Pax ©2016 by Sara PennyPacker is a story about a boy and his fox geared toward young adult readers. This post is for Pax Journey Home ©2021 also by Sara Pennypacker and is a follow-up to that book. Pax Journey Home, also a young adult novel, is geared for ages 8-12. I decided to read it when I saw my nine-year-old granddaughter Vivian reading it last month.
It had been six years since I read Pax. My review of it is in my post for 4/11/2017. The author did a good job of reminding me of the storyline and characters so I did not feel lost when I was reading Pax Journey Home. Peter had been forced to leave behind his dearly loved pet fox during a move necessitated by his father enlisting in the military and his mother having died several years previous. Pax, domesticated since a kit, had adapted to the wild and now has a mate Bristle, whose tail had been scorched by explosion. Bristle's brother Runt had lost one hind leg in that same explosion. The follow on book continues the story, complete with the soft illustrations that I'd found so endearing. Also the story is told in alternate voices with chapter headings helpfully denoted by a silhouette of a fox or a boy.
Fast forward to where Peter is now 13 and is truly an orphan having lost his father to the war. He joins a traveling band of environmentalists who are restoring waterways from toxins released into them from war manufacturing byproducts and battle skirmishes. The area they are working to renew is in the same lands where Pax and his mate found a new home. The foxes now include a litter of three pups, two males and a female.
The book has many many poignant moments where Peter deals with visiting his old house, abandoned abruptly and neglected due to war priorities. He is emotionally bombarded with his mom's possessions and his childhood treasures and the scattering of his father's ashes. A bright light is the sighting of Pax with a pup and a hope-beyond-hope for a renewal of their loving relationship. After all the losses in his young life can Peter open up to others and be happy again? The harshness of war is a theme but it runs side by side with the theme of renewal, both of the land and Peter's broken heart. I had rated Pax 4 stars six years ago and I similarly rate Pax Journey Home 4 stars today.
You'll have to chat with Vivian about this book! I think she liked the first book better, but she still enjoyed the sequel. I wonder if Autumn would like them, too?
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