Sunday, September 22, 2024

SHELTERWOOD by Lisa Wingate, Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

"The old shelterwood trees keep the forest safe from the wind and the weather, from too much sun and heat in the summer, too much snow in the winter. They're strong and pull up water from down deep in drought times, hold the soil so everything smaller can grow . . . The old take care of the young, just like a family."

Consider the implications if the young don't have a family, a shelter from heat and cold, water and food to nourish their bodies . . . can the olders discover a way to wrap themselves around the youngers, becoming a "shelterwood" of their own design? Apparently, they did. And perhaps you have already surmised that . . . we are not talking about trees anymore . . . but children.

This amazing dual timeline narrative splits chapters between the "elves" rumored to be living among the rocks, trees, and rivers of the Oklahoma forest and those who were hired to protect, maintain and conserve the natural resources of those same lands, with eighty plus years in between. Evidence of the hard fought survival between what was and what had become, is left behind for an astute, doggedly determined law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell to find.

"They tell you about the bones yet?"

After turning only a few pages, I tumbled headfirst into the secrets of the forest. As fascinating as the historical facts proved to be, it was the human element that dug visceral roots deep inside my heart. History has a way of repeating itself if we are not careful to take what we know to be true, handle it carefully and fight for it valiantly.

"So you see, the small dream that was born among the children of this forest did not die here. It grew . . . It branches stretched through air, to places far and near . . . Evil could not poison it. Men could not cut it down. Floods could not wash it away. It grew into a tree of life, of lives."

Long live the shelterwoods! 

*I purchased this book and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

SEE PAULA'S REVIEW

BackCover Blurb:

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. 

Ballantine Books, June, 2024
Available in digital ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook:

 

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