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Coyoteland
From the bestselling author of A River of Stars comes a funny, heartfelt novel set in an affluent Bay Area suburb where a Chinese American family moves in and sets off a series of scandals, for fans of Celeste Ng and Emma Straub
Living in El Nido, a privileged community in the hills east of Berkeley, is supposed to mean you’ve made it. So when Jin Chang moves there with his wife and daughters after years of scraping by, he hopes it will finally be the end of his bad luck. What his family doesn’t know is that he’s bending the rules for one final scheme: to make it big in real estate. Next door, Blair Belle prides herself on her progressive politics. After all, she treats their new nanny, Ana Rodriguez, and her daughter like family—even if she doesn’t know them all that well. But she can’t help but feel skeptical of the new neighbors, especially when she begins to suspect that Jin’s plans might interfere with the Belle’s own luxury development.
Jin’s teenage daughter Jane can tell her dad is keeping a secret, but she’s also struggling to navigate El Nido’s cliques. Tasha Washington has always felt isolated, too, as one of the only Black girls at the school. In the wake of a coyote attack, Jane and Tasha bond. Together, they hatch a plot to expose the town’s hypocrisies. The shockwaves will rock their own families. As fire season escalates, and the roaming coyote continues to unleash chaos, the characters become embroiled in a series of scandals that will change El Nido—and their own fates—forever.
Urgent, riveting, and deeply heartfelt, full of sharp wit and keen empathy, Coyoteland is at once a delicious suburban drama and an unflinching exploration of our current moment.
Living in El Nido, a privileged community in the hills east of Berkeley, is supposed to mean you’ve made it. So when Jin Chang moves there with his wife and daughters after years of scraping by, he hopes it will finally be the end of his bad luck. What his family doesn’t know is that he’s bending the rules for one final scheme: to make it big in real estate. Next door, Blair Belle prides herself on her progressive politics. After all, she treats their new nanny, Ana Rodriguez, and her daughter like family—even if she doesn’t know them all that well. But she can’t help but feel skeptical of the new neighbors, especially when she begins to suspect that Jin’s plans might interfere with the Belle’s own luxury development.
Jin’s teenage daughter Jane can tell her dad is keeping a secret, but she’s also struggling to navigate El Nido’s cliques. Tasha Washington has always felt isolated, too, as one of the only Black girls at the school. In the wake of a coyote attack, Jane and Tasha bond. Together, they hatch a plot to expose the town’s hypocrisies. The shockwaves will rock their own families. As fire season escalates, and the roaming coyote continues to unleash chaos, the characters become embroiled in a series of scandals that will change El Nido—and their own fates—forever.
Urgent, riveting, and deeply heartfelt, full of sharp wit and keen empathy, Coyoteland is at once a delicious suburban drama and an unflinching exploration of our current moment.
289 pages, Hardcover
First published May 12, 2026
About the author
Vanessa Hua
17 books479 followersVanessa Hua is the author of the national bestsellers A River of Stars and Forbidden City, as well the Arts Literature Fellow, she has also received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a California Arts Council Fellowship, and a Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing, as well as honors from the de Groot Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Asian American Journalists Association, among others. She was a finalist for the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, and the New American Voices Award. Previously, she was an award-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. She has filed stories from China, Burma, South Korea, Ecuador, and Panama, and her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She teaches at the Warren Wilson MFA Program and elsewhere. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Her novel, COYOTELAND, and nonfiction narrative, UPROOTED, are forthcoming.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Coyoteland is a slow burn part coming-of-age, part domestic thriller, exploring race, class, and familial bonds in the prosperous Bay Area. I had to know what was going to happen and Hua very deftly sets up several narratives that slowly grow more and more tense until they implode in one dazzling finale sequence. There is a lot going on here, so although no one theme is explored deeply in detail, I thought from the perspective of the younger teeenage/pre-teen age characters the book very nicely put you in the state of growing up during this time where so many things feel chaotic and with unfettered access to the internet, kids are left to teach, learn, and make mistakes themselves in very public ways.
While I ultimately very much enjoyed Coyoteland, I really struggle with books that have a lot of characters introduced all up front. I ended up drawing a map of all the families and how they connected with little details and this helped me navigate it immensely. Once I had gotten the hang of the families I was tearing through the book, and completely hooked. I love a character guide in the front of the book but I also think this is largely a me issue.
Though Coyoteland was very much it's own story, and Vanessa Hua her own distinct voice, I feel that fans of Kiley Reed's Such a Fun Age and Kate Broad's Greenwhich might also enjoy Vanessa Hua's Coyoteland.
Thank you to Vanessa Hua, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
While I ultimately very much enjoyed Coyoteland, I really struggle with books that have a lot of characters introduced all up front. I ended up drawing a map of all the families and how they connected with little details and this helped me navigate it immensely. Once I had gotten the hang of the families I was tearing through the book, and completely hooked. I love a character guide in the front of the book but I also think this is largely a me issue.
Though Coyoteland was very much it's own story, and Vanessa Hua her own distinct voice, I feel that fans of Kiley Reed's Such a Fun Age and Kate Broad's Greenwhich might also enjoy Vanessa Hua's Coyoteland.
Thank you to Vanessa Hua, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 8, 2026
Enjoyed the multiple converging storylines of diverse characters set amidst a COVID-ish background. No spoilers to ruin how the book turns out but the plot manages to successfully weave a host of issues (domestic violence, class disparity, racism, eating disorders, high-tech surveillance, and wildlife encroachment) into a compelling story.
While some praise this as a COVID novel, it does take place during that timeframe but it felt more like a COVID-light or maybe a 2-year post-COVID representation not the intense scary way it actually felt during the height of it. It is still a good story despite diminishing how awful it was living through that period. Readers who like these sort of books with many characters and storylines (Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies are bound to appreciate this one.
While some praise this as a COVID novel, it does take place during that timeframe but it felt more like a COVID-light or maybe a 2-year post-COVID representation not the intense scary way it actually felt during the height of it. It is still a good story despite diminishing how awful it was living through that period. Readers who like these sort of books with many characters and storylines (Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies are bound to appreciate this one.
May 24, 2026
3.75 stars
May 31, 2026
This book was extremely time based in COVID-era 2020, which I didn’t realize going in and was a little jarring but was handled better than most books of that era that I’ve read. It also addresses practically every issue under the sun (racism, Covid, immigration, domestic violence, eating disorders, wildfires, NIMBY culture, surveillance culture) which again was a Lot but was handled better than a lot of books I’ve read that try to handle this many big topics. It was not too heavy hitting with the lessons, but still thought provoking. It could be a bit much to keep track of and care about at times, with so many parallel storylines and characters, but I really appreciated how they all intertwined and wrapped up at the end.
I didn’t care for the coyote’s POV, but those moments were few and far between enough that they didn’t take me out of the story too much. But it is tough when the main critique of the book is almost too much going on, and then for some reason you add the coyote’s thoughts on top of it all
I didn’t care for the coyote’s POV, but those moments were few and far between enough that they didn’t take me out of the story too much. But it is tough when the main critique of the book is almost too much going on, and then for some reason you add the coyote’s thoughts on top of it all
Currently Reading
June 10, 2026* 6/10/26 * Just started Vanessa Hua's latest release, a short 292-page (kindle edition) contemporary novel set in the Bay Area, and featuring an Asian family, entitled rich people, cliques, and a rogue coyote, this is a complex set of characters that cross lines of race and socio-economic status. I lived in the Bay Area for many years and always enjoy novels set there. Review coming soon.
May 11, 2026
In the wealthy community of El Nido in the hills above Berkeley, California, things are awry during the pandemic. Well, they were awry everywhere, but especially here. When the Changs move in next door to the Belles, trouble is afoot. Race, privilege, class, immigration, real estate, COVID-19—this book has it all. Arguably, it has too many things.
Compared in descriptions to Celeste Ng's, Little Fires Everywhere, I can see the parallels. When I started the book it had been a long time since I requested, and I didn't remember that Ng's work had been mentioned. I immediately felt the connection, recognized it on my own, and had my hopes up. This fell much flatter overall. The topics were ambitious (as already listed above) and I think they could make for some really great book club discussions. Until about the 50% mark I felt like the story was subtly interrogating my mindset and beliefs, all in a good way. Then, unfortunately, events and characters started becoming harder for me to track and the narrative got lost. The second half became much more in-my-face about the issues and I preferred the way the first half was more seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of the story. While I started the novel with high expectations, I ended up disappointed. The characters I grew to loathe didn't really get their comeuppance (which... to be fair, in real life, does that always happen?). The ones I adored didn't really get much closure. I suppose this is true to life, but it made for a dissatisfying experience for me.
The audiobook narration had some great moments. I appreciate Barrón's voice is a lower register for female narrators, but the performance was still a little stilted. I had a hard time differentiating characters and storylines. I benefited from having a print copy to reference, but without this, I'm sure I would have been more confused than I was.
Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but it did not reach the standards I had when comparing it to LFE. If I had to sum it up, this just tried to do too much.
Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for the digital review copy and advance listener copy of this title and the opportunity to be an early reader.
Compared in descriptions to Celeste Ng's, Little Fires Everywhere, I can see the parallels. When I started the book it had been a long time since I requested, and I didn't remember that Ng's work had been mentioned. I immediately felt the connection, recognized it on my own, and had my hopes up. This fell much flatter overall. The topics were ambitious (as already listed above) and I think they could make for some really great book club discussions. Until about the 50% mark I felt like the story was subtly interrogating my mindset and beliefs, all in a good way. Then, unfortunately, events and characters started becoming harder for me to track and the narrative got lost. The second half became much more in-my-face about the issues and I preferred the way the first half was more seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of the story. While I started the novel with high expectations, I ended up disappointed. The characters I grew to loathe didn't really get their comeuppance (which... to be fair, in real life, does that always happen?). The ones I adored didn't really get much closure. I suppose this is true to life, but it made for a dissatisfying experience for me.
The audiobook narration had some great moments. I appreciate Barrón's voice is a lower register for female narrators, but the performance was still a little stilted. I had a hard time differentiating characters and storylines. I benefited from having a print copy to reference, but without this, I'm sure I would have been more confused than I was.
Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but it did not reach the standards I had when comparing it to LFE. If I had to sum it up, this just tried to do too much.
Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for the digital review copy and advance listener copy of this title and the opportunity to be an early reader.
May 9, 2026
3.5⭐️
COYOTELAND is an ambitious book taking on very complex topics in a fresh way. I found myself listening to “just one more chapter” more than once because I was invested in the story.
Vanessa Hua takes readers to a well-to-do suburb of Berkeley where the residents like to believe they are socially progressive. The truth is murkier than that as we discover when the slightest pressure is applied to the thinly crafted vernier of civility.
What makes this book so fascinating is the different points of view within the same community. An immigrant father is chasing the American dream. A Black teenager is a statistical minority in this exclusive enclave. Her Asian friend is looking for connection. A Hispanic mother is hiding a secret that threatens her safety. An affluent white woman says all the right things, but her actions don’t always match her words. And a coyote roams the neighborhood of what was once his hunting grounds.
The convergence of these storylines brings repercussions no one anticipated. I could not turn away.
This is an instance where having a physical copy would have been advantageous. Hua introduces many characters and keeping them straight was not always easy with the audiobook alone. Ina Barrón’s narration was captivating, but the shifting POV were occasionally hard to track.
This is an excellent choice for readers who appreciate books examining cultural and societal issues, particularly privilege, micro aggressions, and passive racism.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.
COYOTELAND is an ambitious book taking on very complex topics in a fresh way. I found myself listening to “just one more chapter” more than once because I was invested in the story.
Vanessa Hua takes readers to a well-to-do suburb of Berkeley where the residents like to believe they are socially progressive. The truth is murkier than that as we discover when the slightest pressure is applied to the thinly crafted vernier of civility.
What makes this book so fascinating is the different points of view within the same community. An immigrant father is chasing the American dream. A Black teenager is a statistical minority in this exclusive enclave. Her Asian friend is looking for connection. A Hispanic mother is hiding a secret that threatens her safety. An affluent white woman says all the right things, but her actions don’t always match her words. And a coyote roams the neighborhood of what was once his hunting grounds.
The convergence of these storylines brings repercussions no one anticipated. I could not turn away.
This is an instance where having a physical copy would have been advantageous. Hua introduces many characters and keeping them straight was not always easy with the audiobook alone. Ina Barrón’s narration was captivating, but the shifting POV were occasionally hard to track.
This is an excellent choice for readers who appreciate books examining cultural and societal issues, particularly privilege, micro aggressions, and passive racism.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.
Read
May 2, 2026Tightly plotted enough that I almost forgive it being a secret covid novel and also calling tiktok "clipclop" or whatever
June 3, 2026
It wasn’t just that I mostly hated the characters. It was that I ended up really hating the author.
April 12, 2026
I was very interested in reading this from the synopsis, plus, having lived in the Bay Area it piqued my interest. Unfortunately, this one was just okay for me. There were so many characters that I never felt truly invested in any of them and so many different themes that it felt a bit too much for one book - Covid effects, poverty, racism, racial bias, disruption of family equilibrium, elitism, marital problems, domestic violence, bullying, deception and more. My favorite part of the book was Tasha and her interest in foraging, with a fun mention of @blackforager whose content I truly enjoy.
2.75⭐️
Thank-you very much to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy.
2.75⭐️
Thank-you very much to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy.
Did Not Finish
April 11, 2026Unfortunately, this book isn't working for me.
The plot lacks focus (or maybe I do). Lots going on, but nothing sticks. I'm missing an emotional connection to all the various parts.
The narration is great though, so don't hesitate to grab the audiobook if the premise appeals to you.
DNF
*Thanks to Macmillan Audio (#MacAudio2026) for the free audiobook download!*
The plot lacks focus (or maybe I do). Lots going on, but nothing sticks. I'm missing an emotional connection to all the various parts.
