Title: Shelterwood
Author: Lisa Wingate
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: June 4, 2024
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

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. 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 rugged 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 O’dell arrives at 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 deep in a cave. Val’s quest to uncover 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 wild and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another.

In Shelterwood, the newest novel by the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours, a dual timeline narrative traces events in Oklahoma in 1909 and 1990, eventually revealing threads that bind the two story arcs together.

In 1909, the story focuses on 11-year-old Olive (Ollie), whose stepfather terrorizes her and the two young orphaned Choctaw girls that live with her family, while her mother is lost to the fog of opium addiction. When the stepfather’s sexual abuse of the older girl, Hazel, leads to her disappearance, and he turns his attention to young Nessa, Ollie orchestrates their escape.

In 1990, Valerie is a park ranger who has relocated with her young son Charlie to Oklahoma for the opening of the new Horsethief Trail National Park. She’s looking for a fresh start for the two of them after her husband’s death, but almost immediately she becomes embroiled in local controversies, as bodies are found in the park and a local girl comes to Val for help.

What connects the two stories is the subject of land rights and manipulation. In 1909, robber barons and other powerful men force adoptions, marriages, or guardianships on native orphans in order to claim their land rights. In 1990, corrupt businesses encroach on both park land and ancestral native land for illegal profits. In both timelines, those without power find themselves fighting for survival as well as to maintain their independence and heritage.

The 1909 story follows Ollie and Nessa as they desperately struggle to avoid detection, hiding out in the wild in a place they call Shelterwood and creating a small community with other cast-off, runaway, or abandoned children. And in 1990, as Val digs into a potential missing persons case, she uncovers patterns of abuse and theft that go back decades.

Each storyline has interesting elements, but I found the 1909 chapters more compelling, as they paint a picture of the societal fractures and political pressures of the era. It was interesting to see real historical figures, such as politician and activist Kate Barnard, interacting with the local community, and to see how the hotly debated topics of child labor laws and land rights so directly impact Ollie, Nessa, and the other children.

Val’s story takes a while to find its footing, but ultimately there’s a good payoff in terms of resolving the missing person case and making the connection back to the 1909 plot.

Somehow, though, I found myself mostly disengaged from the characters. On the surface, their situations are interesting and challenging — and yet, I never felt emotionally invested or that I got to know them on a deeper level.

Part of the problem for me was a lack of information. In both timelines, we’re dropped straight into the action, and have to piece together what the historical context means for the characters. Starting the book without much familiarity with that particular time and place, it was often confusing to sort out the reasons for the various conditions and the political forces at play. I don’t always love flat-out exposition in novels, but this book could have used some more establishment of context in order to more firmly ground the story.

I was interested enough to stick with the book all the way to the end, but found myself a bit checked out for chunks of the story. I’m glad I saw it through, but was left feeling a bit flat about the overall experience.

Still, it was eye-opening to learn more about life in both 1909 and 1990 Oklahoma, and I appreciated how the two timelines fit together in the end. I could see this being a good book group pick for people who enjoy historical fiction set in the 20th century.