Candace’s arrival forces Coyote to deal with the unwelcome realization that her father is gradually finding a way to move on with his life after the death of Coyote’s mother. Faced with the immediate evidence of their romance, she is not emotionally ready to accept Candace’s presence as part of the family dynamic, despite her private admission that Candace is a good person. Coyote’s resistance arises from her own jealousy and her lingering fear of moving on with her own life in the wake of her losses, and she therefore misinterprets Candace’s behavior as negative or annoying. This dynamic becomes clear when Candace suggests that the trip is like a “scavenger hunt,” for Coyote resentfully wonders, “Did she think my mom was a ten-year-old at summer camp?” (74). In her internal monologue, she often resorts to using sarcasm and rhetorical questioning to hide her defensiveness over her mother’s memory.

In the midst of these conflicts, Salvador acts as an emotional anchor for Coyote during her grieving. He often responds with protectiveness whenever she feels hurt or threatened, and when Coyote trusts him enough to show him her mother’s ashes, this moment marks the true depth of their friendship. Yet even as Salvador helps to calm some conflicts, his presence also introduces others. For example, his openness contrasts with Rodeo’s emotional avoidance, and Salvador’s own growth highlights Coyote’s social blocks when he shares stories of his own life outside of his time with Coyote. These developments in his own social world contribute to Coyote’s fear of being left behind: a fear that has already been stoked by her father’s growing bond with Candace.

Despite Coyote’s resistance to the many new changes in her life, Candace asserts her right to be a part of the family unit in ways that complicate Coyote’s judgment of her. For example, when Candace sings along to “I Will Survive,” one of Coyote’s favorite songs, this moment briefly bridges the gap between them as Coyote cannot help but relate to the woman she has vowed to reject. Additional difficulties arise when Candace states preferences that shift the rhythm of the road trip; specifically, her penchant for embracing planning and avoiding spontaneity contrasts with Coyote’s long-held belief in Appreciating the Journey and its unique flow.

With its constantly shifting settings, the very structure of the novel continues to emphasize the emotional significance of movement and transition, and this trend is further emphasized during the reunion with Salvador, which alerts Coyote to his visible growth. As she notes Salvador’s physical changes, she finds it strange to think that “you’re just going along, being a kid […] and then one day you’ve got a friend with a mustache” (71). As Salvador builds a new life and Coyote struggles to do the same for herself, these chapters introduce the theme of Gaining Perspective With Maturity.

While many of the novel’s conflicts are universal, the author also embeds the narrative in a very specific, real-world context by including frequent references to the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding rise in racist attitudes. Historically, certain social factions blamed China for the spread of the virus and expressed undiluted discrimination against people of various Asian cultures or heritage, and the scene depicting Wally’s difficulties in the convenience store highlight this issue. After witnessing the store owner’s unreasoning hatred, Coyote is emotionally overwhelmed, and the chapter delivers a teachable moment when Wally thanks her for her empathy and explains that during desperate times, people’s fears can drive them to behave cruelly.

To further emphasize Coyote’s shock in the convenience store, the scene is narrated with a fragmented, repetitive style that indirectly depicts the depths of Coyote’s shock. As she states, “I stood there like my flip-flops were nailed to the floor. I stood there, shocked and terrified and breathless and useless” (136). The repetition of “I stood there” creates a sense of helplessness and touches on the visceral reaction of being frozen in the midst of an imminent threat. The excessive use of adjectives (“shocked,” “terrified,” “breathless,” “useless”) also intensifies her emotional overload and expresses her inability to respond in the moment. This instinctive reaction also explains her subsequent guilt as she ruminates on what she wished she had done, contrasting this with her inaction in the moment.

As Coyote and Salvador both find themselves Gaining Perspective With Maturity, the author uses a myriad of ways to record these changes in mindset and understanding. Salvador’s visible maturity, as demonstrated by his mustache and his developing romantic relationship, contrasts sharply with Coyote’s emotional stagnation. As she responds to his news with jealousy and mockery, her immature response highlights her unspoken fear of being left behind. This dynamic is illustrated in her discomfort when Salvador admits to having a girlfriend, and she also reacts poorly to her belated realization that Candace and Rodeo are also in a romantic relationship. As she struggles to acknowledge and accept these important changes in the people closest to her, she relies upon storytelling to reframe her understanding of the world. For example, the fairy-story that she devises to help Rodeo with his lingering grief illustrates her new understanding of her own role in the family unit, and she clearly recognizes the importance of processing grief and emotional pain. By describing a badger and pup who prove to be “strong enough, together” (118), she uses an allegory to express her commitment to supporting her father and receiving his support as they both navigate their path toward the future.

The novel also explores The Past’s Hold on the Present by depicting key memories that hold both pain and beauty, such as Coyote’s vivid recollection of her mother in the apple orchard, which “looked and sounded and smelled like it was raining apple blossoms” (123). The memory takes on a dreamlike, magical aura, and the multisensory details lend this past moment a near-cinematic quality. After spending much of the story running from her grief, Coyote finally begins to understand that remembering her mother can bring her joy instead of pain and sadness. This crucial inner shift foreshadows a drastic change in her emotional development, for she is finally beginning to accept the idea that the past can coexist with the present—without controlling how Coyote approaches her future.