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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 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 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.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 12, 2026
About the author
Vanessa Hua
17 books481 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 94 reviews
June 16, 2026
I wish I was in the better mindset to read this.
It navigates wealthy families, in a fictional town called El Nido, nestled in the Berkley Hills. I love it when a writer gets the intricacies of the Bay Area correct - traffic to and from San Jose, living in Antioch, even Emeryville gets a shout out. If you know, you just know.
However Hua writes Coyoteland with a forcefulness of having too much to tell, in such a short time. This should be read in one setting, as there is a ton going on, and I felt like I would have enjoyed it better if...less became more.
On that note, I rarely enjoy Covid themed stories and wish this stayed a fast paced suburban drama. The book uses the symbolic nature of a coyote to question who the true predators are in suburbia.
While the interconnected storylines of race, class, and gender are touched upon, I ended up becoming bored with the overall narrative.
It navigates wealthy families, in a fictional town called El Nido, nestled in the Berkley Hills. I love it when a writer gets the intricacies of the Bay Area correct - traffic to and from San Jose, living in Antioch, even Emeryville gets a shout out. If you know, you just know.
However Hua writes Coyoteland with a forcefulness of having too much to tell, in such a short time. This should be read in one setting, as there is a ton going on, and I felt like I would have enjoyed it better if...less became more.
On that note, I rarely enjoy Covid themed stories and wish this stayed a fast paced suburban drama. The book uses the symbolic nature of a coyote to question who the true predators are in suburbia.
While the interconnected storylines of race, class, and gender are touched upon, I ended up becoming bored with the overall narrative.
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 25, 2026
3.75 stars
Coyoteland is a smart, messy suburban drama full of hypocrisy, ambition, and people who are very sure they’re the good guys. Vanessa Hua uses the neighborhood scandals—and the lurking coyote—to dig into race, class, performative progressivism, and belonging, and I had a lot of fun watching El Nido’s carefully curated lives start to unravel.
It didn’t fully click for me emotionally, and with such a large cast I wasn’t equally invested in every storyline, but overall this was sharp, funny, and incisive. A very solid 3.75 stars for a novel that’s part social satire, part family drama, and a reminder that no one is messier than rich people with a community message board.
Coyoteland is a smart, messy suburban drama full of hypocrisy, ambition, and people who are very sure they’re the good guys. Vanessa Hua uses the neighborhood scandals—and the lurking coyote—to dig into race, class, performative progressivism, and belonging, and I had a lot of fun watching El Nido’s carefully curated lives start to unravel.
It didn’t fully click for me emotionally, and with such a large cast I wasn’t equally invested in every storyline, but overall this was sharp, funny, and incisive. A very solid 3.75 stars for a novel that’s part social satire, part family drama, and a reminder that no one is messier than rich people with a community message board.
June 16, 2026
** 6/16/26 ** Very quickly determined this book is based on Orinda, CA, a toney suburb of Berkeley in the Bay Area, and although I didn't live there, I am close to some who have and feel like I know the vibe Vanessa Hua is putting out there in Coyoteland. We are basically looking at a mixed socio-economic area, but centered on a privileged upper middle class which outside of the Bay Area would be considered rich. Nannies, lots of hyper competitive parenting through sports and other extra-curriculars for kids, but mostly still requiring 2-income families.
This book features a large cast of characters living in "El Nido," including an Asian family trying desperately to establish some economic stability, their next-door neighbors who are the most well-off of the neighborhood, but vaguely racist and like ducks they are paddling a lot under the surface to keep up, and several Black families tired of representing and just want to be part of the community. Multiple themes of the novel include racism, socio-economic disparities, domestic violence, eating disorders, high-school life for girls, "neighborhood espionage," entitled "take no prisoners" child-rearing, surveillance tech firms ala Palantir, and development of land for McMansion housing where native forageable foods were once grown by indigenous and Black people.
OH YEAH, there's the namesake rabid coyote too!!! OK, that's a LOT of ground to cover for one 298-page book!
I love Bay Area-based contemporary novels, especially featuring diverse characters and even some tech aspect, but this book has just too many moving parts and themes. I would have preferred to read a bit more in depth on half the number of themes and dive into a smaller set of characters a lot more. It definitely feels like a Celeste Ng novel, and as long as you are good with a lot of ideas and lots of people, and a very disparate plotline with a bunch of mini-stories, you'll love it. 3.5-stars.
* 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.
This book features a large cast of characters living in "El Nido," including an Asian family trying desperately to establish some economic stability, their next-door neighbors who are the most well-off of the neighborhood, but vaguely racist and like ducks they are paddling a lot under the surface to keep up, and several Black families tired of representing and just want to be part of the community. Multiple themes of the novel include racism, socio-economic disparities, domestic violence, eating disorders, high-school life for girls, "neighborhood espionage," entitled "take no prisoners" child-rearing, surveillance tech firms ala Palantir, and development of land for McMansion housing where native forageable foods were once grown by indigenous and Black people.
