“But one must never believe what can be read in the history books about powerful men. The wealthy have the privilege of writing their own stories as they like”

SHELTERWOOD by Lisa Wingate is a captivating story with dual timelines and narrators.

1909- The reader follows Ollie Auggie’s coming of age journey alongside a gang of orphaned Choctaw children. Her story is perilous and gut-wrenching at times. Ollie and her sister, Nessa, are escaping their wicked stepfather while the Choctaw children have been left orphaned by land hungry men. They create a community and a home in the forest of Oklahoma and name it Shelterwood.

1990 - Valerie is a recently widowed mom and park ranger. She has just taken a chance for a fresh start by moving to Oklahoma for a new job opportunity. Her first case involves bones discovered in a cave nearby. One of the first people she meets is spunky and spirited Sydney who is staying at a foster home because her mother, grandmother, and brother are all missing. Sydney is known to tell tales. Could there be any truth to her stories? There is also the recent discovery of a gravesite of 3 children in a cave nearby as well as an unidentified body found in Val’s jurisdiction.

Wingate does a great job weaving the timelines and characters together to craft a beautiful story based on true events from history.

Shelterwood is a beautifully written novel that takes place in Oklahoma 1909. This is a time period that I have not read about so this era is new to me. The historical fiction is told with a dual time line. That is my favorite genre as you are directly feeling the effects of uses of the “current” or “newer” storyline. Both stories were griping and I couldn’t wait to see how they tied together. I highly recommended this novel.

This book skips from 1909 to 1990 between Ollie, a young girl escaping a harsh stepfather, and Valerie, a National Park Service ranger trying to start life anew. There stories collide with mystery, history, and family.

When it comes to Lisa Wingate books you know you are going to have a heart wrenching story thrown your way. This one was no different.

This story is a dual timeline narrative. One is a story tells the story of native children left to fend for themselves in the early 1900's. The other story is of a National Park Service ranger in the 90's that finds a cave with bones in it, and searches to find answers to whom they belong.

I found the book to be intriguing, but hard to read. Each facet of the story had things that were difficult for me to read about. I also felt the pacing was a bit off, so that made it harder to read.

This is a book that I would definitely recommend looking up that trigger warnings.

Wonderful historical fiction novel. I love fiction novels that go into detail about little known parts of history and this one alternated between that and a modern day story also. Excellent read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy

Shelterwood is a historical fiction novel that focuses on the abuses of children by those who are supposed to protect them. Told in dual timelines, Shelterwood takes place in Oklahoma, in 1909 and 1990.

This book started a bit slow and I wasn’t sure how the two timelines tied in together, but having read a few other novels by Wingate, I knew they would in some way.

Ollie, 11, is the protagonist in 1909 and Valerie, a park ranger, is the protagonist in 1990. Both are relatively smart women who make good decisions and try to be proactive about their respective situations, which is always important because I really can’t stand dumb characters.

Again, the story started slow, but both timelines picked up and each one held enough intrigue and interest that I wasn’t disappointed when I had to switch from Ollie to Valerie. Both story lines were strong enough to hold their own in this novel and I love how they eventually tied in together and wrapped up.

Is this the best Lisa Wingate novel? No, I absolutely loved Before We Were Yours, it remains my favorite by her, but this one is fantastic and a solid four stars.

I have always enjoyed reading Lisa Wingate's books and this was did not disappoint. Weaving a story about true facts gets me every time. I loved the chapters of different years and how the story came together. . You were hoping that things turned out alright for Olive and Valerie.

This book was enjoyable to read and had a lot of depth to it. I have enjoyed other books by her more, but definitely worth my time.

Reviewed on goodreads. I did not enjoy this book nor want to finish it. I love this author but I found the bunch back and forth annoying since nothing happened in the chapters.

A well researched historical fiction set in SE Oklahoma. The timeline bounces between 1909 and 1990. The two storylines tied together in the end, but I felt more engaged by the mystery to be solved in 1990 than I did by the slower pace of the origin story. I think I would have enjoyed the perspective of Alva Grube or Kate Barnard more than I did the kids.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

3.5 stars rounded up
Dual timeline narratives are highly appealing to me. This novel focuses on 1909 and 1990 in Oklahoma. Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger which normally I ours love. However, I frequently found that when I got back to the previous timeline, I had forgotten what was happening. Was it the length of the chapters? Was it my own tired brain? I felt engaged by the characters overall. I appreciated both timelines, but it wasn’t until I was about 70% in that I had a handle on all the characters and their stories. The subject matter is heartbreaking. Ms Wingate uncovers yet another horrid mistreatment of Native American children. I will remember this book for a long time. For those reasons I’m rounding 3.5 stares to four.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @randomhouse for the ARC of Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate. I LOVED Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, so I had high hopes for this one, but I found myself a little bored while reading this one. It was harder for me to stay focused. But the ending was exciting and thrilling. & I loved seeing the dual timelines come together. The history behind this book is so interesting, sad, and honestly shocking.

