Pax Journey Home by Sara Penny Packer

Please begin by reading my post about the first book Pax.  Here is a quote from my post:

One of the most wonderful things about reading is when you know you are in the safe hands of a master storyteller especially when realise this right from the start of the story.  You know the characters might experience hardship, difficulties, pain and trauma but you also know the author will bring everyone safely home - not in a sentimental or trite way - but in a way that leaves you gasping at the sheer brilliance of their writing.

In the second instalment a year has passed. Pax is making a journey and so is Peter and it seems certain they will meet again. Peter has been deeply affected by the loss of his parents and the loss of his beautiful fox friend, Pax. His grief is utterly terrible and he is unable to share these feelings with anyone. He has decided it is best to never again become close to another - be they human or animal - because he needs to protect his heart from experiencing deep hurt.

He makes a plan to join the Water Warriors.  In this dystopian world the precious water ways have become contaminated. Peter tells Vola and his grandfather he will join this group but really this is just his excuse. He wants to return to the family home and his plan is to live there alone. He is now thirteen and he has well developed survival skills. 

Meanwhile Pax and Bristle have three cubs. His baby daughter is an inquisitive little creature. Pax knows he neesd to take is family to a safer place so he sets off with his daughter (she has followed him) to find a new place. I won't give too much away but remember the water is contaminated. There is a heart wrenching scene in this story when the little cub drinks from the river. I just held my breath for several chapters waiting to see the outcome. 

Watch this video where Colby Sharp talks about Pax Journey Home. 

This is a deftly nuanced look at the fragility and strength of the human heart. An impressive sequel. Kirkus star review

This tender story of love and reconciliation, and of families made and chosen, promises comfort after unfathomable hurt. Shelf Awareness

Everyone  of us knows the risk of loving and trusting.  Sometimes life hands you a lesson that you have to unlearn. A Book and a Hug

Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance copy of Pax Journey Home. This book will be released on the 7th September this year. You should add a copy of this and the first instalment to your shopping list. You might like to buy the set (hardcover). Here is Sara's website.

Here is what Sara Pennypack said in an interview with Publisher's Weekly:

Pennypacker said that she received “a ton of letters” from readers wanting to know what happened after Peter and Pax are reunited in the novel’s closing pages. Calling the conclusion of Pax “a great ending,” Pennypacker said that she initially resisted writing a sequel because she wanted readers to feel “that the right thing happened” to Peter and Pax. “If your emotional investment was to get Peter and Pax back together again, you can imagine that. If it was to know that they both went on and became who they were supposed to be, I left room for that.”