This was another amazing book by Lisa Wingate! She truly knows how to make you cry, but also to find hope. Ollie and Val...goodness. They will forever be in my heart. I will think of this story for many years to come.

Lisa Wingate is a master at telling stories based on true events about children. You can't help but love her writing style and feel so much emotion for the characters. They're innocent children who were put into horrible situations and are strong and persevere despite such horrible and sad circumstances! I really loved Before We Were Yours so was excited to get this ARC of Shelterwood. The story is told in two timelines, 1990 and 1909. This was also a situation I'd never known about where native children were orphaned and being forced to live in the forest to care for themselves. Kudos to Lisa Wingate for telling the stories of people who matter that we may not have otherwise even known about. Their stories need to be heard.

Shelterwood, the newest historical fiction novel by Lisa Wingate, follows Ollie (1909) and Valerie (1990). In 1909, Ollie and her Choctaw adopted sister, Nessa, flee her mother and stepfather's home when her stepfather, Tesco Peele, threatens indecencies upon Nessa. Ollie assumes the name Hazel, after Nessa's real sister who has disappeared. The two girls narrowly escape and end up joining some other children who have nowhere to call home. Together, the children form Shelterwood, a forest enclave in the Winding Stairs, where they live as an encampment for children without family.

In 1990, Valerie is a ranger with the National Park Service. She's new to the Winding Stairs area and she's a woman, so some of the other rangers don't take very kindly to her. She befriends a member fo the Choctaw tribal force, and together they work to find a young girl's missing brother.

The stories intersect toward the end of the book in Shelterwood.

This was a good story packed witth history. I am from the Northeast and did not know anything about early Oklahoma statehood, so this was interesting. I found some of the chapters a bit slow with a definite Grapes of Wrath vibe. Overall 4 stars. Thanks to the publisher, author, and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Always a big fan. Love how she is able to weave historical events/people or time periods with her fiction. The characters are always really compelling and I am a big fan.

Another heartbreaking but interesting read from Lisa Wingate. It took me a bit to get hooked into the story, but I ended up liking it overall. Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Olive knows that her stepfather does not have even the slightest of good intentions when it comes to her and the two Choctaw girls he took in. She has a plan though. After Hazel disappears, Olive know she and Nessa need to run away. With her stepfather on their heels, the two find themselves with a band of other child outlaws just tryig to survive. Meanwhile, 81 years later in 1990, Valeria has taken a new job as a Law Enforcement Ranger at the local national park. When someone goes missing, Valerie is determined to find out what is happening in these woods.

As always, Lisa Wingate writes an engaging story that brings together history and fiction in the best way. Her books always have a way of teaching me something that is both fascinating while horrifying that it actually happened, and keeping me invested in her appealing characters. I did feel like there was a lot of storylines, and I had trouble keeping track of them all at the start, but they quickly came together in the end. If you have enjoyed Wingate’s Before We Were Yours, I think you will love this book!

“Shelterwood” by Lisa Wingate is a dual timeline novel of a harrowing tale of a band orphaned children who are running from men who want to exploit them in 1909 and the women that helped to enact change. It is also about a young Law Enforcement Ranger who works to solve a mystery against all odds.

One of the reasons I absolutely love historical fiction is because it can highlight parts of history that were brushed under the rug or expunged all together in history books. This is one of those books. Wingate crafted two well developed time lines, 1909 and 1990, with their own suspense and mystery, each with well developed characters. Unfortunately it took me awhile to confirm the connection between the two timelines leaving me slightly frustrated through most of the book. This lack of clear connection caused the book to feel sluggish at times because the changes in timeline stopped the flow of the story instead of each pushing it forward independently. Despite this, each story added to the details of the story and in the end, we needed to complete a truly well rounded story.

4 heart-breaking stars

Once again, Lisa Wingate has brought obscure history to light, and her child characters are major parts of the story. Just take a look at the endearing cover.

We start in Oklahoma in 1909, and Olive (Ollie) is plotting a getaway with her 6-year-old Choctaw “sister,” Nessa. They need to get away before Ollie’s stepfather can get his hands on Nessa like he did with her older sister. Ollie wants to escape to the mountains, the Winding Stair area, where she used to camp and live with her parents. The girls struggle with finding food, clothing, shelter, and other perils of the road. Other children in dire straits band together with them.

Ollie is working (to earn a few nickels) when there is a rally for Kate Barnard, a woman lost to history. Kate campaigned for an end to child labor, safer and shorter working conditions for men, corruption around stealing land through becoming guardians to children, and a host of other reforms.

The more modern-day story features a park ranger, Valerie, in 1990 in the same area of Oklahoma. The Horsethief Trail National Park has just been created, and she’s been assigned to the park. She brings along her adorable son, Charlie. The opening is marred by missing hikers, a rockslide, and bones discovered in a cave. Val finds an ally in Curtis, head of the Choctaw Tribal Police.

I loved how the two storylines intertwined, and the ending left me contented!

The author tackles several social issues, including mistreatment of Indians, child labor, corruption, and poverty. It took me a while to get into the story, but I applaud the author for the extensive research that went into this book. Don’t miss her author notes at the end.

