Coyote Summer

Heath always enjoyed summers at Grandpas—long days in the wild Rocky Mountains, fishing with Dad on the Piedra River, and sleeping on the screened porch. Plus this summer, Dad promised to tell him the secret about old Mrs. Baylis, a mysterious woman living down the dusty road… But now, after Dads accident, it can never happen that way. Heath and his mom go to Grandpas, but only to spread Dads ashes in the river. At first, Heath feels like he's been swallowed by the raging Piedra, held upside down in some dark eddy. Then he meets Annie, a wild-eyed tomboy who shows him a cave with a litter of orphaned coyote pups. Together they discover the cave holds a secret that might help them figure out the mystery of Mrs. Baylis. As summer unfolds, Heath realizes there is both beauty and ugliness in the world, sometimes all tangled together. By opening himself up to Annie and the coyotes, he rediscovers hope and joy in this big, beautiful, mixed-up world.