Dan Gemeinhart specializes in well-intentioned middle-grade tearjerkers starring plucky protagonists who face big-time sorrows with a combination of pluck, humor and good old-fashioned buckets of love. Remember when Lou Grant said Mary had "spunk...I hate spunk!" That's how I'm feeling about a Gemeinhart title these days. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise feels a little too carefully calculated for maximum emotional wallops. Twelve-year-old Coyote is appealing enough, though a little too full of wisdom and sass and can-do spirit. Couldn't she just whine for a cell phone once in a while so the average kid could relate? Her never-ending journey on the road with her gonzo bohemian father is quintessential Gemeinhart, as he specializes in kids taking metaphorical journeys. Coyote's quest is to get her father to drive back to the town they left five long years ago so she can retrieve a memory box buried there. The merry band of castaways who hitch a ride on the bus and end up helping Sunrise family includes Lester, a trusty African American musician who really sings the blues, book-loving Salvador and his mother, speaking Spanish and fleeing domestic abuse, and gay Val, rejected by her family and on the run. And of course, Ivan, the lovable kitten who Rodeo allows Coyote to adopt, thus opening a chink in the armor he has carefully crafted around the two of them. Their co-dependence is starting to feel like a prison to Coyote. as she longs for friends, routine and the right to remember her past, symbolized by the memory box. Of course, Rodeo has a good reason for making the bus an escape pod from that past - they lost Coyote's mother and two sisters in a devastating car accident which Rodeo refuses to discuss. Ever. Or to allow Coyote to call him Dad. Or to call Coyote by her real name. Or to stay anywhere longer than a day or night, let alone have Coyote see her grandma back home or attend school. Wait, where are Children's Services? Shouldn't someone have noticed Coyote in all of those mini-marts and gas stations? Gemeinhart is a good enough writer that he makes you go along for the ride, even if your eyes occasionally start rolling. The characters essentially exist to support Coyote's mission, though such cheerful egoism might be more acceptable if they weren't a saintly band of stereotypical minorities. 

Of course, I feel badly for picking on such a sweet, spunky book. It will be loved by librarians, recommended and passed along, so Gemeinhart has done it again. I  guess I have more in common with Lou Grant than I thought!

A beautiful, poignant, heartfelt story about grief, family, and moving forward. 

I loved this book. Coyote is a fresh, realistic, sympathetic voice. She jumps off the page and you just want to hug her and go along on her adventure. For the past 5 years, she has lived on a rehabbed school bus with her dad (but don't tell him that) who goes by Rodeo.

Rodeo and Coyote are kind people. They pick up people in need of a ride, but most of the time they are a duo, traveling across the country and back again. This all seems fun and carefree, but the reason for their nomadic lifestyle is heartbreaking.

Five years earlier, Coyote's mom and two sisters were killed in a car accident. Ever since then, she and her dad refuse to go back to their hometown. Her dad also had them choose new names and have been running from their grief. 

When Coyote hears from her grandma back home that the park near her old house is being torn apart, Coyote decides it is time to go home. Her mom, sisters, and she had buried a box of memories there weeks before their accident. Coyote is desperate to get back and get the box, but she can't tell Rodeo. 

From Florida to Michigan to Oregon to Washington, Coyote somewhat tricks her dad into going back home. On the way they pick up a couple groups of people and animals and all together this band of misfits form a small family -- something Coyote finally admits she has missed.

The book will make you laugh then make you cry. With dynamic, full-fledged, unique characters this is a book you can't miss.

This book will most definitely be a top ten in 2019! I have loved Dan’s books since his first one, but this one is hands down my favorite. Absolutely heartbreaking, but like his other books, filled with an incredible sense of hope.

This truly is a remarkable story of coping with grief and loss, finding your voice, making human connections, and how far we humans will really go for those that we love. Coyote is a funny and likable character who tells the story with an honest but compassionate voice,   At the beginning, it seems she is being too accommodating of her dad's quirky lifestyle and “no-go's,” but we soon see how she has tried to meet her own needs, in small ways, in the spaces around her dad's very big needs - namely, his avoidance of going back home and dealing with his grief head-on. There are so many questions as we start the journey with Coyote, but soon we are swept up in the action as she works to carry out a plan, and gains some companions along the way. Coyote's own story unfolds like an onion, layer by layer, throughout each leg of th journey, and we learn more about the pain that has led her and her dad to this wandering life.  Coyote has to make some mature decisions and realizations in order to eventually speak up for herself and her own needs, but it is beautiful when she does.  No spoilers, but readers can expect to laugh and cry throughout this book. It's definitely going on my shelf and will stay in my heart.  I’ve already recommended it to adults and kids - 3rd and up, depending on the 3rd grader.  Grief, loss, and pain are inevitable in life, and there are as many ways to cope as there are humans. This story sensitively explores a 12-year-old girl's discovery that her dad's way of coping is not working for her, that she can and should speak up for herself and her need to face her grief in her own way.  I think this is a powerful message for young and older readers alike.  The side stories, featuring the people that join their journey, also have positive  messages of acceptance, love, family - all of which help Coyote figure out pieces of her own puzzle. Get ready for a remarkable journey, characters you will love, and a story you will never forget,