The narration is great though, so don't hesitate to grab the audiobook if the premise appeals to you.
DNF
*Thanks to Macmillan Audio (#MacAudio2026) for the free audiobook download!*
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 stars
Vanessa Hua absolutely nails the current socio-political climate, the location in which she sets her narrative, and the idiosyncraties of the characters who inhabit this world. This is a situation that feels like it could - unfortunately - be happening right next door, and its realism is just one of the standout highlights.
A number of characters across generations feature prominently in this fascinating view of modern suburban living and deception, not the least of which is this titular coyote, who is both a serial killer of chickens and a victim of its neighbors and their encroachment on its existence, too. The parental generation is giving Karens and people on whom Karens inflict themselves. Blair is particularly intolerable and also expertly written. From the accelerated speed at which she listens to _White Fragility_ to her constant self assurance that she is in fact not racist or classicist while doing and thinking things that definitely prove her wrong, Blair is a character right out of your local Starbucks line. She reflects both a norm and an extreme: a type prominently featured in these environments. She purports to be a way that is opposite from reality, and her desire to maintain her image perpetuates many bad decisions. She's surrounded by other folks of similar ages - her husband, new neighbors, household support staff - who are much more interesting and layered than she is in most cases. Hua paints these characters in compelling ways, further offsetting their flawed humanity via Blair's ridiculousness. It's pretty brilliant.
And the kids are so compelling that my main gripe about the novel is that I wanted more of them - except for Quinn. These kids see the challenges around them, and just like in "The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas," a great text they're assigned, they realize that there are those who see these events as happening to others and those who see this as not far off from their lived experiences. I loved the throughline Hua creates with this material and thought about it constantly even when the connections were not expressly made.
These characters are really reflecting individualism or collectivism and they're doing this in fascinating ways against the backdrop of a recent time when we were thinking much more about the values and harms inherent in these approaches. This is a smart and engaging meditation, and for me, this is another real banger from Hua. This is my second novel (not to mention some earlier short stories) from this author, and I cannot wait to read more from Hua.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Vanessa Hua absolutely nails the current socio-political climate, the location in which she sets her narrative, and the idiosyncraties of the characters who inhabit this world. This is a situation that feels like it could - unfortunately - be happening right next door, and its realism is just one of the standout highlights.
A number of characters across generations feature prominently in this fascinating view of modern suburban living and deception, not the least of which is this titular coyote, who is both a serial killer of chickens and a victim of its neighbors and their encroachment on its existence, too. The parental generation is giving Karens and people on whom Karens inflict themselves. Blair is particularly intolerable and also expertly written. From the accelerated speed at which she listens to _White Fragility_ to her constant self assurance that she is in fact not racist or classicist while doing and thinking things that definitely prove her wrong, Blair is a character right out of your local Starbucks line. She reflects both a norm and an extreme: a type prominently featured in these environments. She purports to be a way that is opposite from reality, and her desire to maintain her image perpetuates many bad decisions. She's surrounded by other folks of similar ages - her husband, new neighbors, household support staff - who are much more interesting and layered than she is in most cases. Hua paints these characters in compelling ways, further offsetting their flawed humanity via Blair's ridiculousness. It's pretty brilliant.
And the kids are so compelling that my main gripe about the novel is that I wanted more of them - except for Quinn. These kids see the challenges around them, and just like in "The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas," a great text they're assigned, they realize that there are those who see these events as happening to others and those who see this as not far off from their lived experiences. I loved the throughline Hua creates with this material and thought about it constantly even when the connections were not expressly made.
These characters are really reflecting individualism or collectivism and they're doing this in fascinating ways against the backdrop of a recent time when we were thinking much more about the values and harms inherent in these approaches. This is a smart and engaging meditation, and for me, this is another real banger from Hua. This is my second novel (not to mention some earlier short stories) from this author, and I cannot wait to read more from Hua.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a touching, VERY 2020s look at families from a variety of generations, races, and classes as they face, well, the challenges of the 2020s. Yep, it's a COVID book—with bonus wildfires!!
(Hot take: I'm pro COVID books! Our art inevitably reflects our culture, and right now, we're getting so many books that are basically COVID books anyway, they just don't come out and say it. Love a book that comes out and says it.)
This is a solid character study and an easy read that I didn't want to put down until it was over. I don't think I'll ever skip a Vanessa Hua book!
It did get me thinking, though, about how sometimes, it seems as if when one tries to comment on everything at once, one ends up saying nothing. This book felt a bit like a 101-level introduction to a lot of issues that have been heavily in public conversation over the past few years, and while I love the idea that it might bring more awareness to those issues—and I certainly hope it does—I think it could have had a stronger message and more emotional impact if it had focused more on individual issues and gone a little deeper. It felt almost, at times, as if the book was afraid to offend. It starts with a quote from "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" and actually references the story in the main text as well, and I'll admit, that raised my expectations that it would pack a major punch. Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver. But ultimately, I was probably hoping for this book to be something it wasn't ever trying to be! It's fine for books to be light contemporary fiction sometimes. Not everything needs to be deep social commentary or literary fiction.
I read this in audiobook format, and while the narrator did a stellar job, this is a book I might recommend opting for in print or ebook format in possible just due to the incredibly large cast of characters. The narrator doesn't do much (if anything, that I noticed) to distinguish between the characters, and while that's actually something I appreciate, it made it tough to follow what was happening at times. I think this book would have been absolutely magical as a full-cast audio. Again, that's not to detract from narrator Ina Barrón's talents at all. I really liked her narration style and will be keeping an eye out for her work in the future!
(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy! All opinions are, of course, my own.)
(Hot take: I'm pro COVID books! Our art inevitably reflects our culture, and right now, we're getting so many books that are basically COVID books anyway, they just don't come out and say it. Love a book that comes out and says it.)
This is a solid character study and an easy read that I didn't want to put down until it was over. I don't think I'll ever skip a Vanessa Hua book!
It did get me thinking, though, about how sometimes, it seems as if when one tries to comment on everything at once, one ends up saying nothing. This book felt a bit like a 101-level introduction to a lot of issues that have been heavily in public conversation over the past few years, and while I love the idea that it might bring more awareness to those issues—and I certainly hope it does—I think it could have had a stronger message and more emotional impact if it had focused more on individual issues and gone a little deeper. It felt almost, at times, as if the book was afraid to offend. It starts with a quote from "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" and actually references the story in the main text as well, and I'll admit, that raised my expectations that it would pack a major punch. Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver. But ultimately, I was probably hoping for this book to be something it wasn't ever trying to be! It's fine for books to be light contemporary fiction sometimes. Not everything needs to be deep social commentary or literary fiction.
I read this in audiobook format, and while the narrator did a stellar job, this is a book I might recommend opting for in print or ebook format in possible just due to the incredibly large cast of characters. The narrator doesn't do much (if anything, that I noticed) to distinguish between the characters, and while that's actually something I appreciate, it made it tough to follow what was happening at times. I think this book would have been absolutely magical as a full-cast audio. Again, that's not to detract from narrator Ina Barrón's talents at all. I really liked her narration style and will be keeping an eye out for her work in the future!
