Pax: Journey Home
By Mary Eisenhart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Boy and fox struggle, heal in gripping, heart-filled sequel.
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What's the Story?
PAX: JOURNEY HOME takes place a year after the harrowing events of Book 1. The war that caused so much wanton destruction and carnage is over, but the damage to bodies, environment, and souls lingers. Peter is now 13, his father is dead, and in the wake of losing Pax the boy is determined never to feel anything again. Pax is now living in the wild with a family of his own, and Peter's quest for isolation, which takes him to the wilderness with volunteers working on environmental cleanup, ironically brings him closer to them. Despite everything, the bond between boy and fox is strong -- but so are the dark, toxic forces, environmental and emotional.
Is It Any Good?
This captivating tale of triumph in a deeply flawed world honors the struggle to deal with the catastrophic damage you've suffered and find healing. And it's enriched with illustrations by Jon Klassen that bring the characters, their world, and their emotions to life. Author Sara Pennypacker's Pax, wasn't meant to have a sequel, but, she says, the characters wouldn't let her go -- and that's a good thing. Readers of Pax: Journey Home will be gripped by Peter's emotional turmoil, the perils facing Pax and his family, the challenges of rebuilding a world torn apart by senseless violence -- and the characters they meet along the way.
"'Going to start living on your own. By yourself. Nobody to care about, nobody caring about you, right? No one else will get in,' she said...
"Peter didn't answer. Of course he thought that. That was exactly what he wanted to happen.
"'But it doesn't work that way. That won't make you safe. It will kill you... No, you won't stop breathing or anything like that, but you'll stop living, in ways that are important, anyway...
"'Besides,' Jade said, 'good luck with that. Someone will get in. A little sliver of caring. The tiniest crack in your shell is all it takes You won't even see it coming."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the dystopian setting of Pax: Journey Home. Why do you think dystopian stories are so popular? Do the struggles and adventures of characters in those worlds shed any light on our own?
Have you ever visited a wildlife rehabilitation center? What kinds of troubles and injuries had the animals sustained? What kind of treatment did they receive? Could they be rehabilitated well enough to be released into the wild?
Have you been separated from someone you love due to circumstances you couldn't control? How did it feel? What did you do?
Book Details
- Author: Sara Pennypacker
- Illustrator: Jon Klassen
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Friendship , Science and Nature , Wild Animals
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Balzar+Bray
- Publication date: September 7, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 256
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: September 28, 2021
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