The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise - Dan Gemeinhart

                                           

          The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, written by Dan Gemeinhart follows the story of (this is a real mindblower), Coyote Sunrise. Well… that's what she changed her name to. Coyote, or Ella and her dad ( who she can NEVER call her dad), legally changed their names to Coyote and Rodeo after what happened and never used their old names ever since. This “what happened” changed everything. This novel deals with the theme of grief and overall how to overcome it. 

Coyote and Rodeo. It wasn’t always like that. 5 years ago, they were a big family: mom, dad, Ella, and her sisters Rose and Ava. But one day they got in a car crash that changed everything. Ella’s sisters and mom died, and Ella’s life changed. From that point on, Ella and her father changed their names to Coyote and Rodeo as I said before and didn’t go back. From that point on, Rodeo and Coyote lived on the road, living on a school bus. They’d go anywhere but NEVER back home. Back home was never talked about. Early in the novel, Coyote ends up sneaking a kitten into the bus, knowing Rodeo wouldn’t let her keep it. When Rodeo found out, he said, “And that's the problem, sugar. It ain’t good to need things that you can lose.” This shows how the death of his wife and 2 of his children deeply impacted him, building a barrier not letting any new source of love in as he is afraid of it being lost again. Rodeo and Coyote are on the road, using that to combat their grief. But in reality, they are just running from their problems instead of coming to terms and accepting them. 

(Next paragraph contains some spoilers, or I guess I don’t know if I’d consider them spoilers but it’s basically the main plot) One day, Coyote gets a call from her grandma telling her that the park in her neighborhood is being torn down. Coyote freezes. Buried in the park is Coyote’s memory box that she made with her family when they were still alive; it’s all Coyote has left of them. She made a promise to make sure to return to open the box but she knew that Rodeo would never let her go back home. So she has to find creative ways to get closer to her hometown. Throughout this trip, Rodeo and Coyote end up finding people that end up joining Coyote’s journey, helping each other mutually. The friendship these people build is really beautiful. 

I really love this book. It deals with topics of grief which can be relatable to many people. I first read this book in middle school and it made a big impact on me, teaching me lessons about grief and how running away from your problems only creates bigger ones. I’d definitely recommend this book to everyone. 10/10

                                                                                    -Isabella