I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. Author Lisa Wingate did a fine job blending together two stories: one set in the early 1900s and the other set in the 1990s--both in the same area of Oklahoma. Young Olive Augusta Radley was running away from an abusive stepfather in 1909 Oklahoma. Her story was heartbreaking as she takes in other unfortunate children (some Choctaw) who are also on their own and running from abusive guardians. Wingate details how these children were abandoned, exploited, and left to their own devices to survive. The more modern story concerning Widow Valerie Boren-Odell who is an Oklahoma park ranger as well as a single mother. Val stumbles across some illegal activity going on in the park where she works while looking to start life over with her young son. Ollie's and Val's stories are told via alternating chapters and both characters are quite likeable. The historical aspect was well-researched and the two stories don't come together until the very end of the book for a satisfying conclusion. I think Lisa Wingate has another bestseller to look forward to!

This story was told with dual timelines. I thought the story set in the past was sad. I found the present day story more interesting. Maybe because it had a bit of a mystery to it. I can’t say it’s my favorite of this author’s

This book is great. Super well written and flows nicely. The dual timeline is particularly interesting and I struggled not to do some internet sleuthing about the Winding Stairs region and some of the names in the book because I was afraid I might ruin by digging too deep. I realize that the book is fiction, but there is enough of the history woven in that it’s difficult to separate the two. This book reminded me a bit of Dreamland Burning and The Orphan Train, based on time period and style. I always appreciate a book that teaches me something and leaves me eager to learn more about the history of a place.

Lisa Wingate has such an intense depth with her writing and her characters. I was uncertain what to expect with this book, but it did not disappoint. Sometimes back-and-forth books can be disjointed and hard to follow, but this was well written and the forward and backward of history to present day helped lend to the mood of the story.

We have come such a long way in the treatment of women, children - native peoples. Yet we still have a long way to go. This was not a comfortable read, but it was intriguing and interesting, and it made me think and consider the past and how we move forward. Truth and details as we know them become less clear as time goes by. Thought provoking and a truly interesting story.

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate, author of the best-seller Before We Were Yours, once again mines little-known historical incidents to uncover theft, deception, child abuse, and corruption. In early 1900s Oklahoma, robber barons obtained custody of native children to steal their land. Wingate focuses on two parallel tales in 1909 and 1990, One is told by a child escaping into the southwest Oklahoma woods with her Choctaw stepsister and the other narrated by a National Park Ranger recently assigned to the new park there in 1990. The manipulation and maltreatment of children and the collaboration of government at many levels is compelling, but Wingate oversells and over tells the related stories. She fails to delineate the language and actions reflective of the two periods leaving the narratives somewhat flat. Her research is stellar and fans of historical fiction celebrating women in history will still enjoy reading it.

Lisa Wingate’s Shelterwood explores life for orphaned children in the early nineteen hundreds in Oklahoma. Many of these children were of Choctaw descent and were taken from their homes under false pretenses and lost all they had. Others were treated terribly by family or friends and left to fend for themselves. The story was wrenching and beautiful. Full of sadness but also hope. Definitely worth the read!

A dual timeline narrative takes us to Oklahoma in 1909 and 1990, where two seemingly distinct stories eventually intersect in surprising ways. The historical settings are interesting, although I wished for a bit more emotional impact.

Anything by this author is a must read for me and this was no exception. I love the multiple narrators and her character development is unmatched.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Before We Were Yours was one of my favorite books last year, so I was excited to get an ARC of Shelterwood to read. This story is set in the Winding Stair Mountains in Oklahoma and told through the eyes of Ollie, an 11 year old runaway girl in the early 1900s, and Ranger Valerie Boren-Odell, a new National Park Ranger to the area in 1990. Ollie's story immediately engrossed me. She's a bright girl for her age and realizes that her step-dad is a very bad man after Hazel disappears. Hazel is a Choctaw orphan who was taken in by Ollie's real father before he died. Ollie realizes she must flee with Hazel's young sister, Nessa, if either of them are to survive. Ollie decides to return to her former family home hidden up in the Winding Stair Mountains. Ollie and Nessa's adventures and the unlikely band of orphans they ally with to survive are the true stories behind local urban legends of the elf children.

Ranger Valerie's storyline was unfortunately not as cohesive for me. It really took until over halfway through the book for the storylines to come together for me, making it a bit slow going. I really did enjoy learning the history behind the story and about the women who led the charge in bringing the severe mishandling of so many Choctaw children to light.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Ballantine, and Lisa Wingate for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Shelterwood, coming out 6/4/24.

I think the best part of Shelterwood was the author's note and background information about the Winding Stair Mountains in Oklahoma. I much preferred Ollie and Nessa's journey over Valerie's, however, as the book went on, I felt the girl's misadventures got a bit farfetched. My interest in picking up the book waned over time. The two storylines were just too distant throughout the book and only came together at the very last moment. This wasn't my favorite book from Lisa Wingate, but I think. many readers will find enjoyment from Shelterwood.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for this eARC in exchange for my review. Shelterwood hits shelves on June 4, 2024.

I loved the mysterious atmosphere and the fact that most chapters ended on a cliffhanger, making me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. There were a few side plots, though, that I wish had been fleshed out more, especially in the "past" chapters.

4 🌟

I love a unique historical fiction.

Lisa Wingate does such a great job writing historical fiction books about stories you have never heard before and Shelterwood is no different. I enjoyed the dual time-line of this story and the mystery in this story. Don't forget to read the author's note at the end for more details.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book.