Five years ago, 12-year-old Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Since then, Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been roaming and rambling around the U.S. in an old school bus.
They live a vagabond life, to be sure, but it’s one that has allowed Rodeo to block out the sorrows and memories of his old life. Not so much for Coyote, who misses the rest of her family immensely. And then she learns that the park in her neighborhood is being demolished, and, along with it, the secret memory box she and her siblings buried before they died.
Rodeo would never agree to go back, so Coyote cooks up a plan to head them back towards home. It’s a risk she feels she must take in order to save her memories and, ultimately, get her dad back to reality.
The trip covers thousands of miles, and the duo picks up a cast of wayward characters along the way—each running to or from various complications—like a gay teen running from her parents, a jazz musician pursuing his lady love and a Latinx boy and his mother who are looking for a new life.
Can you go home again? All the inhabitants of the bus are both wondering that as well as seeking new beginnings.
Author Dan Gemeinhart has a few stellar middle grade readers already; The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise will add to his canon and could possibly garner a few awards. This is not just a story about Coyote’s remarkable journey—this novel solidifies Gemeinhart as a remarkable children’s author.
