val soon learns the tragic and deadly history of the area as she tries to uncover the truth.
Lisa Wingate has made a name for herself as a writer of emotional and often forgotten stories in history. Shelterwood traces the story of children abandoned by the law, the conflicts over the land and its riches and the long battle to see wrongs righted and justice done. I love Lisa Wingate books and Shelterwood sounded compelling and interesting; however, it was a chore to read. It wasn’t hard to read because of the subject matter which was indeed a heavy topic but important to discuss. There was a bit of confusion of who the characters were and their relationship to the two main characters: Ollie and Val. The back and forth between timelines, which usually doesn’t bother me, took me out of the story and it was hard to readjust for the new chapter. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have other Lisa Wingate books. However, if the book interests you, I recommend giving it a try.

Shelterwood is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

I was born and grew up in north Texas, just south of the Oklahoma state line, but I have never studied Oklahoma history. Recently, I watched a movie "Killers of the Flower Moon" which depicted the men who would marry Indigenous Osage women, only to gain control of their valuable oil land. It was a terrible story and mostly based on truth. This is a related story, but is about orphaned children who are assigned to "guardians" who then run them off their land and take control, leaving the children to fare for themselves.

Told in two parts, one in 1909 featuring a group of these "elf children", as they were called because they lived in the woods and stories sprang up about them. A long-forgotten woman politician, Kate Barnard, who was elected to high office in the new state of Oklahoma in a time when women could not vote, found three of these children living in a hollow tree and prosecuted their "guardian", who was in possession of more than 51 such guardianships. Her attempts to end these practices were successfully foiled by the prominent men involved and her story has been mostly forgotten.

The group of children in 1909 is at one time as large as eleven children who live in the woods in an encampment they called Shelterwood. Shelterwood is "an obscure forestry term for older, larger trees that protect the smaller, younger growth beneath." And that is what the older children of the camp did for the younger ones.

In 1990, law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell is given a highly coveted job in a brand new Horseshoe Trail National Park in Oklahoma. It is Valerie's first assignment since her husband, also a park ranger, was killed while attempting to rescue some hikers at their last assignment. She soon learns that the only reason she got this job is that the "powers that be" think she is some kin to a powerful Oklahoma politician named Boren. No one seems to want her there, and she is given menial jobs, but still manages to get acquainted with several locals who fill her in on local politics.

Something is going on in this new park as they prepare to open. The locals are not happy about the park, a teenager goes missing, a mysterious rockfall closes one of the park roads, and an unidentifed drowning victim is found in a creek after a big rainfall. She soon finds an ally in the Choctaw Tribal Police and they are shocked to find these incidents lead back to the "elf children" of long ago!

A good read. Lisa Wingate has an eye for stories about children abused by the "system" that is supposed to protect them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lisa Wingate is a master storyteller. She can weave a story to make you feel as if you are there in the moment. I knew nothing about this subject. She taught me so much in the 300+ pages. I am sad that I can’t “read it for the first time” again.

In dual time lines, 1909 and 1990 in Oklahoma, the author tells a story that has historical significance and tears at your heart. I had to stop quite a few times to google information.

If you loved Before We Were Yours , and historical fiction pick this one up and savor it. It is a slow burn and worth the wait.

I made it 50% and gave up. It was quite boring, and I was never motivated to pick it up. Felt like a chore to read, and the accents were annoying to read as well. I was really intrigued about the bones and whose they were and thats what kept me reading, and I did want to see how the past and present story lines tied together, but not enough to keep going unfortunately.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the ARC. I enjoy reading this author's books. You can tell that she does a lot of research on the subject she's writing about. Loved all the characters even Ollie who kept saying she didn't like liars and thieves even though she told some doozies herself. Great character development. Will recommend!