OH YEAH, there's the namesake rabid coyote too!!! OK, that's a LOT of ground to cover for one 298-page book!
I love Bay Area-based contemporary novels, especially featuring diverse characters and even some tech aspect, but this book has just too many moving parts and themes. I would have preferred to read a bit more in depth on half the number of themes and dive into a smaller set of characters a lot more. It definitely feels like a Celeste Ng novel, and as long as you are good with a lot of ideas and lots of people, and a very disparate plotline with a bunch of mini-stories, you'll love it. 3.5-stars.
* 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.
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.
June 24, 2026
Really wanted to like this but truly think this would be better suited for someone who has no clue about racism. Everything felt very in your face and beaten over the head. I didn’t really enjoy it unfortunately.
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
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 23, 2026
Would have been a 4/5 if it didn’t have so much to do with covid, a personal gripe!
June 18, 2026
I found this book to be mediocre. People behaving badly so all sorts of reasons- to get ahead, protect a child, money issues, race/class issues. It just didn’t grab me. Part is from a coyote POV which was corny ( and I loved Remarkable Bright Creatures) and he was named Wiley- please.
June 3, 2026
It wasn’t just that I mostly hated the characters. It was that I ended up really hating the author.
May 23, 2026
Could this be the quintessential early-2020s post-COVID novel? It certainly seems so, for suburban America at least. This book has it all: Wealth disparities, political hypocrisy, racial tensions and micro-aggressions, immigration and DACA, real estate insanity and Airbnb influx, the rise of home surveillance…all mixed in with the sometimes diabolical and often misguided machinations of teenagers. There is a LOT going on here and it all comes together in an explosive finale.
There are quite a few characters, which requires some attention from the reader at the start, and I could personally live with a little less emphasis on “Karens” as a concept (when will that descriptor go out of style?!), but this is a book that delivers a great story, a lot to think about, and will no doubt serve as a time capsule for a very particular era that feels at once recent and long ago.
There are quite a few characters, which requires some attention from the reader at the start, and I could personally live with a little less emphasis on “Karens” as a concept (when will that descriptor go out of style?!), but this is a book that delivers a great story, a lot to think about, and will no doubt serve as a time capsule for a very particular era that feels at once recent and long ago.
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.
May 18, 2026
4.25 ⭐️ but trying to bump it for miss Hua https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...
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!*
July 7, 2026
Coyoteland is set in El Nido, a community in the Berkeley Hills in the East Bay of the SF Bay Area. The book starts with the life of a Chinese American family. Jin Chang is a father of two daughter, who buys a house in the area, hoping to flip it later. It follows the stories of the community members in the area, from the white family (Mrs. Blair Belle and her daughter Quinn) to a black family (Dr. Minerva Washington and her daughter Tasha) to Jin's oldest daughter Jane. It also includes the perspective of the coyote (ironically named Wiley).
Hua does a great job of setting up conflict across the characters through their contrasting perspectives. A car peeling out of the driveway is framed as rushing in one chapter, then in the next chapter we see it as "reckless" from the perspective of another character. These small moments give the reader a chance to figure out the relationships between the characters. It also serves to connect the stories together, which at first feel disparate. The book does a good job of balancing six different perspectives.
This book is also a critique of the post-racial society that is present in other media like Jordan Peele's movies Get Out and Us. Blair Belle is portrayed as the poster child of White Fragility, someone who thinks along racial lines but stops herself from those insensitive comments. Her actions ultimately show us readers who she really cares about ultimately. This is most exemplified at the end
The book also doesn't shy away from the history and nature of the Berkeley Hills. It is clear the author did her research on the different plant and animal species present. We get that often through Tasha's foraging efforts.
The tension builds up all the way to the very end in which we get to see all the little conflicts heat up and burn the town. Those little conflicts hook you in and keep you reading in the second half of the book.
I can see people wondering exactly why the coyote was present in this book. He only gets a chapter or two dedicated to his perspective, then at the end . In my opinion,
Also as a reader, I felt a bit upset at the end but I understand their decision. They could see in the long run that it would not have set their classmates back much. The author provides an explanation, though true, not one I like.
Overall, Coyoteland's portrayal of the themes of race, class, and cultural conflict made for a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended for any Bay Area residents.
Hua does a great job of setting up conflict across the characters through their contrasting perspectives. A car peeling out of the driveway is framed as rushing in one chapter, then in the next chapter we see it as "reckless" from the perspective of another character. These small moments give the reader a chance to figure out the relationships between the characters. It also serves to connect the stories together, which at first feel disparate. The book does a good job of balancing six different perspectives.
This book is also a critique of the post-racial society that is present in other media like Jordan Peele's movies Get Out and Us. Blair Belle is portrayed as the poster child of White Fragility, someone who thinks along racial lines but stops herself from those insensitive comments. Her actions ultimately show us readers who she really cares about ultimately. This is most exemplified at the end
The book also doesn't shy away from the history and nature of the Berkeley Hills. It is clear the author did her research on the different plant and animal species present. We get that often through Tasha's foraging efforts.