(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy! All opinions are, of course, my own.)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you Macmillan Audio for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! #MacAudio2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
In an affluent Bay Area suburb of El Nido, several families and stories collide. Jin Chang just moved to the area with his wife and daughters, just barely scraping by and relying on family in China to turn his luck around. Next door, Blair Belle prides herself on her work in marketing, even if her company, “The Orb,” might be a little too close to a surveillance state. The Belle family nanny, Ana Rodriquez, lives with her daughter in an ADU hoping to escape an abusive ex-husband. Jin’s daughter, Jane, bonds with one of the only Black girls in school, Tasha Washington, after a coyote attack. Jane and Tasha plot to expose some of the hypocrisies of the town, and in doing so, their own fates.
In full disclosure, I had no idea what to expect with this book based on the name or the cover, but I’m so glad I jumped in! The coyote on the cover is an actual character in the book, the very one that attacks Tasha. Coyotes symbolize mischief, cunning and recklessness, but also transformation; and what better take on classic progressive suburbia than that? The book is a bit reminiscent of the movie Crash, where there are several interconnected storylines at the intersection of race, class, and gender, set in a suburban development. Vanessa Hua’s writing is as razor sharp as a coyote bite, and Ina Barrón's dynamic narration kept me listening for hours on end. There are many characters and POVs, yet I could always rely on Ina Barrón to quickly settle into that character. Hua takes readers on a wild ride in this book and forces them to ask themselves: who are the real coyotes?
Read this book if you:
🎥 want several deeply emotional and interconnected stories like in the movie Crash
🕯️ love a slow-burn sociopolitical commentary
💉 first thought about the rabies vaccine the second you heard about a coyote attack
Follow me on Instagram for more book reviews!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
In an affluent Bay Area suburb of El Nido, several families and stories collide. Jin Chang just moved to the area with his wife and daughters, just barely scraping by and relying on family in China to turn his luck around. Next door, Blair Belle prides herself on her work in marketing, even if her company, “The Orb,” might be a little too close to a surveillance state. The Belle family nanny, Ana Rodriquez, lives with her daughter in an ADU hoping to escape an abusive ex-husband. Jin’s daughter, Jane, bonds with one of the only Black girls in school, Tasha Washington, after a coyote attack. Jane and Tasha plot to expose some of the hypocrisies of the town, and in doing so, their own fates.
In full disclosure, I had no idea what to expect with this book based on the name or the cover, but I’m so glad I jumped in! The coyote on the cover is an actual character in the book, the very one that attacks Tasha. Coyotes symbolize mischief, cunning and recklessness, but also transformation; and what better take on classic progressive suburbia than that? The book is a bit reminiscent of the movie Crash, where there are several interconnected storylines at the intersection of race, class, and gender, set in a suburban development. Vanessa Hua’s writing is as razor sharp as a coyote bite, and Ina Barrón's dynamic narration kept me listening for hours on end. There are many characters and POVs, yet I could always rely on Ina Barrón to quickly settle into that character. Hua takes readers on a wild ride in this book and forces them to ask themselves: who are the real coyotes?
Read this book if you:
🎥 want several deeply emotional and interconnected stories like in the movie Crash
🕯️ love a slow-burn sociopolitical commentary
💉 first thought about the rabies vaccine the second you heard about a coyote attack
Follow me on Instagram for more book reviews!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The "Little Fires Everywhere" comp of this book is accurate - the variety of characters from different families and generations + the undercurrents of racism and classism in a woke wealthy suburban town + some ominous external force (fire, coyotes) raising tensions even more = spot on. However, there were a few elements to this book that just didn't hit as hard as Little Fires Everywhere and made it fall a bit flat.
The book follows several families in El Nido, a wealthy inland Bay Area suburb. The Chang family moves into a house on Rinconcito Drive, one that the father aims to fix and flip to finally make some money in real estate investing. Next door, the Belle family is anxious waiting for their investments in a new housing development in El Nido and an ultra-HD home camera company to pay off. Down the road, the Washington family is uncertain about their future in El Nido with rising housing costs, and hopes to secure one of the affordable housing units in the Belle's new development. All the while, coyotes begin attacking people in El Nido, pushed into residential areas after fires and more development disrupts their habitat.
As you can tell from my synopsis, there's just a lot - too much - going on here. I can follow a complex plot, but the book tries to do it all, rotating between first-person limited and third-person omniscient narration and telling the story from at least eight characters' perspectives. There's so much rising action and many seeds planted that never bloom into something real - the climax (if you can really identify just one point as a climax) is a bit of a letdown. For all its "commentary" on race and class, it doesn't really SAY anything. The ending could have made a statement and a splash with some real impacts to privileged characters, but it doesn't. I'm struggling to pinpoint the author's point of view here, especially with the repeated in-book references to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.
Overall, a great read on paper, but in execution, falls short of the Little Fires Everywhere comp I was looking forward to.
The book follows several families in El Nido, a wealthy inland Bay Area suburb. The Chang family moves into a house on Rinconcito Drive, one that the father aims to fix and flip to finally make some money in real estate investing. Next door, the Belle family is anxious waiting for their investments in a new housing development in El Nido and an ultra-HD home camera company to pay off. Down the road, the Washington family is uncertain about their future in El Nido with rising housing costs, and hopes to secure one of the affordable housing units in the Belle's new development. All the while, coyotes begin attacking people in El Nido, pushed into residential areas after fires and more development disrupts their habitat.
As you can tell from my synopsis, there's just a lot - too much - going on here. I can follow a complex plot, but the book tries to do it all, rotating between first-person limited and third-person omniscient narration and telling the story from at least eight characters' perspectives. There's so much rising action and many seeds planted that never bloom into something real - the climax (if you can really identify just one point as a climax) is a bit of a letdown. For all its "commentary" on race and class, it doesn't really SAY anything. The ending could have made a statement and a splash with some real impacts to privileged characters, but it doesn't. I'm struggling to pinpoint the author's point of view here, especially with the repeated in-book references to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.
Overall, a great read on paper, but in execution, falls short of the Little Fires Everywhere comp I was looking forward to.
Read
May 3, 2026“Coyoteland” by Vanessa Hua is an engaging, thoughtful novel that explores how personal lives are shaped by larger social forces. The story follows a group of interconnected characters whose lives orbit around migration, family obligation and belonging, set largely in and around the town of El Nido. As their paths cross, the novel reveals how individual choices are influenced by history, circumstance and the visible and invisible pressures of society.
I found this an enjoyable listen that touched on many themes, including racial tension, intergenerational conflict, class divides and even a smattering of environmental concerns. While the ideas themselves are interesting, at times it felt as though Hua was trying to fit too much into a single novel and a narrower focus on one or two tensions might have allowed for deeper character development. But the writing is strong and evocative, with people and places feeling grounded and believable; El Nido, in particular, was easy to picture and I got a very vivid sense of its atmosphere and mood. Despite the large cast, the characters and their storylines were straightforward to follow and nicely interwoven, even if a few of them could have been more fully explored to make them more emotionally resonant – most of them are a little annoying for different reasons.
