Coyote is a girl who can walk barefoot across hot asphalt in the desert sun, but she can not tell you her secret history. She lives in a bus and travels from town to find the perfect lunch, the perfect view, the perfect life. At the start this almost feels like a hippie book set in the 70’s but it is timeless. I guess it is set no, but years from now readers will pick it up and it will still feel present and new.

Rodeo is Coyote’s dad. He is the leader of this nomadic lifestyle. At one super nice, he also has a lost quality, and these travels are his constant search for something...

These two have lived on their remodeled bus and drove across the nation multiple times in the five years since this adventure started, however, upon notice from her grandmother that a local park was going to be torn down, Coyote goes into overdrive finding conniving ways to get her father back to Washington State. I won't go into why because I don’t want to spoil the book. But part of this scheme has them helping out people in need and taking on new passengers on their race to the Yakima valley.

It’s through these passengers that the books adds diversity. They hit all the major diversity points, gay, latio, african american. At the beginning the diversity does not seem forced, but by the time Val get added, it seems intentional.

Overall i loved this story. I felt for Coyote, wanted to strangle Rodeo, and became best friends with Salvador and all the rest. This middle grade book feels like a saga worthy of Gone with the Wind or Centennial but with an eye to what would keep a young person entranced, and a page count short enough to not be daunting.
#BBRC #Recommendedbyalitten
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