Wow! I'm blown away by this book. It is difficult to read, but despite the moments of sadness, there is hope.

I already have high respect for those who work to make others safe. This book made my appreciation for them all grow by leaps and bounds.

The elf children's story broke my heart. Ollie, Nessa, Tula, and the others are such strong children. They are inventive and creative. They form their own little family and make a home.

I appreciate the amount of research that Lisa Wingate does for her books. She inspires me to investigate historical facts. Her author's note is very interesting!

I was provided a copy of the book from Ballantine Books, Random House via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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 fan our park system I really enjoyed how the land/park became a character in the book and enjoyed seeing how these interwoven stories revealed their secret connections.
Thank you to NetGalley & RandomHouse Ballantine books for the advanced reader copy.

This captivating story masterfully unfolds across dual timelines (1909 & 1990), chronicling the journeys of Ollie and Val as they strive to right the wrongs done to orphaned children, predominantly of Choctaw descent. These children, abandoned in the woods by those meant to protect them, had their lands unjustly taken. The narrative sheds light on a lesser-known, yet significant, historical injustice, emphasizing the need for broader awareness. This book serves as an important medium for bringing this overlooked chapter of history to the forefront, and for that, it is highly commendable.

Lisa Wingate’s books are always must reads for me. “Shelterwood” was no different. I had to take a day or two, and get my thoughts in order before I decided to review. It was an emotional journey dealing with a very real historical tarnish on America. The mistreatment of Native American children in order to gain land rights and oil access. The research was phenomenal, and the writing beautiful. I enjoyed the dual timelines, although sometimes it got a bit confusing. Olive in 1909 Oklahoma and Valerie in 1990 Oklahoma were amazing characters and I am sad that the book is over. 5/5 ⭐️ Thank you Lisa Wingate, Netgalley, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books.

Shelterwood is the story of the lost children of the Oklahoma Choctaw tribe in 1909. Left to fend for themselves in the forest, the children represent the atrocities Native Americans faced. Told in two perspectives in two time periods (1909 and 1990) by eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley, whose father took in two Chocktaw girls and Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell, who is trying to make a new life for her eight-year-old son, this story is emotional. Lisa Wingate provides a voice to the "lost" children in Oklahoma and of their fierce advocates.

I picked this book because I grew up a stone's throw away from Oklahoma and I know some of the state history. It was an intriguing premise, but its also sad and very dense. Dual timelines can be done really well and usually I have no problem with them, but I struggled to stay involved with this one. Moving between the times was very rough. It felt like it dragged on when lots could have been cut out and move faster.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another awesome Lisa Wingate book!
I finished this wonderful historical novel in one evening! So very good.
I didn't want it to end at all!
Some twists and turns that I didn't like or see coming down the pike but they are what kept me turning the pages
The cover is gorgeous and gives our minds a great imaginative picture of what this place might be like.
The cover made me feel like I was there with the girls.
I loved that the timeline that was written without missing a beat between the two girls Ollie and Nessa along with Ranger Valerie. I really liked this Ranger who seemed to have the girls' best interests at heart.
Sometimes people can't see what's right in front of them until it's almost too late.
I will be adding this to my 2024 list of favorites of the year so far.
5 stars for a job well done. I highly recommend.
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This easily made its way to my all-time favorites list! My first Lisa Wingate experience, but certainly not my last! This was so good. The writing was beautiful, the history was rich, and I could not put it down. Each chapter left me wanting more and kept me on the edge of my seat with anticipation. I didn't want to leave the pages of this book.
Thank you, NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Ballentine Books, for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

What a book! Based on fact, these elf children lived in the wild in Oklahoma, in reality they had wealth behind them that shady men were trying to steal. In so many cases, these children weren’t even aware of the wealth they owned. This book was fascinating, historic, and definitely one I could not put down. Thank you to Lisa Wingate for writing such an incredible book, a book filled with historic facts that I was not familiar with. This is a must read by every person who lives in the United States.

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate is historical fiction masterpiece and it captured my attention from chapter one.
Written in dual timelines telling the story of Ollie Auggie (1909) and Val (1990) as they seek to make justice happen for the (elf) orphan children (mostly Choctaw) that live(d) in the woods while folks who were supposed to be their wards stole their land and left them to fend for themselves.
"Shelterwood— once a community of children lived in these woods, and they fished and gathered wild foods and played and learned. And this is why they did it: Because they had no one to save them, and so they had to save themselves. People called them elves, as if they were spirits or myths, but they were just children."

In 1990, a gruesome discovery leads to a massive cover-up and information about the discovery must be investigated!!
With the release of the movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Shelterwood resonates of things that are just taken away from native people\children without any thought of what happens to them.

With meticulous research by the author we learn about this disturbing part of history. I learned so much and really enjoyed this story.

This book releases in June so be sure to add it to your tbr list.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House publishing for the ARC ebook of Shelterwood in exchange for an honest review.

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC ebook of Shelterwood

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I have read a few of Lisa Wingate’s books and this is also a good read, even though I enjoyed others more. At the heart of this story are two young sisters, Olive and Nessa, who escape abuse and find themselves in the wilderness of the Winding Stair Mountains in 1909. Olive refuses to be broken down by all the challenges they encounter on their own and she will protect her sister Nessa at all costs. They encounter other children, of whom many are orphans left to fend for themselves also.

