“Sometimes a story comes along that just plain makes you want to hug the world. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise is Dan Gemeinhart’s finest book yet — and that’s saying something. Your heart needs this joyful miracle of a book.” — Katherine Applegate, acclaimed author of The One and Only Ivan and WishtreeFive years.That’s how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an … her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing 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 that 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.”
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Sometimes a story comes along that just plain makes you want to hug the world. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise is Dan Gemeinhart’s finest book yet ― and that’s saying something. Your heart needs this joyful miracle of a book.
This book made me really feel for the characters. It made me laugh. It made me cry. This is definitely one of my favorite books.
I saw that someone on Goodreads was reading it so I checked it out. I’m glad I did. I find it a little strange that this is the second book involving a school bus that I have read in short time.
Coyote is a young teen. She and her Dad, Rodeo, are on a cross country road trip in the semi converted school bus which is their home on wheels. After a devastating family tragedy, Rodeo legally changed his and his daughter’s names to escape from the past and started driving…..anywhere and everywhere.
Through their adventures and the people who join them on the bus Coyote and Rodeo find their way in the world again.
This book is mostly character driven……each character was someone I felt I knew and I would glad to know. Coyote is wise, beyond her years. Rodeo is a kind soul even though life had dealt him a raw deal. The author’s descriptions of the characters and their adventures on the road kept me turning pages.
We learn that family are not only those we are related to by blood but those we choose to let into our hearts. There are so many lessons and messages in this story. It is about love and grief and memories and acceptance and so much more.
This would be a middle school read. I know I am not the target audience for this book and at times I felt the situations might be a bit heavy for a typical middle schooler. But, at the same time, I wish there had been books like this around when I was in my younger years.
My favourite line in the book: “Losing something can sure make you realize how much you loved it, even if you knew you loved it all along.”
A thoroughly enjoyable book at any age! I think it would be an ideal book to be read together, the parent and the child. Lots to discuss.
I think this is a really great book, it was really enjoyable. But I will warn you it got me crying kind of towards the end. Overall this is the best book I have ever read!
This book is AMAZING! Could not stop reading. Totally recommend.
This was a story EVERYONE should read! Yes, it’s that good! I read it in one evening, because I could not just put it down and do something else, even though I tried. Growing up, I have always been told there is no greater loss than losing a child. That is inherently true, but there are losses just as tragic. This is a story of how a father and child who were left behind, handled their losses. The story is told by the daughter. I cannot stress just how moving this book is.
Life can throw a curve so horrendous that the only option left is to getaway and try to bury the memory so deep it will never find it’s way to the surface. It’s been five years since the curve put Coyote and Rodeo, her dad, on the road in a converted school bus. That’s right, a school bus turned into a motor home. It’s home for now. In five years time Coyote and Rodeo have crisscrossed the country just doing stuff, living one day at a time, putting the curve behind them. Coyote still has a connection back home in Washington state, her grandmother. This crossing the country has been a learning experience for Coyote and also an attempt to but behind her the fatal curve, the car crash that robbed her of her mother and two sisters.
Now, in Florida, Coyote learns that the neighborhood park where her mother and sisters buried a memory box before that fatal crash is about to be turned into so much asphalt for a new highway system. Cleverly Coyote devises a plan to get Rodeo to head back to Washington state without telling him why. They only have four days to do it. Her plan seems to be working out perfectly as they zip down the interstates heading back to the west coast. Along they way, they pick up a motley crew of misfit travelers also trying to find a place for themselves. This whole thing turns into one wild ride to find a treasure box full of memories for Coyote and other things for the motley crew that has joined them on the road.
This is an extraordinary tale of a young girl and her father who find out what’s really important in life and the adventures that make it happen.
I loved this book so much it was very interesting
It is so fun ! I didn’t take me long to read it. It is a great book for middle schoolers. Super fun !