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    Pax
    Pax
    Pax
    Audiobook5 hours

    Pax

    Written by Sara Pennypacker

    Narrated by Michael Curran-Dorsano

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    New York Times Bestseller * National Book Award Longlist 

    From bestselling and award-winning author Sara Pennypacker comes a beautifully wrought, utterly compelling novel about the powerful relationship between a boy and his fox. Pax is destined to become a classic, beloved for generations to come. 

    Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.

    At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.

    Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. . . .

    Pax is a wonderful choice for independent reading, sharing in the classroom, homeschooling, and book groups.

    Plus, don't miss Pax, Journey Home, the sequel to the award-winning and modern classic Pax.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 2, 2016
    ISBN9780062417787
    Author

    Sara Pennypacker

    Sara Pennypacker is the author of the New York Times bestselling Pax and Pax, Journey Home; the award-winning Clementine series and its spinoff series, Waylon; and the acclaimed novels Summer of the Gypsy Moths and Here in the Real World. She divides her time between Cape Cod, MA, and Florida. You can visit her online at sarapennypacker.com.

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    Reviews for Pax

    4/5

    609 ratings59 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This is a beautiful book about loss, grief, and spiritual renewal set in a dangerous world with an uncertain future.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      how tf do i read it.I want to read it bro
    • 4/5
      wholesome, empathy-building nature-remembering adventure. good story for kids and adults, too.

    • 5/5
      The reader was reading clearly and the story made me not want to take my headphones off! It made for an entertaining afternoon while I was doing a craft and the story about the fox and the boy was excellent! I especially love Peter's determination and love for his fox.
    • 4/5
      Eh... it was decent. But very good wordplay. It was decent.
    • 5/5
      I am Ellis. I loved it so much . Thank you!!!!!!!!!
    • 5/5
      Such a great book about friendship and love. ❤️ Highly recommend!
    • 5/5
      I cannot begin to put fully into words the range of thoughts and feelings that fluctuate through out this story. I adored how the words could awaken in you a simple playful child-like mindset (predominantly depicted in Pax), but also strongly encourage you to acknowledge the sobering complexities in life, and the connections there in that we hold onto weather human or not. Beautifully developed! I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading this story.
    • 5/5
      It is such a sad and beautiful story I loveed it
    • 5/5
      Great story! Can't wait for the next one! Loved it!
    • 4/5
      I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING! This book is exactly why I stay away from books about animals. I teared up at the beginning and I sobbed at the end. Pax is about a boy and his fox and the on coming war. Peter has to leave his fox, Pax, behind in the woods because his dad joined the military and he has to go live with his grandpa, but right away he realizes what a terrible mistake he has made and must go find Pax. The story explores the cost of war that might not be thought about usually and how it can affect everything in different ways. This story is sad, but has a good uplifting message. I felt at times the plot could of been smoother and maybe more information about the characters and the background. The fox chapters are all amazing though and emotional. Ugh. Definitely not a book just for children, any age can appreciate the story and message.

