“So many of our kids are going to feel seen in this book … I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is phenomenal. One of the best books of the year, one of the most important books you will read this year.” – Colby Sharp
Fud and Mom against the world, that’s how it always was.
Until Larry showed up.
Now they live in his trailer—and carefully follow his rules. When Larry comes home with a rusted-out boat he plans to turn into their new home, Fud vows to save them from the floating prison. But with only twenty dollars to her name, that seems as hopeless as untangling her strange connection to a nearby pack of coyotes—a connection that not even her beloved guide to Wyoming wildlife can explain.
When she has the chance to compete for the cash prize in a local beauty pageant, Fud finally sees a way out. And she won’t let anything get in the way of winning.
Not Larry’s fiery temper.
Not Mom’s recent illness.
Not the mean girls at school.
Not a secondhand dress and hand-me-down shoes.
And especially not her new, mysterious abilities that are getting stronger every day.
The Benefits of Being an Octopus meets The Nest in this contemporary middle grade novel with a magical twist about family, class, and resilience.
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“The well-rounded characters and strong pacing are excellent, but Vitalis’s real strength is in how she portrays the toll abuse takes on children and the hope that exists when one is brave enough to ask for help. To adult readers, Fud’s transformations into a coyote are a coping mechanism; to a child reader, it is magical, and both of these readings show the power of the mind to survive and adapt to trauma. VERDICT This title deftly tackles a difficult topic that affects far too many children. Purchase for all middle grade collections.”
School Library Journal Starred Review
“…a tragically familiar tale of abuse is layered onto a raw and multifaceted coming-of-age story…Rich, strange, and winningly intense.”
Kirkus Starred Review
“The best fictional stories are the ones that cut right to the truth, no matter how deep it’s buried. COYOTE QUEEN is one of those stories. Nuanced and raw, this book throbs with both power and hope. Vitalis has delivered a brilliant story, one that’s clearly straight from her heart — and that’s thankfully now heading to the hearts of readers everywhere.”
Ann Braden, author of THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS
“Exquisitely written and painfully real, this is a brave and beautiful book about hard, important things.”
Megan E. Freeman, award-winning author of ALONE
“An unflinching depiction of domestic violence and poverty interwoven with budding friendships and coyote magic. There are no easy answers, but there is hope. This book lights the way.”
Jenn Reese, award-winning author of A GAME OF FOX & SQUIRRELS
“The challenges that Fud and her mother endure—some of which are based on Vitalis’s childhood experiences, per an author’s note—are sympathetically wrought, and Fud’s resilience and compassion drive the narrative to a complex yet optimistic resolution.”
Publishers Weekly
“A memorable story of ferocity, love, desperation–and the bittersweet empowerment of a girl finding her way out of difficulty. Vitalis captures painful truth with a deft touch of fantasy.”
Kaela Rivera, award-winning author of CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS
“Scrappy Fud demonstrates admirable coping mechanisms alongside awareness she shouldn’t have to live in fear, and the book’s coyote facts and symbolism nicely bolster Fud’s survivor mentality: ‘Sometimes leaving one pack meant finding another.’ . . . An honest, slice-of-underrepresented-life story with a speculative twist.”
Booklist
“Though written for middle-grade readers, Coyote Queen resonates with anyone who has faced adversity. It speaks to the courage to fight for a better life and the strength to transform even when the odds are stacked against you.”
Alysse Bryson, The Sober Curator