I am a huge fan of When We Were Yours by this author, but this one just didn't do it for me and I ended up DNFing at 50%.

Historical fiction gives us a chance to learn about parts of history that we probably didn’t learn about in school. Hooked by a compelling setting- a new park with the National Parks system- with a female ranger who faces doubt and sexism as she debuts on the job. Toggling between a storyline set eighty years prior it highlighted the stories of Oklahoma and the land grabbing get rich schemes levied against Native Americans, children in this case. As a lover of the outdoors and supporter of the national Park system, this book was a delight.

Such an interesting read! Anytime I read a historical novel by Lisa Wingate, I find myself learning things I didn’t know before and researching them myself! Her latest is no exception. I had no idea about Kate Barnard and the ‘elf’ children. I truly enjoyed my time with Olive, Nessa, and Val. And the ending gave me such Fried Green Tomatoes vibes… I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Lisa Wingate for this ARC.

Heartbreaking untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children in the early 20th century. Children forgotten. Children taken advantage of in southeastern Oklahoma area of the Winding Stair Mountains and a Choctaw Reservation. The history and plight of these children comes together 90 years later as a newly widowed park ranger recently transferred to a new National Park tries to make her way and prove herself with the “old boys”. A very satisfying read.

Still outraged over Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI? A fan of Lisa Wingate's recent titles contrasting those who help and those who hinder the little ones among us? A fan of exciting tales in the Western states? This is the book for you!
Lisa Wingate takes a page from history regarding an Oklahoma hero named Kate Barnard --Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Collections before women could even vote.

The narrative has alternating timelines. One is set in 1909 telling the story of the 'elves of the forest," children who had been displaced and taken advantage of by unscrupulous operators and were homeless. Many found refuge in hollow trees, coming out to ask neighbors for food --trading labor or forest bounty to survive. The longer they had to live in the forest, the more desperate they looked and felt, resulting in a death spiral for some. The second features a female national park ranger in 1990 who finds much more to deal with than a lost hiker or wandering predator. She goes up against a new breed in the greed and exploitation game. Same song, second verse. Both timelines take place in the Winding Stair area of SE Oklahoma. Since reading this book, I am googling and dreaming of making a trip there in the future.

Thank you to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Wingate can write a heart-breaking orphan story like no other. This book is set in Oklahoma and told in alternating timelines between past (1909) and present (1990 - which is still over 30 years ago). In the past, Olive Augusta Radley has left home with her adopted sister, after their step-father tries to take advantage of them. They run away and end up meeting up with several other runaways and orphans. These children have been lost to the system and had their Native lands stolen from them. In the present day we meet Valerie, a park ranger who is investigating some mysterious happenings in the fictional Winding Stairs National Park. This story is well-written and well-researched. It shares the fate of so many young orphans and Choctaw children in the early 1900s, that sadly was the norm for far too many children. I preferred the chapters set in the past to the current day chapters.

Intense, well written. Historical and not at all a happy tale. Buckle down and take shelter in the beautiful words of this amazing author. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Shelterwood. This book was about a subject I knew nothing about, specifically orphaned Native American children in Oklahom n the early 1900's, curiously called "elf children". It was a wonderful story of strong women handling injustice, particularly young Olive who faces a variety of challenges throughout the book, but perseveres and never gives up on protecting her younger charges.

The story was told in alternating timelines, which also included the story of a female park ranger in 1990. While I enjoyed both stories, I think I would have preferred if the book had been written in a single narrative. I found myself forgetting what happened at the end of the previous chapter.

While I found the beginning of the book to be a little slow I was very happy with the way two stories wove together in the end.

”The wealthy have the privilege of writing their own stories as they like. Tonight I will tell you what is true.”

Lisa Wingate has done it again, shining a light on the untold truths in America’s history and the ugly injustices committed against vulnerable populations. If you’re looking for your next book-club read that will inspire a discussion about right & wrong, diverse cultures, and rewriting history ethically, look no further!

”They are in danger, and so are we. No one will be safe until this thing is made public. Maybe not even then.”

Shelterwood is a tale in two timelines. First, we meet Ollie, the ringleader of a ragtag group of orphans and runaways in early-1900s Oklahoma. Ollie and her young crew are trying to fend for themselves and stay alive in a world where children, especially tribal children, are seen as commodities.

”They are children, hiding in unthinkable conditions for lack of help, for fear of men who would take them as tiny prisoners, rob them of their land estates and their very lives, all for a profit…”

Then we meet Valerie, a ranger for the national parks in the 1990s, who is trying to piece together clues from a possible crime unfolding in her park, and how it relates to what happened here in Oklahoma, nearly a century ago: a teenager is missing, a body has been found, and someone has unearthed several sets of old bones.

”Every morning, I feel more desperate. A shadow hangs over me and I worry this will be the day something bad happens.”

This was such a moving, powerful story. My heart ached for the children who were ripped from their homes, abused, and even killed as 1900s-era land barons tried to make their fortunes in dishonest, violent ways. I had no idea that this was how things worked in our country, and was horrified to learn that so much of this book was based on true events.

”We have made too many orphans, too many friendless children, too many laid young in the grave. All for a profit, can you imagine? Fortunes made from little hands and ruined bodies.”

Highly recommend this one. It reminded me of Wingate’s previous book, Before We Were Yours, in a lot of ways. Fans of This Tender Land, Take My Hand, and Damnation Spring will love this.

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A huge thank you to Lisa Wingate, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the story of little orphan native americans and their journey of homelessness because they were robbed. I give this book two stars, its dual timeline and the stories intersect at the end. I had a hard time finding myself getting into this. It was a little long winded at times.

Set in southeast Oklahoma among the Winding Stair Mountains, Lisa Wingate tells a gripping tale of orphan survival.

Dual story lines follow Olive in 1909 and Valerie in 1990. I was immediately engrossed in Olive’s desperate escape from her stepfather’s abusive home, taking her adopted sister Nessa along into the woods. Armed with a pack horse and her father’s lessons, Olive is determined to reach the home of her childhood on Winding Stair, where she had a happy home before her father’s disappearance.

Valerie is a single mom, struggling to fit in at her new job with the NPS. She had a stable but unfulfilling life in Missouri, but wants to advance her career.

Olive’s story is full of all the twists and turns you’d expect, but her sharp wit and determination make her a lovely character to spend time with.

Lisa Wingate always investigates an interesting, lesser known corner of our country’s history. This time she is back with a story from America’s heartland of young children living in the wilds of the early 1900s. Thank you @prhaudio for my early listening copy of SHELTERWOOD which is out June 4th.

The novel follows some early 20th century female pioneers fighting for children in the midst of land cons left and right with Choctaw women and children. It has dual POVS and timelines between the early 1900s and modern day. The modern day timeline follows a questionable murder, and the search for evidence and connections at the Horsethief Trail National Park.

This time I enjoyed the past timeline, hoping for the girls living in the wild to find success and a home. I connected more with them than the modern timeline characters, but I DID want to know what the connection was between the two story lines and that definitely fuel my reading of the novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballatine Publisher for allowing me to read a copy of Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate. It has been a while since I read a book by Lisa Wingate but, I have enjoyed her writing and this one did not disappoint. I love the way she tells heartbreaking stories about children that are often neglected in writing. I am not a big fan of dual timeline stories but this writer does it with great excellence.
The characters are memorable and found touching how they are found almost a century later and a courageous forest ranger goes out of her way to solve a crime. This book was a great read and it has already been chosen for my August book club,

This split time story highlights a sliver of relatively unknown history regarding defrauding Native Americans - mostly through using and abusing their children - of their land for oil. The modern storyline focuses on the hard work done by National Park Service Rangers, especially if that Ranger is female.

Both are interesting stories that develop at a steady pace and slowly come together while trying to answer the question of whose bones were found in a cave and how did they get there. While this is a well written book, I never felt emotionally invested in the characters. There is an overall tone of sadness in both stories that leaves a melancholy aftertaste.

