In Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate, the intertwining stories of Olive Augusta Radley and Nessa in 1909 Oklahoma and Law Enforcement Ranger Valerie Boren O'dell in 1990 create a compelling narrative that explores themes of resilience, justice, and the enduring impact of historical injustices. Wingate's meticulous research and vivid prose bring to life the struggles faced by these characters as they navigate a world marked by exploitation, betrayal, and the quest for truth. Through alternating timelines, Wingate masterfully crafts a tale of courage, sisterhood, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Shelterwood serves as a powerful reminder of the forgotten histories of Native peoples and the importance of confronting the past to pave the way for a better future.

Many thanks for the complimentary ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and the author/publisher.

Shelterwood is the fascinating story of the orphaned “elf children.” Impeccable research by Lisa Wingate makes for a such an engaging read, and there we so many well-phrased passages that had me stopping to reread them. Bookgroups will love this because there’s so many storylines to discuss. It’s a masterpiece, and it easily earns a spot on my 2024-favorites list!

“Shelterwood” was an auto read for me, Lisa Wingate always knocks it out of the park.

The book follows two timelines, 1909 and 1990. In 1909, Ollie is fighting to survive and help others in the same situation. In 1990, Val is fighting to find the truth of the past and present. When the truth comes out and all the pieces fall together, justice is served for the past and the present.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC!

Huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC (advanced reader copy)! This one hits the shelves in June.

This one lived up to the hope I had for it! Such a great historical fiction novel that looks at the corruption during the early 1900s that resulted in so many children being orphaned and abused. The flip back and forth between that time period and the 1990s was artistically done, and really reflected the connection between the two stories. I highly recommend!

I was privileged to receive an ARC e-book through Netgalley. I really enjoyed reading this story especially with the setting in Oklahoma and some history of women in politics with the priority of protecting children even before women were allowed to vote.

Thank you to Lisa Wingate, NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy of this book.

This is a historical fiction book with a subject matter that is not often covered. This dual time story takes place in 1909 and 1990. In 1990, Valerie is a park ranger, new to Oklahoma after the death of her husband. As she is learning the ropes, she hears a story of three skeletons found on the land, buried in the Choctaw manner. In 1909, we meet Olive and Nessa, who run away from home to get away from an abusive step-father and a mother who is too intoxicated to help. In trying to escape, they meet up with other children who are homeless and on their own. They become a “family” and work to keep each other safe and fed. It’d not until late in the book that these storylines converge in an expected way. We learn the real story of the skeletons and how the “elf” children survived as a family.
Thank you NetGalley and the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this story.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I was so excited when I was approved for Lisa Wingate's new book and could not wait to read it. It did not disappoint and is a WONDERFUL historical fiction story!! Set in Oklahoma, alternating between 1990 and 1909. Valerie started her new job as a park ranger and has a lot going on with her new position as she relocated herself and her son. Olive is dealing with her new stepdad and needs to get away before something happens to her or one of the girls her late father brought home. I learned a lot about a part of history that I never knew. Definitely recommend!!!

Shelterwood is Lisa Wingate’s newest novel to uncover the tragic stories of children on the fringe of their societies. This time, she tells the story of orphans who are cheated out of their family lands by the adults charged to raise them in the 1900s in Oklahoma. Hazel, Olive, and Nessa become a part of the “elf children” when they leave Olive’s home to escape abuse by their caregivers. Olive is a strong, young heroine reminiscent of some of the best young narrators in American classic novels. She perseveres in spite of human, natural, and social boulders that make her life harder that it should be. In alternating chapters, ninety years apart, Val, a ranger with the park service, must make sense of unexplained events and a young girl whose wild tales make that difficult. At the same time, Val is raising her young son and coming to terms with the grief of losing her husband in a park accident. Wingate ‘s characters are sympathetically and realistically presented, and the readers will remember them and the actual events upon which the novel is based.

Shel-ter-wood (noun)
 
Mature trees left standing to provide shelter in which saplings can grow (The New Oxford American Dictionary)
 
As with the one other novel I read by Lisa Wingate, I knew she was going to share a piece of history, and this story was no exception. This story follows two timelines, one in 1909 and the other in 1990. From the beginning, you can start to see the author weave the threads of these two timelines together. Wingate does a wonderful job of incorporating legend smoothly into her storytelling.
 
