The book, Pax, is the very touching story of how a boy and his fox find each other. It starts when the boy, Peter, leaves his fox, Pax, on the side of the road. Peter did this because his father was going to the war, and he said Pax was too much to handle during this time. I don’t think this was very nice because Pax and Peter had been together for most of their lives. This relationship reminds me of my relationship with my sister, since we are very close and we care about each other. Afterwards, Peter went to stay with his grandfather. He realized that he shouldn’t have left Pax, and decided to go find him. I think that this was both a good idea and a bad idea because he can get Pax back, but he could also get lost or harmed.
  
Meanwhile, Pax waited for Peter where he left him; he got cold, thirsty, and hungry. While waiting, he met another fox, called Bristle, while she was hunting. Since Pax smelled like humans, Bristle didn't trust him. I think she must be afraid of humans because of how she acts around Pax. She tentatively took him to her home and he met her brother, Runt. Even though Bristle didn’t fully trust Pax, it was nice that she let him come to her home. Bristle warned Pax that there were dangerous humans nearby and that the other foxes were very territorial. One fox, though, was very nice to Pax. He was called Gray, and he was leader of the skulk of foxes. He asked Pax if he would help him find a new home for all of the foxes, and Pax said yes, only because he hoped he would find Peter. I thought Pax must really miss Peter.
  
While this was happening with Pax, Peter was traveling to find his fox. He wandered into a small town, and decided to rest near the baseball field. Peter was in love with baseball, so I think that is why he chose it. When he woke up, he began on his journey again. Once he was on the highway, he spotted a dirt road that looked like the one he had left Pax on. It was getting dark, but he walked down the road anyway. I don't think this was a smart idea because he could get hurt. It turned out that he did. After realizing he was in the wrong place, he headed towards what looked like an abandoned barn and fell, twisting his ankle badly. Since he couldn’t get up, he decided to rest there and figure everything out in the morning. When he woke up, someone was above him. She lived on the property and was wondering why he was on her property. Peter told her that he had hurt himself and she decided to help him. I thought that was very kind because she could have just told him to leave, but instead helped him. The woman’s name was Vola, and she agreed to let him stay at her home for a little while. She helped him to become stronger; consequently, he got strong enough to go and find Pax. I think this was kind of her because she gave him her time and effort, even though she didn't need to.

In the meantime, Pax found a military camp on his journey to find a safer home for all of the foxes he met. After Bristle and Runt come, even though they aren’t supposed to, Pax finds out that the wire the humans are laying is explosive. He finds this out because Runt walked over a wire and lost his leg and hearing for a short time. I think this must have been frightening for both Bristle and Pax because their friend and brother was severely injured. Bristle and Pax took turns protecting Runt. This was very kind of them because Runt couldn’t protect himself on his own.
Peter had now made his way to the woods where he left Pax. I think he felt accomplished because he walked through woods with a broken leg on rough terrain. Finally, he came to a clearing; consequently, he found Runt’s lost leg. Peter was heartbroken because he thought it was Pax’s, and he thought Pax had died. Sadly, he stood there, clutching the paw. But it the distance, he saw a fox, and realized it was Pax. Peter must have been overjoyed because he was finally reunited with his friend. He proved that he cared for Pax so much that he would go anywhere to find him.

Through this book, I learned that determination comes from acts of kindness. When Peter met Vola, she helped him with his broken leg. This is shown when the text says, “The woman nodded again and then cupped her hands around his heel. ‘I’m going to move this around,’ she warned. ‘You ready?” (Pennypacker 71). This shows that she was willing to be kind and help Peter, even though he trespassed on her property. In addition, Vola helped to train Peter to be able to trek through the rough land. These small acts of kindness from Vola are proven to help Peter be more determined to find Pax when the text states, “But it was a good hurt, a soreness that meant he was getting closer to being strong enough to go” (Pennypacker 162). This evidence shows that since Vola was being kind to Peter and helping him get stronger, Peter became more determined to train, since it would bring him closer to Pax. Finally, Pax helped his friend, Runt, when he was hurt, making Runt more determined to get stronger. Pax’s kindness is shown when the text says, “Pax leaped to stand by his injured side” (Pennypacker 211). This shows that Pax protected and cared for Runt, which, later in the book, leads Runt to be strong enough to protect himself. This is how the theme, determination comes from acts of kindness is shown in this book.

I gave Pax a 10/10 rating because it was very descriptive and the story flowed nicely. Also, there was a lot of action to keep the story going. The author used a lot of purposeful punctuation to add more diversity to the book. Also, when the foxes “talked” to each other, their dialogue was in italics to emphasize what was happening. I think the author’s intent was to show the importance of bravery and kindness. Also, I think she wanted others to know about the importance of family, friends, and togetherness, because this book is all about how Peter and Pax try to find each other. The genre of this book is realistic fiction/coming of age because it is possible that this could happen in real life, since there are no talking animals, magic, or anything else that doesn't happen in real life. In addition, I think this book would appeal to animal lovers and people who like books about family and friendship. This book is all about foxes and how family is important. In conclusion, Pax is a heartfelt story about determination, kindness, family, and friendship that has taught me a lot about love and my relationships with others.