Overall I enjoyed the story and fans of the author will too.

Not family friendly due to subject matter.

Having read Before We Were Yours, I was a little leery of the subject matter, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lisa Wingate once again shines a light on little known social injustices with a well written narrative. By telling this story from the perspective of the past and relative present, she really helps the reader immerse themselves in the story. I love that she keeps you guessing until the end!

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
uses dual timelines of 1909 and 1990 in the Winding Stairs Mountains. In 1909, 11 year old Olive Augusta Peele shared how she and others form a much needed family to survive. And we learn about Kate Barnard, the first woman elected to office in the new state. In 1990, Valerie Boren-Odell, a park ranger new to the area, learns about a cave with some children's bones and soon searches for a missing local.

Once again, Wingate brings to light a tragic part of US history that I didn't know about. This time, it is the horrible treatment of Chocktaw and other indigenous children in the early years of Oklahoma because of greed. I appreciate the amount of research that went into this book to have accurate details. I always enjoy the author's notes as they help answer any questions that come up while I'm reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced reader copy.

"Shelterwood is an obscure forestry term for older, larger trees that protect the smaller, younger growth beneath."

I read this book in a week that children in Gaza are being burned alive. It is heartbreaking that children's lives hold so little value among the greedy and powerful. In this novel, Lisa Wingate puts names and stories to the little-known (to me anyway) history of Native American children who had an unintentional and tragic role in the rise of wealthy white men in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. In this novel, they learn to survive and form a community, watching out for one another in the woods even though they are just children. She also highlights the women whose compassion and kindness made a difference against all odds to change a system of abuse and exploitation.

The story is told in a dual timeline in the same place 80 years later (1990). We see how past and present connect for better or worse. And how children still so often are tossed aside.

It was a hard heartfelt story and the turns of phrase were mesmerizing. Val's story in 1990 was a bit distracting. I felt like the 1909 storyline would have been better on its own. An epilogue could have brought us to the current time to tie up loose ends.

Overall, it was a good book and has important information about US history including Kate Barnard a "politician who had the broadest influence on the state’s constitution and then went on be elected to statewide office by the largest majority of any candidate on the ballot was … a woman - in an era when women couldn’t even vote."

Dual timeline set in the early and late 20th century featuring two female protagonists: one a young girl who runs away from an untenable abusive stepfather and a park ranger who is investigating the discovery of children's bones found in a remote cave in Oklahoma. Not quite as engrossing as the author's previous novel.

I fell in love with Lisa Wingate when I read Before we Were Yours, a book that still lives in my head rent free. I was so excited to receive an advance copy from NetGalley! This novel tells the story of how the strength of women and children are able to overcome so many obstacles and prevail. This novel is written in two time periods, both the 1900's and 1990's in the state of Oklahoma. We meet Ollie and Nessa and Valerie and discover their strength and willingness to survive. Make sure you pick this book up!

3.5 stars

This is a compassionate and thoughtful novel, but one that sadly failed to capture my full attention.
It may have been due to the fact that I had such high expectations for this book. I really liked two of this author's other books, Before We Were Yours and The Book of Lost Friends. Or, because like many dual timeline stories, I ended up liking one time frame better than the other. Both stories moved slowly and the threads between the two time periods were very loose, or nonexistent, for the majority of the narrative. I couldn't help but wonder, "Where is this all leading"? It is not until the end of the story that they are eventually knotted together.

I love historical fiction when it teaches me about something I didn't know, and I must give kudos to Ms. Wingate for bringing a little-known piece of history to light about the travails of an obscure female frontier woman who became a political advocate for the rights of children in the early 1900s. However, Kate Barnard played only a very small role in this story. To learn more, be sure to read the Author's Note at the end of the book, which was my favorite part.

I wanted to like this novel more than I ultimately did. I would encourage readers to definitely check out other reviews that may have seen this book differently.

My sincere thanks to Random House-Ballantine Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.