Some plot points will be disclosed….Shelterwood started off slow for me and gained momentum as I went. I was drawn in to the two storylines of the single mom and her child making a new life in Oklahoma and these poor orphan children at the turn of the century. Sadly, it seemed to come to a head rather quickly and then end. For all the lead up the. Everything was disclosed in a couple chapters, and the connections were not as clear as one would have imagined. I still have questions, where did Grandma Budgie go exactly? How was it possible for a person to commit massive logging in and around a national park with no knowledge? I realize that was partially the point but also, I just can’t imagine that the park rangers would be so fooled by this operation.
The author has said that she fell in to this story by an article she read on the politician Kate Barnard. And that she was inspired by her story of finding “Elf Children” living in a tree. I believe the elf children’s story was told but I’m not sure I’m all that wiser on Kate Barnard, who was the inspiration and the unknown Oaklahoma politician Wingate hoped to highlight.
All this to say Lisa Wingate is a marvellous author Before We were Yours, is incredible. This title didn’t quite capture that magic for me.
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Shelterwood

According to this novel, in the Oklahoma of the early 1900s, the tale was told about elves that lived in trees in the woods. The true story was much more sinister than that. Native Americans were being cheated out of their land by unscrupulous people. Children were abandoned or driven off to starve or survive by foraging in the woods,

In more recent times, the bones of three young girls were found at a National Park in Oklahoma. Valarie, a new park ranger, must investigate. She unravels a fascinating story in this novel which consists of several tales braided together, with a carefully sketched setting, and believable characters.

This is one of the best novels I have read all year. It covers topics that are not usually touched upon with a ring of authenticity. I plan to read more by this author.

Lisa Wingate has an amazing ability to pull on your heartstrings as you read. I am always blown away at her ability to weave a tale (based on true events) into such a strong story.

Told in dual timelines, both stories take place in eastern Oklahoma. The stories gorgeously come together in the end. Beautiful book and eye-opening on events that took place.

This is a stunning story of mystery and more. The parallel stories from 1909 and 1999 flow smoothly, and engage the reader right away. What happened to those three girls whose graves are found in a cave? A young rookie park ranger, Valerie, is faced with that question, and more, when she comes to a new National Park in Oklahoma to begin her new job. She, as well as the other characters in the story, are presented with the many facets of personality that make them real people. I enjoyed meeting them in this engrossing tale.

Thank you NetGalley for this early copy of Shelterwood.
I am somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 star rating and ultimately gave 5 for the sheer research into a topic i should have known about but didn't.
When watching this year the movie Killers of the Flower Moon the outrage and sadness I felt toward the treatment of the Osage people is mirrored in my feelings towards the treatment of the Choctaw and the land rights / land grab. The children who were under "guardianship" left to fend for themselves is heartbreaking.
Lisa Wingate's genius is in writing a story that illuminates but is not a history report. At times there is some information dumping, but that allows the reader to understand better the whys of how this could come to be.
I enjoyed the two narratives set in different time periods with equally strong storylines and main characters. I would become very involved in the one narrative to be then put into the 2nd. For the first line or two I would be mentally rebelling wanting more of the previous until I was caught up again into this second story.
I highly recommend reading this book and her previous titles.

I read Before We Were Yours and learned so much about the children who were taken. This is another story about children and it is heartbreaking but to me it is so important. I appreciate the research this author does into her stories and each one makes me want to do my own research. Can’t wait to read her next book.
Thanks for the advanced cold.

This story took me a little longer to get into than normal, but once I was able to, I didn't want to put it down.
I love books that make me want to look into that time in history, and this one definitely did that. It is a very thought provoking book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a copy if this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. Wingate has a way of finding interesting bits of history and bringing it to life for readers who would not know about it otherwise. In Shelterwood she tells the story of children, primarily Choctaw, who were abused and exploited for their land. And a bit about the woman politician who helped save some of them.
I won't soon forget Ollie and Nessa and their "tribe" of other children living in the forest alone caring for one another as they tried to evade the people who would do them harm. Readers also meet a modern day park ranger trying to build a new life in this same forest, facing some pushback as the only "lady ranger" in the area. Valerie's story unwittingly becomes entangled with the story of the "elf children" as she works to find a missing teen.