Lisa Wingate is always worth the read, interspersing time periods and perspectives to shed light on lesser known issues in history and driving home the humanity to those who had atrocities committed against them.

Shelterwood focuses on a young girl surviving on her own in the early 1900s with her made family of Native American children and a park ranger confronting continued injustices in the 1990s.

I always appreciate Wingate’s research and passion in her projects. Shelterwood is another well written novel. I didn’t find myself as lost in the story as in her other writings but would still recommend it for her fans or any reader of historical fiction.

Dual time-line story about a female law enforcement ranger in the 1990s investigating the disappearance of a teen, and a young girl in the early 1900s a young girl fleeing with her adopted sister from her their abusive stepfather. The two stories carry the common theme of exploitation of Native Americans and their lands. The history behind the story was interesting, but the plots seemed to bog down for me in too much detail. Still a worthwhile read.

Slow and draggy for at least two thirds of the book, it became an effort to finish reading, which I would not have done had I not promised to write a review. I expected more from Lisa Wingate, an author whose previous books I’ve enjoyed and whose future books I will read.
Set in Oklahoma in two timelines, the very dawn of the 20th century and again in 1990, the two separate stories felt extremely disjointed and made for difficult reading. Eventually , far into the book, things came together but I had already tired of working so hard to finish and found myself merely speed reading until the end.
The topic is an important one, revealing the lives of Native American children, and the greedy land grabbers around them. When remains of three young children are unearthed in 1990, an investigation into the past uncovers a horrifying history. Sounds important. Sounds compelling. Yet it was a chore to read. . I so wanted to like this better but I promised an honest review. Two measly stars for a book I plodded through with no enthusiasm. My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine books for gifting me an advance readers copy. Publication date is April 10, 2024.

I’ve enjoyed Lisa’s previous “Before We Were Yours”, but I just couldn’t get into this one. It was a bit slow and I found myself only wanting to read the present chapters and skim over the past ones. Definitely interesting subject, but unfortunately I couldn’t get into it enough to hold my attention.

So disappointed because I loved her last book, but this one never held my attention. It was very slow and the characters were one dimensional. The parts set in the present were a bit better than the historical flashbacks, but overall, a disappointing read.

I started Shelterwood on a trip and I was immediately hooked!! Like other Lisa Wingate books there were dual story lines in this book, with Ollie's part set in 1909 and Ranger Val in 1900 all in the Winding Stair Mountains. In this case, the book and dual narratives started to get a bit confusing after the first half of the book but did come together in the end.
Ollie's story focused on escaping her terrible stepfather with her adopted Choctaw "sister" after her older adopted sister goes missing. She bands together with other abandoned kids and orphans to try to escape the harsh realities of their lives to create a child-run idyllic town Shelterwood. The shelterwood trees protect the smaller younger trees, and you saw that in the group of kids with the older kids helping to support the youngest.
Ranger Val is new to the Winding Stair area, after being widowed at a young age with a young child. She struggles but is excited for the opportunity to regrow and have adventures in the National Park where she is a ranger. Val's storyline in the second half of the book until before the end started to get a bit confusing to see how it related to Ollie, which is why I deducted 1 star.

Another wonderful story from Lisa Wingate! I love how she always seamlessly blends past and present, showing how they are intertwined. I would like to say I loved this story, but that’s hard to say when something breaks your heart. But it was a terrific read and brings attention to many things that happened in American history. I will forever remember Ollie, Nessa, and the other “elf children.”

Shelterwood is one of the best dual-timeline historical fiction novels I've read in a long time. Wingate's storytelling hooked me from the start, and I became heavily invested in the little girls' plight in the historical timeline. I also loved the modern (1990s) National Park Service Ranger storyline. So, who will enjoy this novel?
-If Killers of the Flower Moon absorbed you, Shelterwood will take you back to that horrific period in Oklahoma history.
-If you love National Parks and the rangers who support them, you'll enjoy the modern storyline. For a short while, I was trying to figure out if I missed the designation of a new park. Nope, it's fictitious—but just as impressive as our real-life parks.
-If you enjoy historical fiction and you're seeking stories from underrepresented eras, you'll enjoy this book.
-If you are looking for good book club discussion fodder, you'll find it in this book.
-If you are already a fan of Lisa Wingate (Before We Were Yours), you will surely like this book - I predict even more.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for a review.

Trigger warnings: child neglect and abuse - pervasive.

I really enjoyed Lisa Wingate's other novels, but this one was a struggle for me. It felt very predictable and I could tell where the story was going to go. Typically, her work teaches me about an aspect of American history that I am not familiar with. This felt like it was drifting so much between the two storylines with characters and subplots being lost in the wind. I do appreciate the ARC from NetGalley and Random House but this was definitely not the book for me.

I rate this book 3.5 stars rounded up. There are 2 timelines, 1905 and 1990. The book had a slow start but did improve about halfway in. The 1905 timeline is about 3 orphans living in the forest of Southeastern Oklahoma to escape an abusive stepfather. The second timeline takes place in 1990, also in SE Oklahoma. The author has created a fictitious National Park, Horsethief Trail NP. There is a Horsethief Trail in the Cedar Lake National Recreation Area, (SE Oklahoma). The author explains that she grew up in this part of Oklahoma and she wanted to talk about National Park Rangers in her book.
The 1990 timeline follows a NP Ranger, Valerie Boren-Odell, as she tries to unravel the mystery of the skeletons of 3 children found in the Park, against the direct order of her boss. The two timelines do connect in the end, with a satisfactory ending.
Thanks to Vanessa Duque at Random House Group for sending me this eARC.
#Shelterwood #NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 04 2024

Set in the Winding Stair Mountains of Oklahoma and told with alternating timelines of 1990 and 1909, Wingate’s newest historical fiction tells the story of the injustices done to the young children in the area.