This is a feel-good tear-jerker for middle graders that adults can learn a few lessons from as well.  Coyote and her dad, who only wants to be called Rodeo, are traveling around in a converted school bus.  They have been running for five years, not from the law, but from painful memories after the death of Coyote's mom and her two sisters.  Coyote learns that a park in their hometown is being dug up and with it a box of memories of her mom and sisters.  Going home is a huge no-go according to her dad's rules so she secretly comes up with a plan to get across the country before the park gets demolished.  With the help of some stragglers, they pick up along the way Coyote and her dad might just be able to pick up the pieces and become a family again.  Filled with quirky characters you will fall in love with, this is a true gem of a book. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Wow, Dan Gemeinhart does it again!!  The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise is an amazing book full of interesting and diverse characters, adventure, beautiful language, words of wisdom, and heart.  Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, lost the rest of their family to an accident five years ago and the two have been on the road in their school bus-home ever since.  For Rodeo, looking back is too painful.  When Coyote receives news that an important link to her mom and sisters back in their hometown is about to be lost forever, she’s in a race against time to get her dad to drive them across the country before it’s too late.  The thing is, she has to do it without Rodeo knowing they are headed back to their hometown because going back there has always been a no-go for him. 

Similar to Joseph in Some Kind of Courage, I love how Coyote and Rodeo show compassion and generosity throughout the book by helping others along the way.  Dan Gemeinhart is such a good storyteller.  His characters are interesting, the story moves quickly, and the language is rich.  This book is full of happiness, sadness, love, courage, and hope and is now one of my all-time favorite books!  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ebook copy of the ARC.  I can’t wait to share this book with students in my library!

I can already tell that this will win some awards because it made me ugly sob for over half the book. The writing was deft at eliciting emotion (mostly sorrow) but also sort of, 'the world is not a completely terrible place and some people are really great and you can form a tribe and not be alone and ohhhh I'm crying again'.

I don't really like rehashing plots because I assume you can read the actual official plot synopsis. Suffice it to say that it's about a girl and her dad and her dead mom and dead sisters and a bunch of strangers they pick up in their home/school bus along the long road trip home to proper grieving. SO MUCH CRYING. Also there is a cat and that cat is the best and nothing bad happens to the cat which I love and didn't have to cry over. 

I am not entirely sure how the intended audience for this book is going to feel about it. Do middle graders enjoy this kind of thing? Dead parentals and semi-crazy loon parentals and ugly crying? Is this something you read for pleasure or class? What are you expected to learn from this? I mean, there are a LOT of valuable lessons in here for kids/tweens/teens/adults, so I can see that, I'm just not sure... possibly I will get it for my 12 year old niece and then ask her opinion. 

I will definitely recommend it to the public library and to anyone who wants a cathartic cry and who wants a really nice well-represented cast of characters from all over the US (ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds).

Coyote and her dad Rodeo live in a converted school bus traveling around the US. They have been on the road for five years ever since Coyote's mom and two sisters were killed in an auto accident. Coyote loves life on the road and has no plans to return home until she learns the neighborhood park is being destroyed. Coyote must get back before it happens so she can retrieve a memory box buried in the park. Now she just has to convince Rodeo to do something he has no desire to do.

They are joined on their journey west by strangers in need who become like family. They first pick up Lester who is trying to get back to his girlfriend. Then Salvadore and his mom help Coyote out and they return the favor. They pick up Salvadore's tia along the way when a job opportunity falls through. Val has run away from home when she came out and her parents weren't supportive. Finally they inherit a goat when they need help after the bus breaks down. 

I loved this story. Coyote and her dad are dealing with their grief by running away from it, but it works for them for the most part. I thought it was interesting that they had actually changed their names to fit their new life. I did wonder about schooling and how they got away with Coyote not going to school when they didn't mention home schooling either. I also loved that they had three questions they asked people before they were allowed to travel with them.

This book may be my favorite this year.  It is laugh-out-loud funny, cry-and-hope-noone-is-looking, and a story of hope everlasting.  I can't wait to recommend this to my students.

I have read all of Dan Gemeinhart’s books and this is his best one so far!  This one has great characters a wonderful plots and lots of feels.  And that ending!  I had to try really hard not to cry, because I was reading it during lunch recess in the library.  