In 1909, Olive (“Ollie”) Radley knew her stepfather wasn’t a good person. Her adoptive sister, Nessa, a member of the Choctaw tribe, is going to meet a fate no six-year-old should have to bear, unless they run away. You follow their journey through towns, woods and to the Winding Stairs where Olive grew up. If she can only get them home, she thinks they will be safe. This timeline is heavily influenced by real-life political activist, Kate Bernard, and her fight for the women’s suffrage movement, child labor laws and returning land stolen from indigenous tribes.
 
In 1990, we follow Valerie (“Val”), a park law enforcement officer, as she transferred to Horses Creek National Park during a time when it wasn’t considered an acceptable career for a woman. Where a female park ranger faced an even larger uphill battle against good ole boy politics that women face till this very day.
 
The characters really shined through and helped move the occasionally slow progression of the plot. My favorite character was Ollie. At just 11, Ollie is tenacious and loyal to a fault. Her desire to protect her younger sister against all odds is heartwarming, and everything a mother wishes to see her children be to each other.
 
I have never highlighted so many passages in a book. There were just so many quotes that spoke to my soul. Wingate never fails to paint a full picture with her words.

Shelterwood tells the story of Ollie and her adopted Choctaw sister Nessa who escape Ollie's pernicious stepfather, making their way through a world that cares little for orphans or natives. Told in dual timeline, the novel toggles between 1909 and 1990 when new park ranger, Valerie, is faced with a missing local teenager and a legend about children's skeletons in a cave. The author skillfully braids these two timelines together in an ending that is both satisfying and enlightening. I gained a new hero in Kate Barnard, the first women elected to public office in Oklahoma. I can't believe I had never heard of this woman but she was a fierce advocate for orphans and native American children who fell prey to land grafters. What a force!


I've come to appreciate Lisa Wingate as an author who gives voice to the stories of powerless children lost to history. She is a thorough researcher and her ability to weave a gentle story from heart-rending facts leaves me in awe. Really loved this one and can't wait to see it on shelves!

I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for allowing me to read and review Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate. She is best known for Before We Were Yours.
“Shelterwood is an obscure forestry term for older, larger trees that protect the smaller, younger growth beneath.”
The book takes place in Oklahoma and alternates chapters between 1909 and 1990. Indian nations, specifically Choctaw in this book, are being cheated out of their land!
A new ranger to the area, a woman, gets involved and sets out to find out more about the bones of 3 young children found in the park area. Reports of a missing teen also causes her concern.
When will the time periods merge? What is the connection?
Shelterwood publishes 06/04/2024.

Good historical book. Set in Oklahoma in 1909 when children were treated poorly and Indian nation property was taken by wealthy men for oil, trees, etc. Orphaned children who escaped and lived in forests were called elves. The injustices were brought to light in 1920s by Kate Barnard and the Women’s Society. Then the book forwards to 1990 where a young widowed woman takes a job as a Forest ranger and discovers missing person, abandoned girl, issues in the dept. The book goes back and forth between the two time periods and brings the story together at the end..

Well written and easy to follow the two story lines.

There are so many things that I love about Lisa Wingate's new novel - the title and how the title was derived; Wingate's extensive research and knowledge of the Choctaw, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service; and her beautiful, smooth, flowing description of the land, surroundings, and nature.

Lisa's previous novel, Before We Were Yours, will always remain one of my all-time favorite historical fiction novels, and it is still one that I recommend to book club members and students. Shelterwood is formatted like Before We Were Yours, and that is probably one of the indicators of my favorite historical novels. In both, the reader is going to be taken from a more present time to one in the past, and those two time periods will be intertwined to help solve a mystery.

In Shelterwood, as the reader, you will continually find yourself in Oklahoma of 1909 when land barons are hungry to take over acres that are rightfully Choctaw's children's land to 1990 when a fictional, new national park has just opened. In 1909, the reader encounters the "elf children" - the orphaned Choctaw children who are roaming the land, scrambling to survive. In 1990, the reader is presented with missing persons, mysteriously disappearing burial remains, a unexplainable rock slide in the park, a drowned John Doe, and an injured forest ranger.

Upon completing the novel last night, my thoughts were thank goodness that Wingate grew up in Oklahoma and wanted to delve into its history of opportunistic grifters, land hungry barons, salivating oil companies, and greedy timber companies in order to weave this beautiful story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the opportunity to not only read this ARC, but also to broaden my knowledge of some aspects of nearly hidden American history.