The audiobook narration by Ina Barrón adds a great deal to the experience. She does a good job distinguishing between the different storylines and characters without overdoing it, which helps keep the many perspectives clear. Her delivery is smooth and consistent, supporting the pacing of the novel and making the complex narrative easier to engage with, resulting in an overall enjoyable audio performance.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and Vanessa Hua for an advance listening copy of this book.
I found this an enjoyable listen that touched on many themes, including racial tension, intergenerational conflict, class divides and even a smattering of environmental concerns. While the ideas themselves are interesting, at times it felt as though Hua was trying to fit too much into a single novel and a narrower focus on one or two tensions might have allowed for deeper character development. But the writing is strong and evocative, with people and places feeling grounded and believable; El Nido, in particular, was easy to picture and I got a very vivid sense of its atmosphere and mood. Despite the large cast, the characters and their storylines were straightforward to follow and nicely interwoven, even if a few of them could have been more fully explored to make them more emotionally resonant – most of them are a little annoying for different reasons.
The audiobook narration by Ina Barrón adds a great deal to the experience. She does a good job distinguishing between the different storylines and characters without overdoing it, which helps keep the many perspectives clear. Her delivery is smooth and consistent, supporting the pacing of the novel and making the complex narrative easier to engage with, resulting in an overall enjoyable audio performance.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and Vanessa Hua for an advance listening copy of this book.
May 29, 2026
3.5 stars. The seams show and the author pulls her punches at the book's conclusion, but Coyoteland is still worth a read. The ambitious story focuses on a handful of imperfect adult and teen characters living in an upscale Silicon Valley suburb in 2021. The central conflict is between Jin, a Chinese engineer and Blair, a Karen's Karen, who greets Jin's move into the neighborhood by complaining that his truck is blocking her mailb0x. Their mutual hostility is magnified by personal and professional crises they are both trying to avert. Jin's teenage daughter Jane bonds with Tasha, a Black classmate who forages to find natural food with a strong enough scent to restore her mother's COVID-related lost sense of smell. Interpersonal tensions among these and other characters are exacerbated by a an encroaching coyote and the smell of smoke from nearby forest fires.
Coyoteland addresses numerous issues including racism, white privilege, environmentalism, and immigration. Its most impactful theme IMO is the devastating emotional impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents. We're now six years on from the lockdowns, and it's easy for forget that a cohort of Gen Z'rs experienced a collective trauma just when they were at their most vulnerable, as personified by Blair's daughter Quinn.
Coyoteland addresses numerous issues including racism, white privilege, environmentalism, and immigration. Its most impactful theme IMO is the devastating emotional impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents. We're now six years on from the lockdowns, and it's easy for forget that a cohort of Gen Z'rs experienced a collective trauma just when they were at their most vulnerable, as personified by Blair's daughter Quinn.
During Zoom school, Quinn had grown self-conscious staring at herself, every imperfection staring back at her. The pimples on her chin. Her wide-set eyes like those of a hammerhead shark. Her scraggly hair. She'd started the diary in the earliest days of the pandemic, doodling until it became something more. Without practice, without routine, without Coach Ian and her [swim] team, she felt her outline dissolve. Everything she believed bold and permanent as a Sharpie had faded away. The entries, line by line, day by day, filled her in again.Hua strikes a good balance between telling an engaging story and making a point. The coyote metaphor might be a little too much on the nose though.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I tremendously enjoyed this slow burn domestic thriller/socio-political commentary novel, set in the affluent Bay area during Covid times.
Coyoteland explores the lives of three main families: the Asian family of the Changs; the "woke" but "karen"esque family of the Belles; and the minority black household of the Washingtons. We see a community with a planned luxury housing development, a smaller scale house-flipping project, and corresponding financial woes bubbling in the background; we see the world of competitive youth sports in highly affluent areas (swimming in this case); and we see the actual coyote attacks occurring in the area along with looming wildfires.
There are so many themes addressed in this book, spanning culture, race, social-economic status, economic development, the consequences of upward mobility, performative progressivism, the impact of covid, and the overriding controlling forces of nature. Though it is a slow burn, there is a steadily brewing dramatic build. The book overall felt very "Little Fires Everywhere" to me and I could very much envision this on the big or small screen with a cast of glamorous actors.
I struggled a little with the huge cast who were introduced quickly at the start of the book, however as it continued I settled into a good understanding of who was who, and I feel like the core characters were all fleshed out sufficiently.
I listened to the audio book version of the novel, and the narration by Ina Barron, who I don't believe I'd heard before, was outstanding.
Overall, this is an excellent domestic-thriller read, and I look forward to seeing it come to a film or TV screen in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy of this book.
Coyoteland explores the lives of three main families: the Asian family of the Changs; the "woke" but "karen"esque family of the Belles; and the minority black household of the Washingtons. We see a community with a planned luxury housing development, a smaller scale house-flipping project, and corresponding financial woes bubbling in the background; we see the world of competitive youth sports in highly affluent areas (swimming in this case); and we see the actual coyote attacks occurring in the area along with looming wildfires.
There are so many themes addressed in this book, spanning culture, race, social-economic status, economic development, the consequences of upward mobility, performative progressivism, the impact of covid, and the overriding controlling forces of nature. Though it is a slow burn, there is a steadily brewing dramatic build. The book overall felt very "Little Fires Everywhere" to me and I could very much envision this on the big or small screen with a cast of glamorous actors.
I struggled a little with the huge cast who were introduced quickly at the start of the book, however as it continued I settled into a good understanding of who was who, and I feel like the core characters were all fleshed out sufficiently.
I listened to the audio book version of the novel, and the narration by Ina Barron, who I don't believe I'd heard before, was outstanding.
Overall, this is an excellent domestic-thriller read, and I look forward to seeing it come to a film or TV screen in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy of this book.
May 22, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC.
I was uncertain about whether to request this book or not at first, and it was a spontaneous decision to eventually click "request". Definitely do not regret it, though, as this was a very interesting story, with layered explorations of race and belonging in a suburban American community. I enjoyed the diversity of characters featured and the ways they interact with each other, the various ways in which their struggles interact and intersect. Jin Chang's weaponisation of a real estate market meant to keep people like him out, Blair Belle's struggle to not be a typical privileged white lady (and her failure to act on that when it actually matters), Jane and Tasha's trying to come to terms with the racism of their community while simultaneously refusing to accept the racism of their community... There's a lot happening here. At times, it felt like the topics weren't given the space they deserve (probably because there were so many topics that deserved space here), and for some of the plot lines I don't think there was any kind of resolution or even an explicit acknowledgment that the events at the end of the book like, changed things big time, and I kind of got the feeling that they were forgotten a bit.
The general lack of a resolution at the end felt a little bit unsatisfying, but I understand why it was done that way. You don't generally get clear-cut resolutions in real life, either. Still, I prefer a clear-cut ending, but cannot deny that the ending was well written and makes sense for this story.
This book was a lot, and while I definitely enjoyed it, I think it might have benefitted from being a little less.
