Wayward Creatures

Twelve-year-old Gabe feels adrift. His parents are wrapped up in their own troubles, and his old friends, now starring on the soccer team, have little room for him. Hoping to win back their attention, he lights fireworks in the woods behind his house, and a small blaze spreads across several acres.

The fire also upends the life of Rill, a coyote who has grown restless with her pack and craves something more. Lost in the smoke and confusion, she ends up far from home. Animal control is already watching her after she wandered into a backyard and snapped at a child. Rill hides in a cave to tend her injuries on her own.

Gabe and Rill's paths meet again when Gabe is assigned to help clear the burned forest as part of a court-ordered restorative justice program. The harm done to the land and to both of their lives is larger than either could have pictured. Working side by side, they begin to see how one friendship can help a person find where they belong.