Pax by Sara Pennypacker (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Pax by Sara Pennypacker Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Pennypacker, Sara Pax; illus. by Jon Klassen. Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2016 [304p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-237701-2 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-237703-6 $11.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7 “War is coming. It means sacrifices for everyone.” So says Peter’s father as he leaves to serve and sends Peter to live with his grandfather three hundred miles away, which means Peter must release back into the wild Pax, the fox he has been caring for five years. Peter doesn’t even last one night at his grandfather’s house before he gathers up supplies and heads homeward to find his fox; meanwhile, Pax is forced deeper into the forest by army traffic. Separated by miles, the friends embark on two very different journeys that eventually bring them together, just not in the way they expected. The focalization alternates between Peter and the fox, giving readers a sense of the depth of their connection and particularly Peter’s need for reunion; afraid that he will inherit his father’s bouts of anger and violence, Peter hopes that nurturing Pax will prevent that fate. The narration that follows Pax has a simplicity that still manages to be strikingly emotional, while Peter’s chapters are more layered, with painful secrets revealed at a steady but organic pace. Pennypacker doesn’t romanticize her animal world, with believable territorial fights happening among the wildlife; ultimately, though, the book is an indictment of war, notable in the depiction of the soldiers reveling in destruction and through the character [End Page 322] of Vola, an ex-medic who cares for Peter when he breaks his foot. The ending is a classic tearjerker, and even readers who predict it will still find themselves reaching for a tissue. Copyright © 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois