2021 EDIT: It must have been fifteen years since I last read 'Finding the Fox'.
Funny how things, but most prominently adults, in books, might seem cool to child readers; but when you're an adult reader, suddenly those things appear, in fact, creepy and even sinister. Owen Hind, and a lot of the other adult characters, are so untrustworthy and borderline abusive. Is the kidnapping and gaslighting Owen really a good guy, when his words and actions make him look just as bad as the actual, obvious bad guy at Tregarren College? How often does he physically and psychologically harm young Dax to force him to change from a boy into a fox, and back again, for his "own good"? Dax is at least twelve years old!
'Finding the Fox' seriously isn't as innocent and simple a children's book as it seems, appropriately enough.
Other things that bothered me are:
Dax's cartoonishly evil stepmother (wow that trope is incredibly harmful), and his stereotypically girly and pink-and-doll-loving little half-sister;
The plot holes at the beginning: Why doesn't Dax try to break a window in the garden shed he is trapped in? Why didn't he think beforehand to prop something up against the shed door if it's known to slam itself shut in the wind, in October, in England? This is where Dax first transforms into a fox, and so he squeezes through a hole in the back of the shed to escape - but then, later, when he needs to go back inside as a boy before his stepmother catches him, why doesn't he just go in by the door and trap himself again, instead of wasting time breaking the same hole to make it bigger for him to crawl through?;
I still find Dax's Cola friend Gideon to be funny, but he can be a thoughtless git and, like the adults, borderline abusive - on page 114 of my copy, he actually gives Dax a Chinese burn, suddenly and non-consensually, just to prove that a Cola healer can heal him! I'm sure Dax would have taken you at your word, Gid! Or you could have given yourself a slight burn or cut to be healed, without hurting your new friend whom you've just met and whom your first encounter with involved you "accidently" hitting him in the face with a football when he'd woken up in bed. Little dick;
Poor Lisa. She really doesn't receive enough sympathy. The majority of the characters in this book are kind of mean, and sullen, moody and antisocial Lisa, ironically, is one of the least mean. The eleven-to-twelve-year-old girl is traumatised, her life is in ruins, her "gift" is a curse. She needs a hug;
There's the lack of deep worldbuilding when it comes to the mediums and psychics in the Cola Club. Like, ghosts, sprits and the afterlife are a regular feature to them and everyone else in the school - messages "from the other side" are passed to students all the time - so where does that leave the people with different faiths and religions there? Or the people without either? Aren't anyone's beliefs being questioned and challenged on a huge scale by this revelation? Faith and worship are mentioned on page 269, but it's only in relation to Dax having faith in people again after joining the Cola Club. Nothing else about it is explored;
And, on the subject of death, conveniently none of the Cola kids can contact their dead mothers' spirits. Maybe the reasons for why this is, and why they have no living mothers to begin with, are explained in a sequel. While we're at it, why did the weather in their areas turn absolutely mad and stormy at the time of their births? Most pressing of all: where do Dax's clothes go whenever he transforms into a fox, that magically reappear when he turns back into a boy? I'm sure the reasons for why these kids are so special will turn out to be very silly.
'Finding the Fox' is fun for younger audiences, however. 'Harry Potter' fans may well be attuned to the series. "Good, clean fun"? Eh. But it's entertaining, for all genders.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
Another book I remember reading at school. This is an entertaining and well-written action fantasy with a comic book edge. Reads like 'Harry Potter' (main male protagonist, secret school for children like himself, mysterious adult figures etc.) and 'X-Men' for middle schoolers (the superkids' school is called COLA: short for Children Of Limitless Ability. How cute). But 'Finding the Fox' has enough memorable characters - each with their own charm and charisma - and set pieces, that it's not really fair to compare it to other franchises.
Being a children's book the story is rather simple, with an obvious villain, but it contains many fun elements. The main boy Dax is realistic but nice and smart enough without coming across as boring compared to the funny and chocolate-loving Gideon, the troubled psychic Lisa who jogs around the school at night, and Dax's COLA guardian Owen whose trust will be questioned throughout the book.
The descriptions of Dax turning into a fox are surprisingly realistic. You feel for Dax and how he must be coping with this sudden change in his life. Finding out you're a shapeshifter can be cool but also dangerous, and some people might want to use you or kill you...
How Dax interacts with the other colourful characters is also believable. And there are tense scenes, such as whenever Dax shapeshifts in the worst of situations, proving that just because you write a book for children about kids with superpowers, doesn't mean the story has to be dumbed-down. Ali Sparkes has talent and she uses the best of her abilities in writing 'Finding the Fox'.
Also, among the mysteries concerning their existence, every COLA students' mother died when he or she was just four-years-old. How, and why? Keep reading the series and maybe we'll find out!
A light but great read that made my heart smile whilst reading it. What fun it must be to be a teen and a part of COLA, making fantastic friends there!
Final Score: 4/5
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