This book takes place in two time periods; the 1990’s and the early 1900’s. A National Parks Ranger solves the mystery of forgotten bones found in a cave and uncovers illegal activites taking place in the park. We also follow mistreated orphans and children whose land is being stolen during the early 1900’s. This is a historical novel with strong women leaders including non-fictional Kate Barnet. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about that time period in Oklahoma.

I received an ARC of Shelterwood. I was a big fan of Before We Were Yours, so I jumped at the opportunity to read Lisa Wingate's new book Shelterwood. Shelterwood jumps from two timelines and focuses on the plight of orphan Native American children in the early 20th century. The earlier timeline focuses is told by one of these children, and the later timeline is told by a park ranger in the 1990s. I was not familiar with this part of history, so it was interesting and saddening to learn about it. I liked how the two storylines came together, though they didn't really do so toward the end. I did feel that the later timeline's "mystery" was a little convoluted and not-so-believable. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Lisa Wingate, Random House Publishing, and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Once again, Lisa Wingate brings to light a tragic part of history that I’ve heard very little about. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to think of children abandoned and trying to survive on their own, eating scraps found in the trash.

I liked Ollie immensely—she was a wonderful character and she came to life in this story.

I enjoyed hearing about Kate, and how she helped the children.

I liked Ranger Valerie, although it took a little longer to warm up to her. I was cheering her on, by the end. Sydney and Charlie add a lot of charm, too. Lisa Wingate has a gift for writing about children!

Oklahoma is not a state I consider beautiful, but now I’m interested in learning more about its Southeast corner, and Winding Stair Mountain.

I do have a question for Ms. Wingate: Are there ANY good white men in this story besides the ranger who was injured in the fall? I didn’t even like Dewey.

Thank you to the publishers at NetGalley for the advanced reader copy to review.

This is a story in two time periods that reveals the treatment of Native Americans in 1909 and the life of a female park ranger in 1990. The two stories link together when the ranger is shown the bones of three children in a cave, that the park department doesn't want publicized. The treatment of orphans in 1909 was terrible and at times their plight was hard to read. Thank you Net Galley for the copy of this book.

I absolutely loved "Before we were yours" by Lisa and was so excited to receive this ARC of "Shelterwood". I wanted to love it just as much, but I felt like the book dragged in so many places and took me awhile to get through. The book goes back and forth between 1909 when Olive and Nessa fled their abusive stepdad and had to live on their own in the woods with other children, fast forward to 1990 with brand new Ranger Valerie starts working at the National park that was once their home. When Valerie finds a burial site of 3 children, she starts to go on a quest to find out who they are.

The ending was my favorite part, but this wasn't her best for me.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an honest review. This is an interesting story , based on facts and real people , about the mistreatment of Indians in Oklahoma in the early 1900’s . The US government misappropriated their money thru the corrupt probate court system . The Indian children’s land and mineral rights were taken away from them and unscrupulous guardians were in charge of the children from the 5 tribes in the area. I learned a lot about America in the early 1900’s and the control over the innocent orphan children . The chapters alternate between Oklahoma, 1990 and Oklahoma, 1909. Hazel (13) and Nessa (6) were orphaned Choctaw children in 1909. Ollie (11) had an evil stepfather and a mother who was stoned on opium powders. The “elf” children were runaway Indian children who lived. In the woods and surveyed any way possible. In 1990, in Talihina, Oklahoma, a young single mother accepted a job as a park ranger in the new Horsethief Trail National Park in the Winding Stair Mountains. The two time periods seem unrelated until the last chapter when the stories merge. The story was a little confusing with so many characters.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a sweeping novel inspired by the untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children caught in the storm of land barons hungry for power and oil wealth.


Oklahoma 1909: Olive’s story. Running seems the only answer to the problem in Olive's mind. She knows her step father is going to do something bad to the two Choctaw girls boarding as wards.

When the older one disappears, Olive runs. And she takes a six-year-old Nessa with her. They will begin a journey to the Winding Stair Mountains, a no-mans land of outlaws and bad people.

Along the way they meet others like them. In a land of greed, oil, and men behaving badly, they bad together and try to stay alive.

We skip to Oklahoma in 1990 and the new law enforcement ranger, Valerie, arrived at her new post with her son. And right away you know things are not going to go smoothly.

People don’t want this park here. But, why? Valerie finds an ally in one of the Choctaw Tribal Police and they will find heartbreaking things.

This is a heartbreaking story, much like Before We Were Yours. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

NetGalley/ RHPG/ Ballentine June 04, 2024