‘Shelterwood’ Book Club Discussion Recap
July 25, 2024
The Popular Fiction book club met to discuss ‘Shelterwood’ by Lisa Wingate, a novel that delves into the intertwined lives of two women—Lily and Rose—separated by decades but connected through their experiences of loss, hope, and the search for belonging set in Oklahoma with focus on the Chocktaw tribe. As of today, the book has a 3.9 on Goodreads and the average rating from our group was 2.94.
To guide the discussion, we used the author’s questions from the book. Be warned- they are VERY lengthy and I would say due to that, they weren’t all answered completely. Even though there was only 11 of us in attendance and 12 questions, it was still a 2+ hour discussion! However, many of us stated we enjoyed the discussion more than the book!
SHELTERWOOD explores a number of themes, particularly the rights of women and children, family and justice. Which theme resonated the most deeply with you, and why?
How disposable children were back then and even still are now within the foster system (as shown by Syndney and the others living in her house in the 1990 story), how important it was for women to take action in pursuit of their rights rather than just hoping for change and we talked about prejudice with how Ollie was able to go up to family’s homes and get what they wanted because of the way she looked.
At the beginning of each chapter, author Lisa Wingate included a historical quote from a wide-ranging variety of sources, including transcripts from congressional hearings, committee meetings, interviews and newspaper articles. How did the inclusion of these quotes influence your experience reading SHELTERWOOD?
The quotes at the beginning of each chapter seemed to be more prevalent and noticeable for those who actually read the book rather than listening to it. Some said it provided an element of foreshadowing for the chapter ahead and gave them things to look out for. For the audiobook listeners, the main level of significance for these quotes was basically just signaling the start of a new chapter.
SHELTERWOOD is told through two timelines and perspectives --- one of Olive Augusta Radley in 1909, and the other of Valerie Boren-Odell in 1990. How did these dual perspectives shape the novel? How do their stories parallel each other? What similarities and differences do you notice in their journeys and the challenges they face?
It shows that even though the storylines are 81 years apart, there are similarities with the problems with foster care/guardians and gender discrimination against women, We also noted that Ollie’s story alone could’ve been just as effective and beautiful.
Historical fiction often introduces readers to new or deepened knowledge of past events and different perspectives than one’s own lived experience, and SHELTERWOOD is based on extensive research. Were you familiar with the historical events of Oklahoma and Choctaw Nation prior to reading SHELTERWOOD? What did you take away from learning more through this novel?
Most in attendance had not heard of the Chocktaw Nation and the ones that had heard about them either from reading other HF books or from the song ‘Indian Outlaw’ by Tim McGraw! We also observed that our knowledge of Native American tribes mainly came from a short block of school curriculum. and it was more specific to tribes in our geographical areas. One book club member is of Cherokee descent and this book made her wonder if there was a land tie in place that influenced her marrying into an all white family.
SHELTERWOOD is inspired by female pioneers like Kate Barnard, who fought to protect children’s rights and welfare in a time when child labor was unregulated and exploited. How does this historical context contribute to the overall themes and conflicts in the story?
It showed that it was important for these children to have advocates and in these days they were more likely to be women. It seemed that the men were less likely to oppose child labor because they were the ones financially benefiting from it. The maternal instinct in women could be a factor here as well.
How does the history of the land in Horsethief Trail National Park, even though much of it has been hidden over the years, affect the characters in the present day? Have you wondered about or discovered similar “secrets” where you live or where you grew up?
We are all from different areas and highlighted the bridge construction on Cape Cod during the Great Depression with unsafe working conditions that led to many deaths and bodies still in the bridge to this day, the same with the Brooklyn Bridge, an unrecognized but still active Native American tribe in Seattle and wondered about secrets and history of Rolesville.
Both Olive and Valerie find themselves in positions where they must fight for justice and protect those who are vulnerable. How do they struggle between self-interest and the interests of others or the need to do what’s right? Do we all have the capacity to be heroic, are heroes and heroines a limited few, or does heroism exist in many forms?
We collectively agreed that heroes and heroines are absolutely a limited few and that is what makes these humans so special; because they are doing things that most people would not do. We want to believe that we would act in a heroic way if the situation presented itself but many can admit that we would not.
In the book, we could see that Ollie and Valerie both placed themselves in protective roles (Ollie to Nessa and the other children and Valerie to Sydney, Brayden, Charlie and even the skeletons by trying to figure out what happened to them while receiving threats that potentially put her and Charlie in danger).
The Choctaw girls boarded in Olive’s home (Nessa, Hazel), as well as the children she and Nessa encounter in their journey (Tula, Pinti, Koi, Dewey, Amos, Cora, Effie and even the laundry girls), play a significant role in the story. How do race, identity, culture, gender, economic status and discrimination play out in the story? How do they shed light on the historical time period of the early 1900s?
Race was an issue in many aspects how people pretty much disregarded the Chocktaw tribe as humans/equals throughout the 1909 timeline and women were also much less regarded. It also showed Valerie going through similar struggles to be treated as an equal in her job as a park ranger in 1990.
How do the treasure hunters, outlaws and rugged landscape found in the Winding Stair Mountains contribute to the suspense and tension in the storytelling in SHELTERWOOD? Were there particular moments of danger or surprising twists that stood out to you?
We agreed that the book probably didn’t hit the way she intended it to because it didn’t seem suspenseful or twisty. The explosions/landslides were unsettling especially when we realized that someone was causing them intentionally.
The conflict over land ownership and wealth is a central theme in the book. How does this struggle for power drive the actions of the characters? Discuss the impact of their choices on the broader community. What can we learn from the stories of ordinary people whose experiences aren’t recorded in the history books?
It seems as if the histories of some have been intentionally erased and people have been integrated to make indigenous populations disappear.
How is Valerie’s life affected by the move to Horsethief Trail National Park? How does she navigate the push-pull between career and family? Do all working parents face the pressure to be “all things at once,” and is it even possible to do so? Has the picture of “having it all” changed over the years? How has this dilemma played out in your own life?
We have all been impacted by the pressure to “do it all” especially as working parents and some (including Valerie in the book) have an added layer of pressure because they are single parents. We see that the idea of having it all has evolved through the generations and at one point it was just a career OR a family, then career AND family and now it’s like career, family, social life, healthy living, community outreach etc. The pressure is REAL and exacerbated by social media showing unrealistic highlight reels of influencer’s lives.
We agreed that Valerie handled the move well and it was good for her to get a fresh start after the death of her husband. She did well balancing her career and motherhood but also was realistic in ways like knowing bringing a dog into the family wouldn’t be a good idea at that time and sending Charlie off with family when her job was getting too demanding and potentially dangerous,
What were your thoughts as SHELTERWOOD ended? Where do you think the characters will go from here? If you were writing the stories of their futures, what would the stories be?
We were all hoping that Valerie and Curtis would end up together and that Charlie would be able to get his puppy! It was also mentioned that maybe the golden retriever puppies at the end were the spirits of the kids that died on the mountain since now there story had been told.
Overall, it seemed to not be largely enjoyed by the group. Some stated the storyline (and even the cover) was way too close/similar to ‘Before We Were Yours’ (also by Lisa Wingate, some found the dueling storylines hard to follow and go back and forth from, some felt the story was boring and then everything wrapped up way too quickly. We agreed that the story was beautiful and important, but it wasn’t presented in a way that was pleasing to us as readers.
Our next meeting for the Popular Fiction book club is Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 7:15pm discussing 'All The Colors of The Dark' by Chris Whitaker.
Link to purchase ‘Shelterwood’:
Link to purchase 'All The Colors of The Dark'
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases.