Coyote Lost and Found, written by Dan Gemeinhart. Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan. Raincoast, 2024. $23.99 ages 10 and up

"And so I told him. The whole thing. Starting 
six years ago with a car accident and a hole in 
the universe. Then on through meeting Salvador 
last summer and a race for a memory box. And 
right up to finding some ashes and an out-of-
the-blue pandemic shutting down school. I 
did not tell him about the lost book. That 
little piece of info was still on a best-friends-
only level of secrecy, and even though Wally 
was moving quickly right up the ranks, he 
wasn't quite there yet. Who knew if he might
accidentally spill the beans and tell Rodeo."

Here is my blog post for the first book about Coyote and her father: 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7130079189010543417/5458111106618044929 

Coyote is a force to be reckoned with: an honest and supportive daughter, a grieving child, a loyal friend, a welcoming presence on the bus that provides a home for others, feisty, while vulnerable. She is an honorable and extremely memorable character who will live in the hearts of readers for a long time. 

After the remarkable journey of the first book, Coyote and her father have settled into a house in Oregon where they could get the counseling they both needed to help them deal with the death of her mother and two sisters. After five years of being on the road with her father, they felt it was time to put down some roots and get her back to school. Now, with COVID rearing its ugly head, the school has shut down and it gives the two an opportunity to return to the road. 

It is another journey to help them deal with the loss and grief they are both still feeling every day. So many of the scenes between father and daughter are filled with love, and a willingness to be there for each other no matter the circumstances. This trip has a purpose. Coyote has discovered a box with her mother's ashes, and a note that explains how a Mary Oliver poem will lead them to where she would like them to scatter her ashes. The book was left somewhere along the way a year ago and Coyote has an idea for where they might find it. She doesn't want her father to know she has left it behind them. 

As they did the first time, they are happy to have fellow travelers with them. Each of these friends plays a pivotal role in poignant scenes. Coyote provides Rodeo instructions for their travel, as she reels with guilt over the lost book and angst over ever finding it again. Her first-person narrative is perfect for the telling. 

Dan Gemeinhart has penned another compelling, funny, and needs-to-be-read middle grade novel that you don't want to miss!