I was uncertain about whether to request this book or not at first, and it was a spontaneous decision to eventually click "request". Definitely do not regret it, though, as this was a very interesting story, with layered explorations of race and belonging in a suburban American community. I enjoyed the diversity of characters featured and the ways they interact with each other, the various ways in which their struggles interact and intersect. Jin Chang's weaponisation of a real estate market meant to keep people like him out, Blair Belle's struggle to not be a typical privileged white lady (and her failure to act on that when it actually matters), Jane and Tasha's trying to come to terms with the racism of their community while simultaneously refusing to accept the racism of their community... There's a lot happening here. At times, it felt like the topics weren't given the space they deserve (probably because there were so many topics that deserved space here), and for some of the plot lines I don't think there was any kind of resolution or even an explicit acknowledgment that the events at the end of the book like, changed things big time, and I kind of got the feeling that they were forgotten a bit.
The general lack of a resolution at the end felt a little bit unsatisfying, but I understand why it was done that way. You don't generally get clear-cut resolutions in real life, either. Still, I prefer a clear-cut ending, but cannot deny that the ending was well written and makes sense for this story.
This book was a lot, and while I definitely enjoyed it, I think it might have benefitted from being a little less.
March 18, 2026
ARC for Review:
“Coyoteland” by Vanessa Hua is a novel about family struggles, racism: passive racism and active racism, society during a pandemic, and a coyote’s will to survive. The people are also a reflection of the coyote in ways where their behavior can be coyote-like. Trying to survive in a world that isn’t kind to them, trying to provide the best life possible for their children, and fighting off other humans for survival.
Blair comes off as a “Karen” at first when she approaches Jin, but as the story progresses, we see different sides of her.
Jin and Kai, and their two daughters are house flipping, and trying to make money from house flipping to survive.
The story takes place in El Nido, California, which I believe is not far from Berkeley, California. The area is of the well-off and well-to-do variety.
Dr. Minerva Washington, and her two children, live in an apartment, but would love to move into a real house. Minerva and her daughter, Tasha, work very hard to make that dream a reality.
The part about EDD was incredibly relatable, and I hope people read this novel for that information alone.
Tasha knowledge and application of vegetation and trees is also a valuable resource from this novel, and I love her perspective on systemic racism.
There are parts of this novel that remind me of “Dear White People”, and I love this novel for that.
This novel is also a mirror of the pandemic and all of the chaos, challenges, and changes that were emerging at that time.
This novel has a lot of potential, and it was an interesting read.
“Coyoteland” by Vanessa Hua is a novel about family struggles, racism: passive racism and active racism, society during a pandemic, and a coyote’s will to survive. The people are also a reflection of the coyote in ways where their behavior can be coyote-like. Trying to survive in a world that isn’t kind to them, trying to provide the best life possible for their children, and fighting off other humans for survival.
Blair comes off as a “Karen” at first when she approaches Jin, but as the story progresses, we see different sides of her.
Jin and Kai, and their two daughters are house flipping, and trying to make money from house flipping to survive.
The story takes place in El Nido, California, which I believe is not far from Berkeley, California. The area is of the well-off and well-to-do variety.
Dr. Minerva Washington, and her two children, live in an apartment, but would love to move into a real house. Minerva and her daughter, Tasha, work very hard to make that dream a reality.
The part about EDD was incredibly relatable, and I hope people read this novel for that information alone.
Tasha knowledge and application of vegetation and trees is also a valuable resource from this novel, and I love her perspective on systemic racism.
There are parts of this novel that remind me of “Dear White People”, and I love this novel for that.
This novel is also a mirror of the pandemic and all of the chaos, challenges, and changes that were emerging at that time.
This novel has a lot of potential, and it was an interesting read.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Jin and Kai have moved their family into a home in El Nido, CA, which is a privileged community outside of Berkeley. With the help of his friend Chen back in China, Jin has decided that his next "get rich quick scheme" is going to be flipping houses in the community. Their neighbors - the Belles - have lived in the community for years and are building a new housing development in El Nido - Bellevista. When Jin finds out about the housing development and the fact that it might decrease the value of his home, he goes on a secret campaign to sabotage the development.
At the same time, Jin and Kai's daughter Jane and her friend Tasha, are struggling to fit in at their predominantly white and rich school. They want their classmates and the residents of El Nido to acknowledge their privilege and unconscious biases, and realize the struggles they have. But will their scheme to show the others what they really are go to far?
While the story in the book is about what I've described above, the book is really about a number of issues - racism, privilege, the pandemic, eating disorders, domestic abuse, etc. To some extent, it's almost shoved too many big issues into one book. But the book is very well written and does a great job of shedding light on these issues in a way that feels like a story being told and not a lecture. Definitely worth a read!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
At the same time, Jin and Kai's daughter Jane and her friend Tasha, are struggling to fit in at their predominantly white and rich school. They want their classmates and the residents of El Nido to acknowledge their privilege and unconscious biases, and realize the struggles they have. But will their scheme to show the others what they really are go to far?
While the story in the book is about what I've described above, the book is really about a number of issues - racism, privilege, the pandemic, eating disorders, domestic abuse, etc. To some extent, it's almost shoved too many big issues into one book. But the book is very well written and does a great job of shedding light on these issues in a way that feels like a story being told and not a lecture. Definitely worth a read!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing this ALC for review.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
Coyoteland follows several families as they navigate living in the privileged community of El Nido shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown end. Jin Chang has lost his job, and he's betting everything on flipping this house for his investor friend. Blair Belle works tirelessly to ensure her daughters' success while working and defending her husband's new building project. The Belle's nanny, Ana Rodriguez, is running from her abusive ex and trying to save as much as she can. Tasha Washington helps her single mother look after her little brother.
This book offers a realistic look into class, privilege, race, and socioeconomic status in a predominantly white and very privileged community. Even people who have (or think they have) the best intentions can cause harm to the less privileged people around them. There were so many characters, though, that it took a little bit for me to keep them straight. You can really feel the tension among and within the families build as the various, mostly poor, decisions snowball into disaster.
Narration Review: Unfortunately, I think I would have enjoyed the book much more if I'd read it vs listened to it. Ina Barrón's performance was very low energy, and the characters' voices were too similar. With such a large cast of characters, it was easy to lose track of which one was speaking at any given time.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
Coyoteland follows several families as they navigate living in the privileged community of El Nido shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown end. Jin Chang has lost his job, and he's betting everything on flipping this house for his investor friend. Blair Belle works tirelessly to ensure her daughters' success while working and defending her husband's new building project. The Belle's nanny, Ana Rodriguez, is running from her abusive ex and trying to save as much as she can. Tasha Washington helps her single mother look after her little brother.
This book offers a realistic look into class, privilege, race, and socioeconomic status in a predominantly white and very privileged community. Even people who have (or think they have) the best intentions can cause harm to the less privileged people around them. There were so many characters, though, that it took a little bit for me to keep them straight. You can really feel the tension among and within the families build as the various, mostly poor, decisions snowball into disaster.