Shelterwood is a forestry term for older, larger trees that protect the smaller, younger growth beneath. Lisa Wingate’s Shelterwood slashes through that canopy shining a blinding light on the history of “rampant graft and mindboggling land grabs during the Oklahoma statehood era.”
Wingate artfully weaves this little-known history in alternating timelines as she illuminates a mystery uncovered by a female park ranger involving the bones of “elf children.” Readers are immersed in the 1909 world of starving, indigenous “elf children” through Ollie and Nessa’s harrowing escape from harmful, greedy guardians and the community they struggle to create in the southeastern portion of Oklahoma known as the Winding Stairs. In 1990 Park Ranger, Val attempts to sort out the story of skeletal bones in a cave and the disappearance of three members of the same family. Wingate’s narrative takes readers on trails though the woods of southeastern Oklahoma peppered with crisp descriptions as she lines steep grades through Horsethief Trail National Park with obstacles to the mystery by adding suspense step by step; an abandoned car, a missing teenager, a body found in the woods. Wingate’s orphans are wily, witty, and so loveable, readers will easily forgive their crimes and even cheer for their ingenious successes. Through experiences of the “elf children” readers will gain a new understanding of survival. Readers will also appreciate Officer Curtis’ relationship with Val and Charlie, a male character with high emotional intelligence.
This adventurous mystery through the woods of Oklahoma is really about the history of the tribal lands of the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw Nations, their legacy, and the oil found on the land allotments. Another historical thread is the untold impact of Kate Barnard’s fight for child labor laws and compulsory education. Shelterwood, Lisa Wingate’s soulful, heartfelt tale, ties the past to the present through the history of indigenous children and the horrendous lives of our nations’ youngest before child labor laws.
Eye-opening. Redemptive.

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate is a wonderfully written historical novel based on true events. This is a well researched and thought out story. Told in dual timelines, Ms. Wingate brings two stories together in a beautiful way. A story of greed and corruption and the children who were the victims. A heartbreaking story sure to pull at your heartstrings.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House/Ballantine Books and Lisa Wingate for this wonderful story to read and review. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
#netgalley #randomhouse #ballantinebooks. #lisawingate
#shelterwood #historicalnovel

Lisa Wingate is an excellent author and one I respect so it is unfortunate for me to write that this book was a miss for me.

Coming off of reading and watching Killers of the Flower Moon I was curious to read a fictional take on a similar story, yet one that focuses on the land rights of indigenous children. There is an important and compelling story in here that I think Wingate missed.

What worked for me was the dual timeline. I especially liked that the stories were quite different. What happens in history impacts the future in new and different ways and I thought her take on this is effective. The early 1900s timeline follows Ollie and a band of "elf children" who have been orphaned and are living in the woods. Ollie is quite adventurous but I found some of the adventures and characters to be a bit outrageous and sometimes random.

Valerie is a new to the area park ranger and her timeline is set in the 1990's. Her story was frustrating because while attempting to uncover a mystery she kept finding clues that either led nowhere, were false leads, or seemingly didn't connect. Again, the last chapter told from her timeline is highly interesting and highlights two characters that were missing for the entire book but had the arguably better story. I really do wish the focus of the 1990's story had been from their perspective.

Overall the hardest thing about the book was that everything in the middle was paced incredibly slow. I didn't find myself wanting to pick up the book for either of the timelines and when I did I would read a chapter and then put it back down. There is no question that a lot of research went into this book, I just found it slow up until the very end.

Set in Oklahoma in 1909 & 1990, this is the story of 3 girls and the life they led in 1909 and the Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell who investigates their story nearly a century later. Valerie aligns with the local Choctaw tribe to try to solve the mystery that surrounds the 3 girls and their possible murders. Can she overcome the obstacles before her to solve the questions?

A very well written historical fiction story told in dual timelines, 1909 and 1990. It was a heartbreaking story about orphaned Native American children. I learned about a part of history that I was unaware of. The mysteries in both timelines kept me turning the pages.

A amazing story of bravery & history!!!!!!! These women are everything women everywhere aspire to be- strong, brave, adventurous heros.