Coyote Lost and Found is a middle grade realistic fiction novel written by Dan Gemeinhart and originally published in 2024. The novel was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for several awards and selections. This sequel to The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic and follows Coyote and her father, Rodeo, as they take to the road again—this time, to release the ashes of Coyote’s mother. (She and Coyote’s two sisters died a few years ago.) Along the way, Coyote bonds with old friends and makes new ones while she navigates The Past’s Hold on the Present. As she finds herself Gaining Perspective With Maturity, she also learns that Appreciating the Journey is more important than reaching the destination.

This guide refers to the 2025 Square Fish edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death and racism.

Plot Summary

After the death of Coyote Sunrise’s mother and two sisters in a car accident, Coyote and her father, Rodeo, traveled the country in an old school bus named Yager, spending five years trying to outrun their grief. Now, however, they have settled down in Oregon. One day, Coyote comes across a box containing her mother’s ashes; it has been hidden on the bus all this time. She shows Rodeo, who thinks it’s time to scatter the ashes. He tells Coyote that in a poetry book called Red Bird by Mary Oliver, her mother wrote the location she wanted her ashes scattered. When Coyote cannot find the book, she realizes that she accidentally sold it to a thrift store somewhere in the United States. Coyote doesn’t tell Rodeo that the book is lost; instead, she concocts a plan to go on a road trip and retrieve it, spinning her idea in such a way that he will not know of her mistake.

She narrows the possible locations of the book down to four states and tells her father that the final destination of their road trip will be a secret. As an adventurer at heart, Rodeo is immediately interested in the journey. He invites his friend, Candace, who brings her dog Fig, and Coyote invites her best friend, Salvador. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coyote and Salvador’s respective schools have been closed. The journey begins right away.

Coyote boards the family bus, Yager, along with Rodeo and Candace, and they ride four hours to pick up Salvador. When they all visit a restaurant in Denver, they meet a man named Wally, who has great taste in literature and needs a ride. Believing in offering kindness when they can, Coyote and Rodeo invite Wally to join the journey, despite Candace’s hesitation. They all head to Kansas next, but the bookstore there doesn’t have the book. Coyote and Rodeo have a heart-to-heart conversation, and Rodeo admits to feeling responsible for their family’s deaths; Coyote comforts him with a story.

On the way to Maine, Coyote notices Candace and Rodeo getting physically closer, evidence of a growing romantic connection, and this bothers her deeply. When Salvador admits to having a girlfriend of his own, she feels jealous of his popularity. In Indiana, a store clerk verbally attacks Wally with racist slurs and demands that he leave. Wally handles the situation calmly, but Coyote is distraught by the scene. She decides to get Wally his favorite sandwich, which he then shares with everyone.

Coyote finds out that the store in Maine doesn’t have her book, so Pittsburgh is the last option. When the bus arrives at the thrift store there, Coyote finds it closed due to the pandemic, so she plans to break into the store with Salvador later that night. That night, she manages to sneak out of the bus and take a cab to the store, where she climbs through a window. In the process, she falls on a desk and breaks her arm. Although she does not find her book, the police and store owner eventually find her. They sympathize with her situation, but they still have to call her father, who is deeply disappointed in her. Coyote gets a cast for her arm and leaves the hospital feeling angry at the world. She is angry at her father for hiding her mother’s ashes, angry at Salvador for having friends, and angry at her mother and sisters for dying and leaving her behind. Coyote takes her frustration out on Candace and makes it clear she isn’t welcome; Candace leaves, sullen and defeated.

Salvador helps to cheer Coyote up when they ride on the roof of the bus together; Coyote admits to wishing that she were braver and more confident. Salvador tells her that she is like a caterpillar waiting to grow into her wings. Coyote then decides to call Candace and apologize; she brings Candace back to surprise Rodeo, then admits that she lost the book. Rodeo blames himself for not telling Coyote about the book and its importance long ago. When he sees a photo of the book on Coyote’s phone, the group uses the details to trace the book to a store in Ohio.

Once there, the owner directs them to a woman named Doreen, to whom he recently donated the book. Coyote meets Doreen in a park, and they share stories of loss. Coyote discovers that the book contains a final message of love from her mother, as well as a hint about a special pond that the family used to visit. Coyote invites Doreen to join the adventure, and Doreen agrees.

On the way back to Washington, Doreen helps Coyote to understand the importance of being grateful for the blessings one has. At the pond, a beautiful pink sunset accents the scene as Coyote and Rodeo release the ashes. Back on the bus, Coyote looks at all the people she cares about and feels more grateful than ever.