Narration Review: Unfortunately, I think I would have enjoyed the book much more if I'd read it vs listened to it. Ina Barrón's performance was very low energy, and the characters' voices were too similar. With such a large cast of characters, it was easy to lose track of which one was speaking at any given time.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Book Report: Coyoteland by Vanessa Hua
Set in an affluent California community simmering with secrets…ambition and tension…Coyoteland follows multiple families whose lives become increasingly tangled through neighborhood drama…class divides…hidden agendas and a growing sense that everything beneath the polished surface is beginning to crack. Add in wildfire season and a roaming coyote and the atmosphere feels both unsettling and incredibly timely.
I’m honestly having a hard time rating this one because there was so much I genuinely enjoyed…the setting…the wealthy neighborhood dynamics…the layered social commentary and the very “of the moment” feeling running through the story. It actually reminded me of several suburban drama style books I loved years ago and now has me craving more books with similar themes.
I listened to this one on audio and the narration was excellent but I’d definitely recommend having a physical copy nearby too. There’s a large cast of characters (which I usually love) but it took me quite a while to fully keep track of everyone and their connections.
That said…it absolutely held my attention. The drama and shifting perspectives kept me invested even when I occasionally felt a little untethered. I’m landing around a 3.5⭐ for this one.
Thank you Flat Iron Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
Set in an affluent California community simmering with secrets…ambition and tension…Coyoteland follows multiple families whose lives become increasingly tangled through neighborhood drama…class divides…hidden agendas and a growing sense that everything beneath the polished surface is beginning to crack. Add in wildfire season and a roaming coyote and the atmosphere feels both unsettling and incredibly timely.
I’m honestly having a hard time rating this one because there was so much I genuinely enjoyed…the setting…the wealthy neighborhood dynamics…the layered social commentary and the very “of the moment” feeling running through the story. It actually reminded me of several suburban drama style books I loved years ago and now has me craving more books with similar themes.
I listened to this one on audio and the narration was excellent but I’d definitely recommend having a physical copy nearby too. There’s a large cast of characters (which I usually love) but it took me quite a while to fully keep track of everyone and their connections.
That said…it absolutely held my attention. The drama and shifting perspectives kept me invested even when I occasionally felt a little untethered. I’m landing around a 3.5⭐ for this one.
Thank you Flat Iron Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is one of those books that made me wish I had a character chart… and a highlighter. 📚👀
I’m grateful to have received a complimentary ALC of Coyote Land by Vanessa Hua—thank you to Macmillan Audio!
This is a work of deep literary fiction centered around an up-and-coming, affluent neighborhood—where even within the “1%,” there’s a surprising amount of diversity in experiences and perspectives. The story weaves together multiple characters and explores themes of identity, belonging, and subtle (often uncomfortable) instances of racism.
The concept itself is really intriguing, and I can absolutely see fans of character-driven, socially observant novels—especially readers who enjoyed Yellowface—finding a lot to appreciate here.
That said, I personally struggled a bit with the audiobook format. There are a lot of characters and shifting points of view, and without strong vocal distinctions between them, it became difficult at times to keep everyone straight. I found myself wishing for a character list or family tree to help track who’s who.
The narration is more understated than dynamic, which works tonally for the story, but didn’t quite support clarity in an audio format.
Overall, I do think this is a thoughtful and well-crafted story—but for me, it’s one I would recommend reading in print rather than listening to.
I’m grateful to have received a complimentary ALC of Coyote Land by Vanessa Hua—thank you to Macmillan Audio!
This is a work of deep literary fiction centered around an up-and-coming, affluent neighborhood—where even within the “1%,” there’s a surprising amount of diversity in experiences and perspectives. The story weaves together multiple characters and explores themes of identity, belonging, and subtle (often uncomfortable) instances of racism.
The concept itself is really intriguing, and I can absolutely see fans of character-driven, socially observant novels—especially readers who enjoyed Yellowface—finding a lot to appreciate here.
That said, I personally struggled a bit with the audiobook format. There are a lot of characters and shifting points of view, and without strong vocal distinctions between them, it became difficult at times to keep everyone straight. I found myself wishing for a character list or family tree to help track who’s who.
The narration is more understated than dynamic, which works tonally for the story, but didn’t quite support clarity in an audio format.
Overall, I do think this is a thoughtful and well-crafted story—but for me, it’s one I would recommend reading in print rather than listening to.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the free advanced copies of this audiobook and book.
Coyoteland was a fascinating and at times intense suburban drama set in an exclusive and elite suburb in the Bay Area. It's also set during the early 2020's pandemic, so it was strange watching the events of the time unfold through these characters' eyes - an event that feels so long ago but is also still so prevalent today.
The story centers around a few select families within the community, with highly contrasting backgrounds. Throughout this sociopolitical drama, tensions escalate and "subtle" racism runs rampant, all coming to a head towards the end of the book. The book is told from multiple POV's, including adults, teenagers, and the friendly neighborhood coyote, and was reminiscent of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.
While I enjoyed this book and it's commentary on our world, it has a lot of characters that made it hard to follow at times, especially in the beginning. It took me until about 60% of the way through to really track who everyone was. Some of that I feel like could've been helped if I'd physically read the book versus listening to the audiobook. While the narrator did an excellent job, there wasn't any vocal differences to distinguish which characters were speaking, and I think the audiobook would've benefitted from multi-cast narration.
Coyoteland was a fascinating and at times intense suburban drama set in an exclusive and elite suburb in the Bay Area. It's also set during the early 2020's pandemic, so it was strange watching the events of the time unfold through these characters' eyes - an event that feels so long ago but is also still so prevalent today.
The story centers around a few select families within the community, with highly contrasting backgrounds. Throughout this sociopolitical drama, tensions escalate and "subtle" racism runs rampant, all coming to a head towards the end of the book. The book is told from multiple POV's, including adults, teenagers, and the friendly neighborhood coyote, and was reminiscent of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.
While I enjoyed this book and it's commentary on our world, it has a lot of characters that made it hard to follow at times, especially in the beginning. It took me until about 60% of the way through to really track who everyone was. Some of that I feel like could've been helped if I'd physically read the book versus listening to the audiobook. While the narrator did an excellent job, there wasn't any vocal differences to distinguish which characters were speaking, and I think the audiobook would've benefitted from multi-cast narration.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thanks so much Macmillan Audio for this ALC! I didn’t know anything about this one but thought the plot sounded very interesting. I really enjoyed this kaleidoscopic tale of a community. (Available everywhere May 12th.)
In El Nido California, the Chang family experiences racism and exclusion amidst the privileged residents. Blair lives next door to the Changs, thinking she’s progressive but can’t help feeling something is wrong with her neighbors. Jin Chang is experiencing her own struggles in high school, but becomes close to Tasha Washington (one of the only Black students) and the pair decide to take down the racist hypocrites of El Nido.
I haven’t read “A River of Stars” by this author but I really need to after enjoying this one! I really liked this on audio, narrated perfectly by Ina Barrón. This novel was such a cool genre mix: part suburban drama, part coming of age, all while exposing the classism and racism in this fictional town. It took me a little bit to figure out how everyone was connected, but once I did I was hooked.
