Lost Shadow

In this sequel to her first novel, Street Shadows, (www.cmreviews.ca/node/1802) Gilchrist continues with the story of the two coyotes, Pica and Scruff, as they try to survive the city streets among the humans. After leaving the new development that destroyed their home on the golf course, Pica and Scruff found a new area called the Wild Lands. However, they have been having trouble finding their own territory as other coyote packs have already taken over. They tried to venture into a nearby forest but came across a strange smell that set them on edge. With winter coming, they know they must try to find a good source of food and shelter soon. Pica convinces Scruff to hunt in the forest anyway. They manage to catch a mouse until Pica is attacked by a wild cat and is injured.

While Pica is resting, Scruff goes hunting on his own. He comes across a loading dock with trucks full of food. Knowing he is taking a risk with the humans, he manages to steal a loaf of bread. When he brings the bread back to Pica, she is furious with him for going near humans and taking such a risk. She refuses to eat, and they both take a moment away from each other in their anger and frustration. Pica tries to make it up to Scruff by trying to steal food from one of the trucks herself but ends up getting trapped in the back of a truck and is taken far away.

When Pica is able to escape from the truck, she encounters a wolf and two young coyotes trying to defend their kill. Pica helps the coyotes, Rip and Rooney, and they, in turn, take her to their pack where she is given food and shelter for the night. The pack alpha, Leila, encourages Pica to stay with them for the summer, but Pica is determined to get back to Scruff.

Meanwhile, Scruff searches for Pica for a few days, eventually believing that Pica left him in anger. While searching for food on his own, Scruff encounters another coyote named Kaia. Scruff wants nothing to do with Kaia, but she shows him a safe place to sleep, and Scruff continues to meet her and her friends at a park over the next few weeks. Scruff learns that Kaia and her pack mostly eat human food either stolen or given to them by a human they call Friend. At first Scruff is reluctant to accept any food from Friend, remembering how mad Pica got. But he eventually accepts Kaia’s way of life, interacting more and more with humans and hunting less. Scruff’s belly is always full, and he likes that he has more time to play rather than needing to hunt all the time. However, he notices how much Kaia and the others rely on humans for survival. Scruff begins to relax around humans as well until Kaia and another of her pack mates are killed by a group of humans. Scruff is on the run once more and is terrified of humans.

Pica’s first attempt to make it back home does not go well. Before she even tries to cross the Ice Mountains, she is chased by the wolf she encountered earlier and ends up caught in a bear trap. Leila saves her, but Pica’s foot is badly injured. She ends up staying with Leila’s pack for the winter and realizes how different they are from her family. There are more of them that live together, they are bigger, and they hunt together so they can catch larger prey such as deer.

When spring arrives, Pica’s paw has healed, and she is strong enough to travel. She must cross the Ice Mountains to get back to the Wild Lands, be able to hunt for herself, and watch out for wolves and other possible predators. Ultimately, she is worried that Scruff might have found another pack and has moved on without her. Meanwhile, Scruff is on his own again, lonely and hungry, when he crosses paths with Jaggar, his brother from another litter and enemy. Jagger takes pity on Scruff and offers him a chance to talk and to sleep in his territory. Scruff does not trust Jagger, yet he misses Pica and is very tired of trying to make it on his own. Both Pica and Scruff are in very different environments and must find a way to survive if they are to ever see each other again.

It is easy to see how much research Gilchrist has put into this book. She describes in great detail how the coyotes hunt, live, and play together. Pica and Scruff have both grown quite a bit since their appearance in Street Shadows. Through her trials to get back to Scruff, Pica has learned to adapt to her injuries and to trust her instincts. Scruff, who grew up mostly alone and learned to fend for himself, has come to learn to trust those in his pack and the importance of working together.

Two major themes that are prominent in Lost Shadow are human presence and the difference between city coyotes and forest coyotes. As readers learned in Street Shadows, humans can be both helpful and harmful. Because of human development, Pica and her family lost their home. However, a human did save Pica when she was badly injured. Similar occurrences happen in Lost Shadow. A human feeds some of the coyotes, possibly as a kind gesture, yet this makes the coyotes rely on human food, potentially diminishing their ability to hunt on their own. Also, humans who willingly give food to coyotes put them in danger of getting too near to those humans who mean them harm.

While living with Rooney and his pack for awhile, Pica noticed a difference between her family who lived in the city and coyote packs who live further away from humans. Rooney’s pack is bigger, and its members rely on each other for survival. They are less likely to turn away another coyote as Pica’s pack would have done. They hunt together for safety and, therefore, can take on larger prey. As previously stated, packs in the city must factor in human presence and sometimes rely on trash cans as their source of food if they are unable to hunt.

Overall, middle grade children who are fascinated by nature and animals will adore this book. Themes of friendship, family, and survival make this sequel a good cozy read. The research that has gone into Lost Shadow gives readers a unique look into the lives of coyotes and, hopefully, a better understanding and respect for these intelligent animals.