      Pax the fox does not die.
    • 5/5
      I love it! It is such a good book and now I get to enjoy the second book too!???
    • 3/5
      It was good but some confusing parts and a little weird but overall the ending was good!?
    • 5/5
      I don't often say this this, but be warned: this book will give you ALL the emotions. Told in alternating POVs between Peter, a young boy, and his fox, Pax, the story follows the dual journeys that Peter and Pax undertake to find each other after they are separated when Peter's father goes to war. The book is heartbreaking from the first chapter and doesn't really back down with the emotional energy throughout. Ultimately, this is a story of friendship, love, redemption, and loyalty. I was slightly put off by the ending, but after thinking about it, IMO there was really no other way Pennypacker could have ended the story. Jon Klassen's accompanying illustrations are a lovely addition to the book. This is going to be a book that will be sticking with me for quite some time.
    • 4/5
      A boy. A wolf. A father who has enlisted in a sudden war. The boy releases his wolf into the wild and immediately regrets it. He sneaks away from his grandfather's house to attempt to reunite with the wolf. In the process he breaks his leg and meets up with a woman with her own set of issues stemming from a war. The wolf, too, meets up with new companions and his own set of adventures. All this with suitably mysterious illustrations by the wonderful Jon Klassen.
    • 5/5
      Every day I have been listening to it it was like the book was speaking to me
    • 4/5
      A reviewer mentioned this as a "tear-jerker". That is the best description. The plot deals with companionship, loyalty and perseverance with an overtone of hardship and even danger.The characters are very well developed and the author really knows how to ramp up emotion and give you a strong urge to know how the fox and the boy come out of their predicamentI would barely call this a children's book as there is too much stress in the story. But it would be suitable for an adolescent, high school but not a grade-schooler..That said, I was glued to the book once started. I was a little critical the book ends without ramping down the tense dangerous situation the fox is in. Also the boy has some decisions to make soon and would have liked one more chapter to see how the author would handle that. I myself could not see a way forward that would be suitable for both fox and boy. But good authors can pull rabbits out of hats and I hope the author follows this book with a second to finish the story.
    • 5/5
      This book was discussed in a chat as a good book for older kids (her recommendation was for ages 10-13). I'm an adult and agree that it is probably better for older kids due to some of the emotionally difficult subject matter, but suspect this book would be especially helpful for kids dealing with loss and traumatic change, whether or not they are animal lovers. It was a parallel coming of age story about the pain of separation, the importance of connection, of defining and recognizing oneself despite the constant pressures of the world to define us, and of doing what you know is right, what you must, in your heart. The story is well woven and the performance is engaging and perfectly suited to the subject matter. I started listening to this on Sunday morning while doing an hour-long chore and expected to complete it in a few sittings if it grabbed me. Instead I found myself unable to stop listening until I'd finished it, having to find other little tasks to complete over the 5 hour recording. Glad this book is out there for young people today and in the future.
    • 4/5
      The ending was pretty predictable but it still made me cry.
    • 5/5
      This book. Oh my. This story broke my heart and then healed it too. A beautiful beautiful story.
    • 3/5
      A very deep and bittersweet story for middle graders.
    • 4/5
      A poignant tale about a boy and his fox; an excellent read that I got through in a short sitting.  
    • 4/5
      A box about a boy who abandons his pet fox when his father tells him he has to, but who then changes his mind and journeys to get his fox back.Powerfully and beautifully written, with alternating chapters from the boy and the fox, it touches on powerful themes of war and disability, found family, knowing yourself, telling the truth, fear of becoming like family you dislike, loss, love and not giving up.
    • 3/5
      Overall, a good piece of work. To be admired for its frank approach to heartbreak, fear, love, loss, and resolve. And the illustrations are absolute gems...wish there were more of them! It is DARK, though. It opens with the most desolate of scenes, a boy having to drive away the fox he has cherished and cared for through much of his life, and I wondered if I wanted to read the rest. Chapters alternate between the boy and the fox, and both are frightened, in pain, and staunch. The fox is believable - she has clearly done her homework on fox behavior, with allowances for the purposes of the story. I did keep turning pages, though I had a feeling (correct, as it turned out) how this would end. I think Pennypacker made some choices that weaken the book: there is simply too much packed (no pun intended) in here, especially for a middle-grade novel. Dead or coldhearted parents, a hermitic woman, a vague war, PTSD, violent deaths and dismemberments, baseball... It all occurs in an oddly placeless, timeless setting that leaves all these elements a bit afloat in a murky sea. Perhaps this was meant to reflect how confusing and random the world seems to kids, but it needed a stronger anchor to reality. The language is forceful, she pulls no punches, and very admirably refuses to write down to her presumably young readers, which means that older kids and adults will also find this readable and engaging. Sometimes disturbing, confusing, also poignant and brave... An unusual and dark story, but definitely worth the read.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book!
    • 1/5
      Listened to the Audiobook versionTo be blunt, this bored me so much. The whole story just felt like it dragged on, nothing really sparked an interest from me. At one point I thought the “war” was overseas but apparently it was right smack in the main town since the boy was able to go to the battlefield by bus.I also couldn’t figure out if the father was suppose to be abusive or just really strict with his son, and I still don’t know.All the interactions with Vola honestly bugged me. I didn’t like how she was written.Didn’t care for the end either, it was just so abrupt and it didn’t feel like there was any real closure to anything. The story just left me feeling blah.At least the cover is pretty.
    • 4/5
      This was a beautifully written book, with fascinating characters easy to become attached to. I enjoyed everything about it except the ending. Too much was left unresolved.
    • 4/5
      A beautiful story about love, loss, growing up, and having to courage to let go.
    • 3/5
      I really thought this book was going to give me alot more of the "feels" than it did. It felt somewhat dry throughout the story. When originally picking it up I thought I would be a blubbering fool by the end of the book but I was sooo let down. There were so many ways the story could have ended but it just seemed to drop off, not a fan at all.
    • 5/5
      A children's book just punched me in the damn feels. WTF? When did I start having feelings? I highly recommend this to everyone at any age. Its about the cost of war, family, loyalty, breaking cycles, and selflessness. It's about so much more than a boy and his fox. Ouch. I'm going to go drink a scotch.