Coyote is such an amazing and darling character.   She has had a rough life, and her dad does not make things easier.  He is in such denial about his grief that he even changed their names so he wouldn’t be reminded of the past.  I loved their relationship though.  Coyote has a unique perspective on life and on people’s reactions to their lifestyle.  She is fun to hang out with and has little difficulty making friends where ever they are.  She is beginning to see the hardship of always moving though, and she does have trouble telling her father about her true motives behind her wanting to go home, but in the end she does and it makes their relationship stronger. 

Many people join them for this journey.  Salvatore is a boy around the same age as Coyote and they quickly bond over their love of books.  They tell each other their secrets and Salvatore does stay with Coyote until the end of the trip.  Val is older than these two, but she also quickly becomes invested in Coyote’s adventure and helps her out as well.  There are adults who join them, Lester and Salvatore’s mom and aunt.  They are not as fleshed out as the kids, but they all help get Coyote and her dad where they need to go. 

I need to give a special shout out to Ivan, Coyote’s cat.  The story about how she gets him is at the beginning of the book and it is so sweet.  Their bond is also very wonderful and Ivan always seems to know what she needs.  And he also comes to her rescue at one point which was awesome. 

The plot was very well done.  There are a lot of trials and roadblocks that really try to keep Coyote from getting to where she needs to be.  I loved the three questions they ask everyone before they agree to take them along on the bus.  

What is your favorite book?
What is your favorite place on this planet Earth?
What is your favorite sandwich? 
I had a really hard time putting this book down, and I almost finished it in one day.  It is a beautiful middle grade book about grief, friendship, family and finding your place in the world.

Coyote is an appealing character! Her voice is authentic and full of love for the family she had and the one she has. A great story of living life after great loss.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart is one remarkable story!! Dad and daughter travel the country in an old school bus to escape the emotional turmoil caused when dealing with the memories and death of other family members. This has all the ingredients needed to take the reader on an emotional roller coaster right along with the characters in the book. Coyote will win your heart from the start! Each character comes along at just the right time in the story. In every interaction with other characters, the reader can find a lesson or an emotional tug on the heart. This should definitely be read with tissues on hand. This story will stay with you for a long time! 

Thank you to Net Galley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Coyote and Rodeo live on a bus, traveling around the country without anything tying them down.  At least that is Rodeo's opinion.  At one time Coyote was a daughter and sister and Rodeo was her dad, but a tragic accident changed all of that and for the past five years, home had been on the road in a yellow bus.  After one of her weekly phone calls to Grandma, Coyote receives news that will set her on a new journey and will bring up the ghosts of her mom and two sisters.  Will Rodeo be able to handle Coyote's truth?  

This may be my favorite of Dan Gemeinhart's books.  A story about grief and love, Coyote and Rodeo open our eyes to kindness, family and unconditional love.  Will definitely be adding to our library.

Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been traveling around the country in a school bus for five years. They live on the road to leave their past, the loss of Coyote's mother and sisters, behind. When Coyote learns that the park in her hometown is going to be demolished, she knows she must return to keep the promise she made to her mother and dig up a memory box buried before her mother and sisters died. The passengers Coyote and Rodeo pick up along the way not only become friends, but help Coyote on her journey. This is a book that will tug at your heart strings. It's a story about dealing with grief and letting go of the past. It's also a story that shows we all need help at times in this world and we can also be the help that others need. The characters are amazing and the writing is beautiful.

I wasn't able to finish this book.  I found it to be odd for no other reason than to be odd.  Perhaps I should have read farther, but I had other books that seemed more interesting.

I just finished reading The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and am so moved by the story.  Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been hurting beyond hurt for five years since Coyote's mom and two sisters died in a car crash.  Clearly Rodeo cannot come to terms with it since he has spent the last five years driving to nowhere in a school bus with his daughter.  They pick up travelers as they go and always ask the same three questions to determine if the traveler should join them.  The people they bring along are a mixed group of hurts as well.  Coyote has been ok with this life until she finds out that the park where she grew up is being torn down and the memory box her mother and sisters and her buried just days before they died will be lost forever.  Coyote is determined to get back to Poplin Springs even if Rodeo doesn't want to back. So, she doesn't tell him.

There is such a strong sense of family in this story, and family takes on many faces:  Coyote and her dad,  Coyote's Grandma.  Salvador, Lester, Val all make a family, too.   The construction workers at the park.  Each has a role to play in bringing Coyote and her dad to the place where they can begin to heal.  I cannot wait to share this book with my students when it comes out in January.  Dan Gemeinhart has written yet another superb novel.

Coyote has spent much of her life wandering the country with her father, as he runs from the deep grief that he feels after losing her mother and sister. While Coyote loves her father, she is ready to go back and face their fears and sadness by going back home. She sets a plan into motion to try to go home, while meeting many new and interesting friends along the way.