The tension builds up all the way to the very end in which we get to see all the little conflicts heat up and burn the town. Those little conflicts hook you in and keep you reading in the second half of the book.
I can see people wondering exactly why the coyote was present in this book. He only gets a chapter or two dedicated to his perspective, then at the end . In my opinion,
Also as a reader, I felt a bit upset at the end but I understand their decision. They could see in the long run that it would not have set their classmates back much. The author provides an explanation, though true, not one I like.
Overall, Coyoteland's portrayal of the themes of race, class, and cultural conflict made for a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended for any Bay Area residents.
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.)
June 26, 2026
modern anthropology fr. this read like the wikipedia synopses for those satirical comedy drama tv shows (namely beef or white lotus) where the people mess around and start shit in ways that would stress me out too much to actually watch so instead i binge the paragraph-long episode summaries. it’s infinitely more engaging to read a real manuscript like this with all the characters relatively fleshed out and all the little details placed intentionally for you to pick up along the way. as in those tv shows, none of the characters in coyoteland is particularly likable but it’s easier to root for some than others. the adults are mostly self-interested hypocrites and their kids might turn out that way too. people only feel reassured if they can exert control on their surroundings and they react haphazardly to the unexpected or unwelcome. this righteousness is only exacerbated in a community emerging from covid, where everyone has a chip on their shoulder for what they think they’ve endured. the book doesn’t come away with one take on race, immigration, xenophobia, privilege, nimbyness, heritage, parenting, environmental degradation, or surveillance, but it blobs them all into one big venn diagram, differently hued circles overlapping and intersecting in various combinations to highlight some shades and dim others. the dynamics these circles create are reflected in the slightly caricatured characters whose personal flaws are magnified by their prejudices. the coyote metaphor isn’t that well-executed and feels mostly in parallel to the action of the book rather than in step but doesn’t go unnoticed; each character considers the next a threat to what they cautiously protect or want to take. in reality, coyotes don’t attack humans as often as they are feared to and typically go for the smaller prey like children. even so, every person is overly concerned with preventing their own fragile insecurities from being exposed, so the precautions they take toward threats that exist primarily in their imaginations only make them more vulnerable and further endanger their own children, not just physically but also socially and psychologically. when attacks do seem to happen — to other people but nevertheless in their vicinity — paranoia induces these characters to double down on their irrationality and their need to rise above it all unscathed, even when their problems are largely self-imposed.
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.
June 15, 2026
I heard about Coyoteland by Vanessa Hua through the Infatuation podcast last week. I purchased it right away since the setting is described as east of the hills in Berkeley. Knowing the area I was intrigued to see how the author would portray the fictional city and residents. It was also appealing to know that it would be a multi ethnic and multigenerational character driven novel.
This is a moderately sized propulsive read that one can complete easily in a few sittings. It is well written but soon takes on a series of "box ticking": there is an Asian family next door to a Caucasian family. Both families have daughters that are friends and classmates with different Black girls. Rounding out the diversity is a single Hispanic Mother and her daughter living precariously as a domestic worker in the affluent neighborhood. It is an uncomfortable take on stereotypes that is surprising to read.
While each of these racial groups have different dramas that are presented with detail and depth it just seem performative. The "bad guys" (well, the Caucasian mother and daughter) seem like a recycled storyline from an After School Special. The Asian family isn't any more virtuous but at least has more fleshed out backstory. The Hispanic and Black characters seem little more than necessary inclusions to make it seem "inclusive" as is the trend in most things in America today.
I completed reading this book grudgingly because I had hopes the podcaster suggestion was worthwhile. The host is a public school teacher and I had positive experiences with some of his previous book recommendations. The upside is that this is a technically well written book with topical subjects interwoven through many viewpoints. Sadly, the downside is that it overall feels forced and is neither satisfying nor uplifting throughout and in its conclusion.
This is a moderately sized propulsive read that one can complete easily in a few sittings. It is well written but soon takes on a series of "box ticking": there is an Asian family next door to a Caucasian family. Both families have daughters that are friends and classmates with different Black girls. Rounding out the diversity is a single Hispanic Mother and her daughter living precariously as a domestic worker in the affluent neighborhood. It is an uncomfortable take on stereotypes that is surprising to read.
While each of these racial groups have different dramas that are presented with detail and depth it just seem performative. The "bad guys" (well, the Caucasian mother and daughter) seem like a recycled storyline from an After School Special. The Asian family isn't any more virtuous but at least has more fleshed out backstory. The Hispanic and Black characters seem little more than necessary inclusions to make it seem "inclusive" as is the trend in most things in America today.
I completed reading this book grudgingly because I had hopes the podcaster suggestion was worthwhile. The host is a public school teacher and I had positive experiences with some of his previous book recommendations. The upside is that this is a technically well written book with topical subjects interwoven through many viewpoints. Sadly, the downside is that it overall feels forced and is neither satisfying nor uplifting throughout and in its conclusion.
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.
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