In 1909, young Ollie runs away with her little sister Nessie after their third sister goes missing. Fearing their evil stepfather, the girls travel through the forest into the Winding Stair Mountains where they encounter other orphans. The group of resourceful children learn to survive and work together. In 1990, single mother Val is a new national park ranger in Oklahoma hoping for a quiet life for her son. Encountering discrimination in the workforce and from the townspeople, Val faces challenges in her first case of a missing teen.

Wingate uses her expert storytelling skills and compassion to achieve a heartbreaking story that deserves to be told. The author incorporates Choctaw history into the missing teen story. The reader will learn about this time in history while being transported into the story.

I typically love historical fiction of all kinds, but this one just didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if it was the time period, the characters, the story line (or really, lack thereof). There wasn't much that happened in the story and overall, not much connection formed with any of the characters, either. I was bummed out about this because I've heard amazing things about Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours, so I was excited to read one of her books when my ARC was approved. I could have easily DNF'd this book and wouldn't have been left with any longing to find out what happened with the storyline or characters. Thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review. #Shelterwood

This is an emotional book about the lives of young Native Americans who were sorely mistreated by white Americans. I have read several books by Lisa Wingate and this one is another winner. The author points out the injustices that occurred in an earlier time of the USA history. It is heartbreaking.

I am a big fan of Lisa Wingate and loved the historical fiction "Before We Were Yours". She brings unknown or little known historical events to life. I also love that she frequently uses a dual timeline to tell her story. It's very effective in historical fiction.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Set in two time periods, I enjoyed the strong female characters and their development in both. A great way to learn some history with a compelling pair of stories.

Shelterwood is the third book I have read by Lisa Wingate. I was excited to get an ARC of this book because I thoroughly enjoyed Before We Were yours and The Book of Lost Friends. Unfortunately I did not feel the same about this book. I found myself drifting while reading this and not wanting to continue. The two timelines did not work together for me, I couldn’t connect to the characters and I felt like the story went off on too many different tangents. I kept loosing the main point of the story. This being said many people enjoyed this book so I encourage people to give it a try if you have enjoyed Wingate’s other books.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a excellent historical story well crafted by the author to capture every readers imagination. Thank you to the publisher, to Net Galley and to the author for providing this ARC for review. My review opinions are my own.

I was intriqued with this story from the beginning to end. The author has a talent for building the story to her readers that keeps you turning pages into the night. This is told in dualing timelines which adds to the suspense and richly defines each story.

The location is the Winding Stair Mountains in Oklahoma. The site of much Choctaw death and abuse of the time. Families were torn apart when children were stolen from their Native American parents. In 1909 a six year old Choctaw foster child needs to save herself by running from her evil stepfather. The families eleven year old goes with her for a life on the run . They live in the wild and learn to survive. Soon they meet other children that are Choctaw who escaped abuse from forced living situations. This is history that this reader did not know and is heartbreaking how many children were forced from their parents into foster care as slaves and suffered abuse.

The secondary story is placed In 1990. A park ranger who is a new widow wants a new uneventful life for her son in the area. Her life takes a interesting turn when she becomes involved in their story unknowing that the history is long covered up. She is determined to discover why three children bodies were found and what their backgrounds were.

This is a fascinatiing read.. The author writes with compassion for her subjects and intriques the reader with the build up of their story. I loved the bravado of the children and how they managed to survive in wild lands. They deserve to have their story told and the author tells it brillantly with such compassion for the children and their lives. A excellent 5 star read that I highly recommend to all that enjoy dual timelines in historical fiction. Well done to the author,

The author does a beautiful job describing the Oklahoma mountains and history. I definitely want to explore the area! The book was written in a dual timeline format, sometimes feeling choppy. I could easily see this as two separate books - the struggles and adventures of the elf children and a park ranger and her son finding a home and exciting career in Oklahoma mountains. I loved learning about the courageous women that impacted Oklahoma history and politics.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC.

Lisa Wingate is such an amazing author who meticulously researches the topics and time periods she writes about. While this took a little longer to get into, it really was a great story.

Full RTC!

This was a free NetGalley book.

I had high hopes for this book as Lisa Wingate is a wonderful writer however this book didn’t quite live up to expectations.

It started off well and immediately captured my attention. It begins by talking about three little girls, two of whom are Choctaw and one who is a biological daughter of a mother who has become addicted to opium.

Olive, the biological daughter has lost her father and her mother has remarried an evil man. The man is (hinted at never said) sexually abusing the Choctaw girls so Olive decides to runaway to protect them after one of them goes missing. Olive assumes she’s been killed by her stepfather.

Olive takes the girl who has become her sister and they run. They encounter one thing after another. Finding children hidden in the woods in Oklahoma who are called the elves. All are Choctaw kids who have been stolen by the government and their land is being stolen.

Interwoven into this story is another story that takes place in the 90s of a park ranger who has lost her husband and comes to OK to start over. This is where the book became confusing because it was jumping between the two stories. It would finish a chapter with a cliff hanger and you’d jump to a different time period and come back and the cliff hanger may not be answered.

There were so many characters that it became extremely confusing. In the end it is all ties together and makes sense but still was left feeling like I wanted to know more.