Lisa Wingate has a way with writing about heartbreaking circumstances. She made this book feel so real. Shelterwood alternates between 1909 and 1990 and flawlessly weaves the characters until the stories come together. In 1909, a group of young children find themselves having to survive on their own under bleak conditions. In 1990, A woman coming to terms with her own terrible situation, uncovers a story that needs to be told. Everything comes to a satisfying conclusion. I feel like Lisa can't resist adding a hint of romance but it's definitely not the main focus and didn't take away from the main plot. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read Shelterwood.

This book alternated between the story of children exploited in the Winding Stair Mountain region of Oklahoma in the early 1900s and the story of a female US Dept. of Parks law enforcement officer in the same region during the 1990s. The voices of the characters were interesting and believable. The story was very engaging and interesting. The author’s research was extensive and her notes were very helpful in understanding the background. I was enthralled by both stories!

I loved the history in this book, and am grateful to know it. Between this and "Killers of the Flower Moon," I went from knowing nothing to quite a few things about the stealing of land in Oklahoma from tribal communities. This book reminded me of a mix of "Killers of the Flower Moon" and a season of "Fargo," and while I enjoyed that combination, sometimes the dual timeline felt a bit jarring, jumping both too quickly but also taking a long time to get going. It really picked up in the last quarter of the book, but I found the last 10% to be a bit pat in terms of tying things up neatly and somewhat sentimentally. Still, these stories are important, and they're not just historical--such things are ongoing today.

Beautifully written novel of Native American life in the early 1900's. Highlights the difficulty of children especially and how they were used and poorly treated. This is a history that I have never learned about before but is very important. Told in a very moving way.

Awesome Book!!! Could not put it down. I felt as I was actually there with the characters in the book. My heart went out to the terrible treatment of these children by their guardians..

Lisa Wingate is a popular author at my small public library and her books are often chosen by our (multiple) book clubs. This one looks like it will be just as appealing

I have read Lisa WIngate's books before and I have enjoyed them. This one not so much. The story takes place in Oklahoma with dual storylines set in the present and the early 1900's. In the past, the reader meets young children who are fending for themselves; in the present, a Park Ranger who has relocated to Oklahoma with her young son. The discovery of burial site of three children brings these two storylines together. I found myself reading this quickly just to get to the end. I will not be recommending this book.

Lisa Wingate does a fantastic job bringing a little-known piece of history to life. Jumping between the early 1900s and the 1990s, she creates female characters who are confident and brave in their own time periods. In my high school library, I will recommend this to mature readers (not necessarily mature for content, but mature in the sense that they can push through a slow start to see the value in a carefully woven tale rather than just needing the plot to move and keep their attention) who are interested in historical fiction.

I loved Before We Were Yours, so when I saw Lisa Wingate had a new book coming out, I was very excited to read it. Reading the synopsis of the book left me intrigued.

This story is told in alternating timelines. Ollie’s tale falls in 1909 and Valerie’s in 1990. I was quickly engrossed in both story lines. As they alternated, it felt like a series of mini cliffhangers, but I wanted to know what happened in both. Wingate has a way of writing that helps you relate to the characters. I appreciate the research she did to write this story and share things that are not talked about a lot. I enjoyed this book from start to finish and it left me contemplating even after I finished it. I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House—I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Besides being a great historical fiction novel, this story has wonderful characters that I grew attached to and wanted good things to happen for them. Told in dual timelines, which worked very well for this tale, the history part in early 1900s Oklahoma is well researched and at times heartbreaking. The author creates a plausible ending to draw that early time period into the more current one of the 1990s. Along the way, she creates beautiful word pictures of the mountains and rivers of SE Oklahoma. I guess I just wanted a little more action in both timelines as it was slow going through several parts.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this title. This historical fiction alternates time with each chapter. Ollie is a preteen living with her mother and abusive stepfather in the early 1900s. When one of her foster sisters disappears, she and her other foster sister flee. They meet up with other "elf children" (orphans) in the wilds of Oklahoma in their quest to reach a cabin in the mountains where Ollie lived with her family before her father died. The parallel story involves a federal park ranger, Valerie, who is charged with protecting and enforcing law in this same area of Oklahoma in 1990. Valerie is faced with mysteries on the mountain, and Ollie is faced with difficult obstacles not even an adult should have to face. As their stories mesh together, the abuse of native children by land grabbers in order to steal the riches that land produces/ed becomes evident as much in modern times as the early 20th Century. Wingate seamlessly weaves these stories together, and highlights another sad chapter in American History.

I have enjoyed several of Lisa Wingate's books in the past, but I had a hard time connecting with this book. It takes place in Oklahoma, and is told in two time periods, 1909 and 1990. I had trouble keeping up with the earlier timeline and connecting it to the present one. Valerie's story, told in 1990, resonated with me more and captured my attention more than Ollie and Nessa's. Overall, this book might be enjoyable for some people, but it just wasn't a favorite for me.