The story weaves back and forth between Olive and Nessa in 1909 and Ranger Valerie Borden O’Dell in 1990. Ranger Valerie unearths long-buried secrets along a trail in a national park. She has to unravel the corruption and lies from decades ago.

We learn of the many injustices that were done to Native people of the land and the losses they faced. Lisa Wingate always does a fine job of ensuring that voices from the past are finally heard and their stories told.

Wingate does a stellar job of weaving together the story of a band of children in the early 1900's scratching out a living in the wilderness to escape abusive homes, and a recently-widowed, single-parent park ranger investigating the disappearance of a young man almost a century later. Ollie, the protagonist in the earlier part of the story, is fierce, protective, and wily. She brings to mind similar characters such as Mattie Ross in "True Grit", and Idgie Threadgood in Fannie Flagg's "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe."
Any working woman will identify with park ranger Valerie, the protagonist in the latter part of the story, struggling to prove herself in a male-dominated field, while trying to balance her personal life and her job.
At the crux of the story is the passing of the Dawes Act in 1887 which allowed non-tribal members to own property on Indigenous land. Timber magnates and oil companies snatched up swathes of land at great cost to those who formerly made it home.
As a personal aside, I happen to have been able to buy a home on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation because of the passing of the Dawes Act, which made the story especially pertinent to me.

I remember how impressed I was upon reading "Before We Were Yours" and Lisa Wingate has written an historical novel at least as good. "Shelterwood" weaves the distressing stories of Indian children taken advantage of, mistreated, killed, and conned, with the beauty of an Oklahoma national park and the ranger who is desperate to protect it. Ranger Valerie accidentally uncovers a mystery, one that grows in its magnitude and significance with every chapter. I am reminded of Nevada Barr's park ranger protagonist, Anna Pigeon, whose life baggage follows her from one national park to another. Val has a troubled past that accompanies her and her young son who are searching for a new home and roots. But the mysteries that need solving and the souls that need saving take precedence over comfort, puppies, and possible new relationships. "Shelterwood" is very well researched and one can feel, on every page, how much this history means to Wingate. Though the events are horrid, there is so much love and devotion between characters past and present. I love how the individual stories intertwine and how they connect history to modern times. This is a most satisfying read!

Lisa Wingate writes lovely, evocative stories, and Shelterwood does not disappoint. I was gripped by the shock of knowing that she didn't make all this stuff up, that the suffering she describes really did happen, and in her author's note she explains what inspired her to write this. Despite the sad details, it is not a depressing story, and that takes a gift, that this author uses even the black threads to make something beautiful. The ending is realistic but satisfying. Recommended!

I was so excited to read another Lisa Wingate book! She does a wonderful job of bringing parts of history that aren't well known to light. The story is told in 2 timelines, 1909 and 1990. One is told from the perspective of Ollie, who's 11, and she's on the run with Nessa, age 6. Ollie runs away with Nessa in order to get her away from their step-father. In the time their running away, they encounter people who try to help them and people who try to hurt them. The other timeline is told from the perspective of Valerie and single mom and law enforcement park ranger. The stories run parallel to each other. I admired the bravery of Ollie and Nessa and the other children just like them. I highly recommend reading this one!

Thank you to Lisa Wingate and Netgalley.com for allowing me to read this ARC

Once again, Lisa Wingate introduces us to a time in our country that I had no idea about. Explores critical social and economic issues, public policy, political corruption - and does it using characters that tug on our hearts. Highly recommend!

This book is a study in the resilience of children when they have no resources other than themselves. Told in split time periods, this story tells of children who have escaped abusive situations and are left on their own to forage, steal, manipulate, and struggle to find even the barest necessities of life such as food and shelter. Without malice or wrong intentions, these children are forced to do what they must to get by. One of the children dreams of a place called Shelterwood that can be a utopian sort of community for her and others when they grow up and she strives to take care of the other children in the same situation. This is a very different kind of historical fiction that will grab your heart in empathy for these unattached children. Thank you to NetGalley for a heart gripping and educational advance read copy.

Loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. Very well written. The storyline was easy to follow, but not predictable. It had some twists that I was not expecting.

This was a well-researched novel. At times, the narrative was long-winded, and I found almost every transition between the two timelines incredibly abrupt (I read a lot of dual timeline novels and I don't typically feel this way). Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel. While I'm glad I did read it, this one did fall flatter than I had hoped (for me personally. The story was great).

A mesmerizing tale masterfully told, based on authentic history, with a mystery.
This dual timeline story set in southwestern Oklahoma, swings between 1909 and 1990, featuring some real people and tragic events affecting the lives of children, particularly Native Americans. The mystery is solved as the timelines connect and the truth is finally revealed. I loved the ending and learned so much about this little known history. The author's in-depth, well-researched story draws attention to some brave women, particularly Kate Barnard, who championed the cause of orphans and neglected children in the early 1900's. It was both sad and inspiring.
Terrific read from start to finish. Highly recommend! 5 stars