Fans of Sara Pennypacker’s Pax will be thrilled to see the arrival of the long-awaited sequel this month.

A year ago, Peter met his former pet fox, Pax, for what he assumed was the last time. Since then Pax has been happy as part of a new family in the wild. Thirteen year old Peter, on the other hand, has now lost not just his mother and his beloved pet but also his father, killed in the war. That just leaves his grandfather, who makes him feel inadequate. He’s determined to bury his feelings of guilt, hurt and loss by striking out alone and shunning close relationships.

He sets off to join the Water Warriors, cleaning up water that has been contaminated by the war near to his old home. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Pax is travelling in the same direction – towards Peter but also towards the contaminated water. Slowly, surely, inevitably, their paths collide.

Told alternately from the points of view of Peter and Pax (although always in the third person), this story will break your heart and warm it at the same time. It’s a superb and sensitive portrait of how emotions can become tangled and how grief can become toxic. It draws you into the vivid tale of companionship between boy and fox and compels you to ponder the complex relationships between loss and guilt, loyalty and love.

Despite being a sequel to Pax, it stands alone very well, although I would recommend reading the books as a pair. Doing so heightens the pathos of watching Peter follow the emotionally self-destructive path set by his father and, ultimately, finding healing and redemption through love.

The emotional content of the book makes it ideal for broaching difficult subjects like bereavement and mental wellbeing. The setting and context link it to environmental issues, most of all the importance of water. The story as a whole is a joyous read – perfect reading for pleasure material. I read it with tears running down my face and since I’ve finished it, I’ve felt somewhat bereft myself.