Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I loved this book! My last blog post was about books that don’t make you care about the characters. This was not problem with Coyote Ate the Stars. As a person recovering from obesity and food addiction, I was a little concerned that this book might be triggering for me, but I really wanted to read it. I regret nothing! I hate to say “breath of fresh air,” because it sounds so cliche, but after being up to my neck in non-fiction and the aforementioned I-don’t-care-about-these-characters books, Coyote was, in fact, refreshing. I mentioned in this post that I wanted to read more fantasy, and this was a fun way to take myself up on that offer.
Mom Feels
First of all, we have a protagonist whose name is Coyote. Is there a cooler name? I don’t think so. I have always been simultaneously fascinated by and terrified of coyotes. As a kid and young adult, when I stayed with my grandparents on the farm there was a good chance of hearing coyotes howling at night. Knowing there is a dangerous wild animal nearby can be thrilling when you are tucked safely inside. I have also seen coyotes not far from my current home. They look so smart! I just love them! But I also don’t trust them. So… what prompts a mother to name her son Coyote? As of right now, I still don’t know. That’s okay. I definitely want to know, but I am also totally on board with this book pretending that this is a perfectly normal name and no explanation should be necessary.
Coyote is eighteen. I have an eighteen year old right now. I also have vivid memories of being eighteen. Some serious identity crisis stuff hit me at that age. There’s a lot of pressure to feel like you have it all figured out. There’s a lot of pressure about everything. I felt a strong connection to Coyote and wanted to give him a hug. When my kids are in pain I just want to fix it. Usually I can’t. Sometimes I try to say something helpful and I just make it worse. But I can always give them a hug. That’s the kind of hug I wanted to give this young man. The I-can’t-help-but-I’m-here hug. This book definitely made me care about the characters. Hazel is Coyote’s younger sister, and I really liked her too. Even some of the characters that maybe I wasn’t supposed to like much had a lot of appeal. The end of the book left me wanting to see more of each of them. #Sequels!
World-Building
Fantasy means world-building, right? Do you ever read fantasy and feel like the author set the book in Middle Earth but slapped a new name on it? Middle Earth is awesome, but I like discovering new fantasy worlds. I really enjoyed visiting the crepuscular world of Adumbrate. And yes, I geeked out when I came upon the word “crepuscular” in the text. Many thanks to Kathy for my love of that word!
I liked the fact that our world is part of this universe. It’s reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time or Narnia where the story starts in our regular old world and then our heroes are whisked away on an adventure. I have to admit, there were a few anachronisms that made me want to be judgy. Would someone really have the last name Valentine on this other world? Would a native Adumbrite (Adumbration?) use the word “Jesus” as an expression? However, there is the clue that other people have crossed between our two worlds before, so I have to suspend my judgement and assume that these words could have squirreled their way into their language through those connections. This was really the biggest of very few bones I could find to pick with this story, so I decided to focus on the positive.
There’s a troll with a very scary bridge. Come to think of it, all of the bridges in this story are terrifying. But mostly that troll’s bridge. I am certain we will see him again… which scares me more than a little. I have a ton of books on my TBR list, but I fully intend to bump everything and read the sequel as soon as it’s available. That’s saying a lot because I have read the first book in so many series. Thank you book clubs! But can I please find out what happens to Coyote and Hazel next? And revisit all of their new friends!
Royal AF
Another tried and true fantasy trope – secret royal lineage! I like the spin on this one too. I especially like the internal dialogue that takes place with the main characters as they contemplate how they fit into this new world and how people treat them in this setting versus how they are used to being treated at “home.” Their own assumptions about themselves are repeatedly called up for examination as are the assumptions they make about others. Maybe these aha moments seem a bit contrived, but this is YA lit, and I sincerely hope that young adult readers are occasionally having this sort of internal conversation with themselves.
How would your life change if you found out the truth about your secret royal lineage? What if you find out you are royal but also find out that you were conceived for one very specific purpose? Does this give your life purpose or make you feel like a pawn?
I recommend Coyote Ate the Stars for anyone looking for a new YA fantasy. Do you have any favorite new fantasy books?