Publication Date: June 4, 2024
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 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.
More than eight decades separate two characters in an explosive story set in Oklahoma, where old secrets unravel.
Author Lisa Wingate creates a compelling dual storyline in Shelterwood, with one part focusing on a pre-teen girl in 1909 who escapes into the woods to keep a young Choctaw Indian girl safe. Their perilous journey puts them in touch with others fleeing abuse, but they must dodge people with bad intentions.
Meanwhile, Valerie Boren-Odell arrives at Horsethief Trail National Park in her new role as a law enforcement ranger. She quickly discovers she has a lot to prove after she realizes none of the local staff told her the bones of three children were found in a cave.
The past/present timeline shift works well to build the suspense. The young girls are incredibly brave and illustrate the exploitation that took place during the time period. Val is determined to find answers, even if it means unearthing community secrets.
What she learns proves to be a complex case involving oil allotments, greed, and orphans. Mix it all together for an insight into a dark stain in Oklahoma’s history.
Shelterwood shines the light on how orphaned children became central characters in the battle for oil wealth in Oklahoma.
Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which has sold more than three million copies and been translated into over forty languages worldwide. The co-author, with Judy Christie, of the nonfiction book Before and After, Wingate is an Oklahoma Book Award finalist and a Southern Book Prize winner. She was named a 2023 Distinguished Alumni of Oklahoma State University. She lives with her husband in Texas and Colorado.