Coyote and her father, Rodeo, travel around the US in a converted school bus they call Yager. Their life seems pretty comfortable, and they go wherever they want (especially if it involves some really good destination food), but they are on the road because of a sad reason. Coyote's mother and two sisters were killed in a car accident, and their father coped so poorly that he had to sell their house, leave their town, and doesn't even want to call Coyote by her real name or be referred to as her father, because it makes him remember too much.When Coyote talks to her grandmother, who tells her the park near their old home is going to be torn down, Coyote wants to get back in time to retrieve a time capsule that her mother and sisters left there just five days before their death. Since she can't tell her father, she makes an excuse to travel somewhat nearby to get a special sandwich. Her father can't drive enough to get from Florida to the Pacific Northwest, so when Coyote finds a young musician who wants to travel there to see his girlfriend, she invites him along. Rodeo has done this and the past, and has series of questions for people to answer. The answers are correct, and they are on their way. They also pick up Salvador and his mother, who are fleeing his father, after Coyote is accidentally left at a gas station. They also pick up an 18-year-old runaway, Valerie, who has been kicked out of her home because she is gay. Any cross country trip will have incidents, and there are incorrect connections, break downs, and general mayhem. Will Coyote be able to make it back, and will her father eventually realize that she needs to talk about her past in order to go on with her future?
Strengths: A good road trip story is always good, from Cooney's On the Road to Pla's The Someday Birds. The bus is a fun vehicle, the aimlessness appeals to the middle grade soul, and there is a lot of good relationships and adventure. While this is a little different from Gemeinhart's previous books, it shows me that he has studied up on the current climate in middle grade literature. Several topics that are currently in favor are in play here-- a dead parent, LGBTQ+ character, and domestic problems. The cover is good as well.  
Weaknesses: I would think that people who had lost a loved one would be really insulted by all of the literary characters who become completely dysfunctional when they are grieving. I liked that the funding for the constant traveling was explained (insurance settlement), but the father's aimlessness, combined with his unwillingness to parent Coyote in an effective way, is inexcusable. While not talking about the departed is an excellent way to deal with it, the needs of a child come first, and Coyote should have been near her grandmother and in a whole lot of grief counseling. 
What I really think: While I very much personally disliked the portrayal of a grieving parent, this is a good story, and I will be purchasing it for my library.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This was AMAZING. There's really no other way to say it. I have been a fan of Gemeinhart since I first read The Honest Truth a few years ago, and have enjoyed many of other books. His writing style is so fantastic for middle grade readers. The stories are poignant, the characters are interesting, and the books always, always, tug on your heart-strings. I loved this. It could easily be one of my favorite reads so far this year. I would call this a first purchase, must-buy kind of book. Highly recommend, for all the reasons, for all the readers.

Coyote and Rodeo (don't call him her DAD, that's not what they do anymore) have been on the road in Yager, a big yellow school bus, for five years. It's been that long since the accident that took Coyote's mom and her two sisters. That long since they stayed in any one place. That long since they allowed themselves to look back and remember the past. Because as Rodeo says, it's a "no-go." And his no-gos are non-negotiable. But now, Coyote has found out that their old hometown is going to tear down a local park, the park where she and her sisters and her mother buried a memory box. One they were going to dig up in 10 years. One they would come back to and open together. So now Coyote is on a mission to get back to Washington State (she gets the news in Florida) and she has a strict deadline. And she has to do it without her dad figuring it out. No big deal, right?

Along the way, Coyote and Rodeo pick up some other travelers, all carrying their own baggage and their own stories. And as they travel across the country, Coyote has to figure out what she is willing to risk in order to make her own rules. To make her own "no-gos." 

This is an incredible story of how one deals with grief and what it means to let go of the past. I cannot recommend this story enough and am so glad I got to read it.

The title of this book says it all. Coyote and Rodeo are a father-daughter duo who live in a refurbished school bus named Yager. They have been traveling across the US for the past five years, after a tragic and devastating accident in their family. While they have traveled to many exciting places, they have not been back home since they left. Coyote learns that the park where she buried a memory box with her mother and sisters is being demolished and she knows she must go back and retrieve it. The only problem is that she knows the memories associated with home are too painful for Rodeo and he will refuse to go back. Coyote develops a plan and along with the help of the other passengers they pickup on the way, they do everything they can to get Coyote home in time to get the monkey box. 
This isn't just the journey of Coyote and Rodeo but also of the other passengers they encounter on the way. Each of the passengers is on their own journey with their own struggles and issues they need to work through. They all commit to helping Coyote just as she helps many of them. 
I felt this book was truly remarkable. It's about grief and how to process it. It's about a variety of struggles and how different people cope. I think this would be great for all middle grade students who are going through the grieving process and need to relate to someone. 
Bring your tissues because you will have tears from laughing and crying as you climb aboard Yager and go on the journey with Coyote, Rodeo, and all of the incredible passengers. I have a feeling this book is going to win all of the awards it's nominated for. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC.