Review: Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Today I have a review of Pax, a book I got over the holidays, and I’m excited to talk about it, so let’s get into it.
Book: Pax
Author: Sara Pennypacker
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade
Series? Standalone
Summary (from Goodreads): “Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax.”
My Thoughts:
When I first read the summary of this book, I had a feeling that it would be sad. And it was. But it was also sweet. Nevertheless, it was a great read.
The story starts immediately. Pax gets dropped off in the woods around page 4. I like action starting pretty fast in some books. In Pax, it was a nice way to pull readers in.
The storyline is bittersweet. I love the relationships that both Pax and Peter formed over the course of the book. This book is partly about war too and some tragic events happen in the story. Some of it is pretty graphic, so I would read it with the prior knowledge of that.
One thing is that I didn’t really know what time period they were in. There was a war, though I didn’t know which one, and I don’t know where in the world Peter lived. It was vague in that area.
The ending felt a little rushed. I won’t say what happened because of spoilers, but to me it feels like there were some loose ends that weren’t complete.
Peter is a very determined boy throughout the whole book. He’s also a little impulsive, thinking he can go travel 300 miles to connect back with his fox. He didn’t exactly think it all the way through. However, he is smart and knows what he needs to do in order to achieve what he wants.
Pax is a really sweet fox. He’s naive, since he doesn’t know much about living in the wild, but he’s a quick learner and enthusiastic around others.
Vola has some difficult situations of her own. She lives by herself in the wilderness and it seems that she doesn’t interact with people very much. Still, she forms a relationship with Peter and they become friends.
Bristle and Runt are two foxes that Pax meets during his adventures. Bristle is defensive and protective of her Runt, her brother. Distrusting humans because of something that happened earlier, she doesn’t like Pax at first, but after a while, she relents and forms a friendship with Pax.
I enjoyed reading Pax. Though there were some things that I wasn’t too sure about, overall, this book was a really good read. I like reading part of the story from the perspective of a fox.
My Rating: 4/5 stars
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