✨Content Warnings: Pregnancy, Infertility, Animal Death, Racism, Classism, Domestic Abuse
✨Themes: Secrets, Community, Identity
✨You May Like This If You Enjoyed:
-Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)
-Good Neighbors (Sarah Langan)
In El Nido California, the Chang family experiences racism and exclusion amidst the privileged residents. Blair lives next door to the Changs, thinking she’s progressive but can’t help feeling something is wrong with her neighbors. Jin Chang is experiencing her own struggles in high school, but becomes close to Tasha Washington (one of the only Black students) and the pair decide to take down the racist hypocrites of El Nido.
I haven’t read “A River of Stars” by this author but I really need to after enjoying this one! I really liked this on audio, narrated perfectly by Ina Barrón. This novel was such a cool genre mix: part suburban drama, part coming of age, all while exposing the classism and racism in this fictional town. It took me a little bit to figure out how everyone was connected, but once I did I was hooked.
✨Content Warnings: Pregnancy, Infertility, Animal Death, Racism, Classism, Domestic Abuse
✨Themes: Secrets, Community, Identity
✨You May Like This If You Enjoyed:
-Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)
-Good Neighbors (Sarah Langan)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
"From the bestselling author of A River of Stars comes a funny, heartfelt novel set in an affluent Bay Area suburb where a Chinese American family moves in and sets off a series of scandals, for fans of Celeste Ng and Emma Straub."
When the Chang family moves to El Nido, an affluent enclave in the Hills east of Berkley, they think they've made it. What they don't know is that Jin is involved in a real-estate scam and that the next door neighbor is suspicious.
Coyoteland is a brilliantly written suburban drama exploring the Asian American experience and is highly nuanced. It is keenly observant with insights on human interaction and experience exploring race, class, acceptance, and domestic abuse. I loved the relationship between two teenage girls. When the scheming plans od the adults and teenagers collide, sparks fly and it may consume them all. As a mixed race woman with a white and Asian parent, I loved the exploration of that and the lukewarm acceptance of part Asian people within the Asian community.
The audiobook performance by Ina Barron is outstanding and brings the story and characters to life. In tandem with the print copy, it provided for a great reading experience.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the gifted advance listening copy and finished copy. All opinions are my own. 🎧📚
When the Chang family moves to El Nido, an affluent enclave in the Hills east of Berkley, they think they've made it. What they don't know is that Jin is involved in a real-estate scam and that the next door neighbor is suspicious.
Coyoteland is a brilliantly written suburban drama exploring the Asian American experience and is highly nuanced. It is keenly observant with insights on human interaction and experience exploring race, class, acceptance, and domestic abuse. I loved the relationship between two teenage girls. When the scheming plans od the adults and teenagers collide, sparks fly and it may consume them all. As a mixed race woman with a white and Asian parent, I loved the exploration of that and the lukewarm acceptance of part Asian people within the Asian community.
The audiobook performance by Ina Barron is outstanding and brings the story and characters to life. In tandem with the print copy, it provided for a great reading experience.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the gifted advance listening copy and finished copy. All opinions are my own. 🎧📚
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this novel by Vanessa Hu, narrated wonderfully by Ina Barrón. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!
El Nido is a privileged community in the hills east of Berkeley. Jin Chang moves there with his wife and daughters hoping for a new start. However, he has a secret to make it big in real estate. Jin’s daughter, Jane, knows he’s keeping a secret but she’s struggling to fit in at school. In the wake of a coyote attack, Jane and Tasha, one of the only Black girls at school, bond. They hatch a plot to expose the town’s hypocrisies.
This takes place during the time of Covid, and I am one who appreciates a Covid storyline that adds to the atmosphere of the book – and it works great here. Because this is a slow burn character study about racism, classism, entitlement – all those things lurking under the surface of the shiny world we may present to others. Add in wildfire smoke in the air and the atmosphere mirrors all those societal problems. My only issue is that I sometimes had difficulties keeping up with the characters. Ina Barrón is one of my favorite narrators and she did a great job, but this may have been better served with a cast.
El Nido is a privileged community in the hills east of Berkeley. Jin Chang moves there with his wife and daughters hoping for a new start. However, he has a secret to make it big in real estate. Jin’s daughter, Jane, knows he’s keeping a secret but she’s struggling to fit in at school. In the wake of a coyote attack, Jane and Tasha, one of the only Black girls at school, bond. They hatch a plot to expose the town’s hypocrisies.
This takes place during the time of Covid, and I am one who appreciates a Covid storyline that adds to the atmosphere of the book – and it works great here. Because this is a slow burn character study about racism, classism, entitlement – all those things lurking under the surface of the shiny world we may present to others. Add in wildfire smoke in the air and the atmosphere mirrors all those societal problems. My only issue is that I sometimes had difficulties keeping up with the characters. Ina Barrón is one of my favorite narrators and she did a great job, but this may have been better served with a cast.
May 10, 2026
Happy pub day to this one! The synopsis intrigued me and the book didn’t disappoint. The author wove a masterful story about a community filled with privilege in the fledging post COVID world. The multiple perspectives helped bring the community to life in a visceral way. This story looked at privilege, racism, minority rights, how fighting back can be complicated, relationships between parents and neighbors, and finding out who you are. Some of the characters were highly unlikable and others you ached for. Life is rough in different ways for each character, and how they handled the hardships and set backs took center stage in the plot. I liked the shifting of perspectives, but occasionally it was hard to follow when the shift happened mid chapter. The voyage stalking the community added a layer of tension and urgency to the story. The story slowly built but each reveal connected to the plot flawlessly. The ending wrapped up the story well, and the epilogue gave a good picture into the lives of the people the book revolved around. Thanks to Flatiron Books for an ARC copy of this one!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Coyoteland is a suburban drama, set in El Nido, a privileged community in the hills east of Berkeley. The book explores the microcosm of this neighborhood of families, particularly focusing on issues of race, class, coming of age, and familial bonds. Each family is struggling with their own issue - largely privately. Their path's end up intersecting after the teen kids set up a plan that ends up sending shockwaves through the community.
The idea of the book is strong - I liked the focus on the post-pandemic issues, and the active and passive racism especially in affluent communities. I personally struggled with fully connecting to any one of the storylines. There are a lot of characters and points of views, and it was difficult to keep track initially. The writing is understated with lots of symbolism quiet observation. While it was well-crafted, it didn't fully pack the emotional punch I was looking for.
Thanks so much to @macmillan.audio for access to this ALC. #MacAudio2025
The idea of the book is strong - I liked the focus on the post-pandemic issues, and the active and passive racism especially in affluent communities. I personally struggled with fully connecting to any one of the storylines. There are a lot of characters and points of views, and it was difficult to keep track initially. The writing is understated with lots of symbolism quiet observation. While it was well-crafted, it didn't fully pack the emotional punch I was looking for.
Thanks so much to @macmillan.audio for access to this ALC. #MacAudio2025
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