Shelterwood

In true, award winning author, Lisa Wingate fashion, she ran across an old newspaper clipping that mentioned a woman that found "elf children living in a hollow tree". This peaked her interest, leading to her new novel titled Shelterwood. It is set in the Winding Stair Mountain area in Southern Oklahoma. It tells the story of how orphaned Native American children were made the wards of court appointed men that were land grabbers. Having total court-sanctioned control over these children, they stole their land rights. Many of these children were abused and abandoned or ran away, raising themselves in the woods. A tiny woman named Kate Barnard, who was newly elected commissioner of charities and corrections tried to put a stop to it and brought it to light! This storyline, set in 1909, tells the tale of some of these children and corresponds with another storyline set in 1990 in the same area, where a park ranger heard about human remains being found in a cave in the area and sets out to find where they came from. Lisa's brilliant story telling and her diligence to accurately relay historic details is alive and well in this new novel! A must read for all Wingate fans and a great introduction to her work for new ones!

I was so excited to receive an advance copy of Shelterwood and couldn't wait to dive right in! I was not disappointed! Be sure to pre-order your very own copy which goes on sale June 4th! This dual timeline story is inspired by events that occurred in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. I love that Lisa finds little-known historical events and weaves such fascinating stories from them! I feel that the untold histories Lisa brings to light are critically important chapters in our Nation's history. It is shameful that, through the years, so many children have been exploited by those who would use them for their own selfish and greedy purposes - usually to get gain. In this novel, Lisa focuses on the "elf children" - Native American orphans whose guardians used them to get access to land and oil money while neglecting and often abusing them. I instantly fell in love with young Ollie's strength of character and willingness to protect a Choctaw child (Nessa) that has been boarding as a ward in her home after the girl's sister, Hazel, disappears suddenly. Ollie fears her stepfather doesn't have good intentions toward the sisters and that the worst has happened to Hazel. The girls flee into the wilderness, embarking on a perilous journey through the Winding Stairs Mountains of Oklahoma. They eventually find shelter in the wilderness and are joined by several other "elf children". The struggles and hardships these children endured are heart wrenching. Lisa has meticulously researched the hardships these children endured, their resourcefulness as they struggled to survive in the wilderness, and has brought to light the Oklahoma pioneer women who fought for them in times when women didn't even have the right to vote. She has sensitively and powerfully woven a story filled with inspiration, true historical facts, a little bit of mystery and menace, and the power of friendship in vivid detail, while ensuring that this moment in history would not be forgotten. We also meet Valerie Borden-Odell, who has come to Oklahoma as a park ranger to work in the fictional Horsethief Trail National Park in the Winding Stair Mountains in 1990. She has recently become widowed after a tragic incident and has brought her young son to Oklahoma, hoping to start a new life. She soon becomes involved in the search for a missing teenager and discovers a mystery surrounding unidentified remains found in a cave in the mountains. As the storylines converged, the resolution was crafted perfectly. Shelterwood is captivating, heartwarming and thought-provoking. I highly recommend Shelterwood and anxiously await Lisa's next writing adventure!

I can’t recommend this novel enough. It is engaging, impactful and heart tugging. My all time favorite of Lisa Wingates. I absolutely loved it.

5 stars, Searching for Freedom in Oklahoma SHELTERWOOD by Lisa Wingate This is a dual timelines book about three little girls who are desperately trying to escape from a dangerous man and find love and freedom in Oklahoma in 1909 and some mysterious children's skeletons found in a cave in 1990. There is a lot of mystery in this book, it leaves you wondering if the children's skeletons belong to the three little girls. That part made it harder for me to read and really get into the story. I really liked the Ollie and Valerie characters. Quotable Quote: "I'm female, which in general does you no favors in the NPS system. If you're harassed, hazed, ogled, propositioned, whatever, you're expected to tough it out, deal with it yourself, grow a thicker skin, and move on." A lot of women have had to deal with things like this in our history. Highly recommend to any mystery lover. I received a complimentary copy of #shelterwood from #ballentinebooks #lisawingate I was not obligated to post a review. #christian #inspirational #historicalfiction #diverse #dualtimelines #adultfiction #mystery #nps #nationalparkservice #abandonedchildren #hope #escape #horsethieftrailnationalpark #choctawnation #oklahoma #triggerwarning #OklahomaLandRun #netgalley