Coyote Queen

A 12-year-old contends with financial precarity and domestic abuse in this realistic read with a fantastical twist by Vitalis (The Wolf’s Curse). In small-town Wyoming, Felicity Ulyssa “Fud” Dahlers walks on eggshells around her mother’s volatile, alcohol-dependent boyfriend Larry, a former boxer, and tries to block out the adults’ frequent arguments by imagining herself running free with nearby coyotes. Fud is initially wary of new girl Leigh, who’s just moved into the trailer next door. But Leigh suggests that they enter the Miss Tween Black Gold Pageant together, and Fud commits after discovering that the prize money could facilitate her and her mother’s escape from Larry. When her mother’s health takes a turn and Larry’s abuse becomes physical, Fud finds herself manifesting coyote-like traits as she struggles to survive while preparing for the pageant. 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. Fud is of Spanish descent; the supporting cast is racially diverse. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (Oct.)