I have read many of Lisa Wingate's novels and I have to say that Shelterwood is now a favorite.
This historical fiction is a duel timeline between 1909 & 1990. It is easy to follow, engaging and enlightening. Lisa Wingate
connects them flawlessly in the end.
I am in awe of the research that the author does to bring it all together. I am always learning something new.
I highly recommend Shelterwood.
Thank you NetGalley & Random House- Ballentine Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine and Lisa Wingate for the advanced reader copy of Shelterwood!

This book comes out June 4th, 2024…4 stars for me!!

As in Lisa Wingate style, this book started out slow so that the storyline could be set up. It was told in a dual timeline through Olive Augusta Peele (1909) and Valerie Boren-Odell (1990), both in Oklahoma.

Olive Augusta Peele (Ollie Auggie; Hazel) is a runaway. She seems to know that the disappearance of her Choctaw ‘adopted sister’ (loose on adoption), Hazel, went missing because of her stepfather. So, she knows that she needs to get herself and Nessa as far away as possible. Her momma is so deep in the drink and powders after her real pa died that she can’t help them. Olive has a plan to get them to the old homestead in the Winding Stair Mountains. Along the way they would acquire more like them; hungry children, living in the woods and alone. Together they would create a community and ALL make it to Winding Stair, where her pa had a cabin…if they don't get captured first.

Valerie Boren-Odell is starting a new life with her son as a Ranger at the newly minted Horsethief Trail National Park, in Oklahoma. She soon is faced with local controversy over the opening of the park, a hidden burial site of three childrenfrom long ago, a missing teenage hiker and secrets to be uncovered about Grandma Budgie’s land.

How are the two connected? It’s fascinating and a story you never knew you wanted to know about!

I love historical fiction because there is always something to learn! This book I learned about the first woman politician named Miss Kate Barnard. She won without any votes from women because women weren’t allowed to vote until 1918! She advocated for women and children (mainly Native American children) and eradicating unsafe working conditions. She also worked to increase federal protection for the Five Tribes’ members. Eventually she was pushed out by Oklahoma businessmen and officials who convinced the state legislature to defund her office, and her life’s work.

LOVED THE FEMALE STRENGTH IN THIS BOOK!!! Strong story and so interesting!

Shelterwood is an interesting historical fiction story told from 2 viewpoints with alternating chapters. It starts in the early 1900’s with Olive and her six year old “adopted” sister, Nessa who is from the Choctaw tribe. Most likely Nessa was taken without her parents knowledge or approval. The two girls ran away from an abusive step father. The other time frame is during the 1990s where Valerie, a National Park Ranger, and her son Charlie are new to the area. Valerie had previously lost her husband, also a National Park Ranger, in a freak accident and was looking for a new start. The story takes place in the Winding Stair Mountains of Oklahoma. There is quite a bit of history of the Choctaw tribes and abused and mistreated children of the region. The two time frames merge by the end of the story bringing it full circle.
The story is well written and the characters are fully developed. At times the story gets bogged down; at least the part of the elves in the forest was somewhat strange. The book kept my interest and enjoyed how it all comes together at the end.
If you are interested in history; especially the history of Oklahoma you will enjoy this story.

Another fascinating read by Lisa Wingate. Shelterwood weaves a story about our history that few know, dealing with land grabbing, money hungry, folks who exploited children and left them to fend for themselves. The story is told from alternating viewpoints, past and present, and I learned so much about the National Park Service and being a ranger from the main character, Val. In the opposing chapters, reading about and rooting for the children of the future Shelterwood Town, left me on edge and I raced through pages to see them get their fictional Eden. Shelterwood is an amazing story, full of both hero’s and villains, that is worth reading and learning from. Well done, Lisa Wingate!

I expected to like this more, but the middle dragged for me. One timeline focuses on crime mystery and the other on historical fiction, which sounded like a great combo. Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6429995459

I received this from Netgalley.com.

A hard subject matter and Wingate approached it well. As with most dual timelines I have read, I was much more interested in Olive's story.

3☆

I’m always happy to learn parts of history that were not taught in school. Lisa did a great job researching and putting these facts into two stories that intertwined with the early 1900s and the late 1900s.
Characters were well developed and you could picture yourself in the places they were. I enjoy books that have different characters telling each part of the story.
I give this book a 3.5 star rating. While I enjoy learning the history, I don’t think all the details were important for the story of the “elf children” or the park rangers.

I went into this book not knowing anything and I'm so glad I did.

This is a mystery/historical fiction story with dual time lines. I really loved reading from Ollie's perspective the most. Val was interesting also, but I usually gravitate toward historical fiction and coming of age stories.
It was a slow burn story and the pacing lagged a little at 50%, but it was still truly enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.