Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

 

Oklahoma, 1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley knows that her stepfather doesn’t have good intentions toward the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home as wards. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees to the woods, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the remote Winding Stair Mountains, the notorious territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, Ollie and Nessa form an unlikely band with others like themselves, struggling to stay one step ahead of those who seek to exploit them . . . or worse.

Oklahoma, 1990. Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell arrives at newly minted Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to balance a career and single parenthood. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than she’s faced with local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker gone missing from one of the trails, and the long-hidden burial site of three children unearthed in a cave. Val’s quest for the truth wins an ally among the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police but soon collides with old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself.

In this emotional and enveloping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the rugged and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another.

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About The Author

  Lisa Wingate's new novel, Shelterwood, is upcoming in June 4th, 2024. Her novel, Before We Were Yours, was a #1 New York Times bestseller, remained on the list for over two years, and has sold more than three million copies. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. Before We Were Yours, her blockbuster hit, was Publishers Weekly’s third longest running bestseller of 2017, and was voted by readers as the 2017 Goodreads Choice Award winner for historical fiction. She lives in Texas and Colorado with her family and her cuddly little teddy bear of a dog, Huckleberry. Find her at her website or on Facebook and Instagram.

 

My Review

 What a powerful, eye opening read. I knew about "The Trail of Tears", but not of the land, Oklahoma!

This is a dual time read, and I loved how the author seamlessly wove this story together.

Be sure to read the author's notes at the end!

This read opens your eyes to the greed that goes through the ages, and those that have never have enough, and don't care about whom they hurt getting it. Unfortunately, in the early 1900's it was children, and we though the eyes of the author meet this children and get to know some of them.

There are surprises, and then wow surprises, and most you won't see coming!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Ballantine Books, and was not required to give a positive review.