MMGM: Coyote Sunrise: 2 audiobooks for kids
I got my tip for these books from a regular poster on the fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattrige of Always in the Middle. Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews. I've been discovering some great reads there.
Title: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Author: Dan Gemeinhart. Read by Khristine Hvam
Publication Info: Macmillan Audio, 2019. 9 hours (original hardback by Henry Holt & Co, 352 pages.
Source: Library
Publisher's Blurb:
Five years. That's how long Coyote and her dad,
Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, crisscrossing the
nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a
car crash.
Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when
she learns the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished - the
very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured
memory box - she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600
miles back to Washington state in four days...without him realizing it.
Along the way, they'll pick up a strange crew of misfit
travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are
looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. And then
there's Gladys....
Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote
will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of
all...but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn
her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after”.
Title: Coyote Lost and Found
Author: Dan Gemeinhart. Read by Khristine Hvam
Publication Info: Macmillan Audio, 2024. 7 hours (original hardback by Henry Holt & Co, 282 pages.
Source: Library
Publisher's Blurb:
It's been almost a year since Coyote and her dad
left the road behind and settled down in a small Oregon town. . . time
spent grieving the loss of her mom and sisters and trying to fit in at
school. But just as life is becoming a new version of normal, Coyote
discovers a box containing her mom’s ashes. And she thinks she might
finally be ready to say goodbye.
So Coyote and her dad gear up
for an epic cross-country road trip to scatter the ashes at her mom’s
chosen resting place. The only problem? Coyote has no idea where that
resting place is—and the secret’s hidden in a book that Coyote
mistakenly sold last year, somewhere in the country. Now, it’s up to Coyote to track down the treasured book . . . without her dad ever finding out that it’s lost.
It’s
time to fire up their trusty bus, Yager, pick up some old friends,
discover some new ones, and hit the road on another unforgettable
adventure.
My Reviews:
I nabbed the first of these books, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise as one of a pile of audiobooks to help me on a solo drive from Seattle to the Grand Canyon. I ended up listening almost straight through because I loved the book and the characters so much.
There is no denying there was also a painful element to this: Coyote and her father, Rodeo, are dealing with a huge loss that hits close to home. In addition to being a great road-trip story, it's also a very good look at grief. It resonated with what my own grief counselor talked to me about after my husband's death: refusing to cry in front of the children (of whatever age) isn't helping them, it's kind of telling them it's not okay to grieve.
Rodeo and Coyote are both so focused on protecting each other that they simply never talk about their loss. Rodeo, in particular, seems to be determined that he not break down and show how devastated he is, and the only way to do that is never to mention the dead family members. In essence, they are carrying on as though their new life--as nomads living in a remodeled school bus and driving wherever their whims take them--is the life they have always led.
But this isn't sustainable in the end. As Coyote matures, she's starting to realize that she needs to actively grieve her loss, not to mention that she needs some friends, and she's a master at manipulating her father so they can do what she needs. The characters they pick up along the way are wonderful, keeping the story light and fun even with the sad undercurrent. They add a wonderful element to the story, about helping others and being helped.
The second book, Coyote Lost and Found, picks up not long after the first book leaves off, with Coyote and Rodeo trying to live a "normal" life and not finding it quite what Coyote had expected. The life they've led for the last 5 or 6 years has left a mark, which Rodeo may have anticipated, but Coyote sure didn't. She's making it through the school year, but she's not exactly surrounded by friends as she'd envisioned it.
Then the whole world changes. First Coyote's world, when she finds her mother's ashes and learns of the book that will tell them where to scatter them--and realizes the book is gone. That's when the rest of the world changes: everything (including school, to her relief) shuts down for the pandemic, and they are free to head out in search of the book (or, as her father thinks, on an adventure to reach the right place).
I don't know if I loved this book quite as much as the first one, but it was another great road story. And in addition to bringing her best friend, Salvador, they pick up one or two interesting characters along the way who help Coyote in her search--and help her come to terms with letting her mother go. In the process, she learns a thing or two she needs to know, and starts facing up to her actions and their consequences.
My Recommendation:
A great pair of stories, and the audio narration is fantastic. I might be a little careful about giving these to a child with a recent and raw loss--it might be a bit much. But there's no denying that it also offers some insights into what grief feels like that could be useful to the grieving and those who love them alike.
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Mystery fans--don't miss out!
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©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.
I remember hearing about this series when it first came out. It's great that it resonated with what you learned about grieving when you sadly lost your husband. There's a quote at the end of Kelly Yang's Finally Heard that really resonated with me about navigating life after the loss of a spouse too even though it was about a middle grader navigating a different issue.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we get comfort--or wisdom--in unexpected places.
DeleteExcellent reviews of 2 powerful books. The fact that they resonated with you shows how well they were written and that's what good literature does--resonates with life. Carol Baldwin
ReplyDeleteYes--I admire what the author managed to do there.
DeleteI still need to read the second book - I adored the first one!! Thanks for your reviews!
ReplyDeleteI think there's maybe a hair less magic in the second book, but that might just be due to the first one already being so good!
DeleteI enjoyed both of these books for many of the reasons outlined in your excellent review. Thanks for the heads up on the audio version as it sounds like a good one for long trips. Happy MMGM!
ReplyDeleteLong solo car trips absolutely require audio books. Often I switch around from one to another as my attention wanes. That I stuck with these almost uninterrupted all the way through is a testimony to how good they were.
DeleteSo much buzz about this series! Enjoyed your review. Haven't read a MG book that deals with burying ashes and finding closure -- sounds like an important read. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of an odd topic in some ways, but he handles it well, and the pandemic certainly left a lot of families dealing with the issue.
DeleteI loved these books. I'll bet they would be great to listen to. Glad you enjoyed them so much. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThese both sound like wonderful books. I've good reviews of them before but your review really sold them to me! I'm really intrigued about how Coyote manipulates her father so well! The books sound fun as well as deep and thoughtful about a big topic. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete