The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

The next book that chose to tackle this year is The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart. This book has been on my radar for a little while since it came out in January of last year. This copy has even been sitting on my desk for a few months now. This week I finally picked it up. It was definitely a great time for it!

Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have spent the past five years traveling the country in their renovated school bus (nicknamed "Yaeger"). It's not so much that they have a destination in mind but that they are running away from the memories of Coyote's mom and two sisters who died in a car accident. They even went as far as to change their names (I mean who would really name their child Coyote or Rodeo). Coyote doesn't really mind their way of life and feels like it's her responsibility to take care of her dad as they criss-cross the country on a constant adventure.

But suddenly as they enter Florida, Coyote finds out from her grandma that the park near their old home is being demolished--the park where she and her sisters and her mom buried a memory box just weeks before the accident. Now she has to figure out how to get 3,600 miles home to Washington to retrieve the box before it's demolished in just 4 days. And she needs to get them there without Rodeo figuring out where they're headed.

The best part of this book is the fun additions to their bus crew along the way--Ivan, a cat, Lester, a musician trying to figure out love, Salvador and his mom trying to start a new life, Val who just wants to be accepted for who she is, and a goat named Gladys. They're all kind-hearted people who just want to get to where they are going and help each other out. Just the type of heart-warming book I needed right about now.

Getting too far from home and traveling are kind of a no-go right now and that's led to some disappointing trip cancellations. So it was nice to travel with Coyote and crew on their cross-country trip--at least in spirit. It reminds me of how fun it is to just get in a car and drive. There is so much diversity in scenery across the United States and I've had the opportunity to see many different parts of it. I can't wait till I have the chance to get back on the road and go on some of my own adventures.

In fact, I love the fact that Coyote and Rodeo travel around in a renovated school bus. It's becoming more and more common to see people living out of these renovated "schoolies." I have a few friends and acquaintances who are living this lifestyle right now. Maybe if I had the means and time to do it, living out of a school bus wouldn't be so bad!

This book also deals a lot with grief. Coyote and Rodeo are obviously still dealing with the grief of losing their family five years previously. This is something I wrote about in a blog post a while back (you can read it here.) Middle-grade books are great at addressing the issue of grief in children. Because pain and loss are not exclusive to adults. Coyote is a perfect example of someone struggling to deal with the loss in her life and journeying through it with her dad. I think by the end of the book we are able to see both healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with grief.

There are a lot of fantastic parts of this book that I wanted to just read aloud to everyone. The language in portions of the books is just beautiful and Gemeinhart sometimes perfectly sums up parts of the human experience that are tough to put into words. But I agree with a few reviews that I've read that mention the unbelievability of some of the events or circumstances in the book. Like the fact that Rodeo can get away with taking his daughter away from her grandmother and not putting her through any type of schooling without anyone putting up a fuss. Or the fact that a 14-year-old teenage girl wouldn't mind living on a bus with no shower. A little suspension of disbelief might be necessary for some to enjoy this book. I felt like I could overlook a few things and focus on the important themes and messages of the novel!

This book is perfect for those with souls meant for journeying, adventurers, upper MG lovers, and those who've felt the pain of loss. You can purchase a copy here for yourself!