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    Maybe a Fox
    Maybe a Fox
    Maybe a Fox
    Audiobook3 hours

    Maybe a Fox

    Written by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

    Narrated by Alison McGhee

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    About this audiobook

    Worlds collide in a spectacular way when Newbery and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt and Pulitzer Prize nominee and #1 New York Times bestseller Alison McGhee team up to create a fantastical, heartbreaking, and gorgeous tale about two sisters, a fox cub, and what happens when one of the sisters disappears forever.

    Sylvie and Jules, Jules and Sylvie. Better than just sisters, more than best friends, they’d be identical twins if only they’d been born in the same year. And if only Sylvie wasn’t such a fast—faster than fast—runner. But Sylvie is too fast, and when she runs to the river they’re not supposed to go anywhere near to throw a wish rock just before the school bus comes on a snowy morning, she runs so fast that no one sees what happens…and no one ever sees her again. Jules is devastated, but she refuses to believe what all the others believe, that—like their mother—her sister is gone forever.

    At the very same time, in the shadow world, a shadow fox is born—half of the spirit world, half of the animal world. She too is fast—faster than fast—and she senses danger. She’s too young to know exactly what she senses, but she knows something is very wrong. And when Jules believes one last wish rock for Sylvie needs to be thrown into the river, the human and shadow worlds collide.

    Writing in alternate voices—one Jules’s, the other the fox’s—Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee tell the searingly beautiful tale of one small family’s moment of heartbreak, a moment that unfolds into one that is epic, mythic, shimmering, and most of all, hopeful.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 8, 2016
    ISBN9781442394360
    Author

    Kathi Appelt

    Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honoree, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the National Book Award finalist The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, Maybe a Fox (with Alison McGhee), Keeper, and many picture books including Counting Crows and Max Attacks. She has two grown children and lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband. Visit her at KathiAppelt.com.

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    Reviews for Maybe a Fox

    4/5

    66 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book is so heart warming but very sad i felt so many emotions when i read it as i cried at the end. I don’t recommend this if you want a happy ending but i do still think you should read this story. 10/10 i never knew a book could make me cry so much
    • 5/5
      Beautiful but heart-breaking, this thoughtful examination of sisterly love and loss from co-authors Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee follows the story of Jules, a young rock-hound whose deep bond with her elder sister Sylvie has been a mainstay in her life, since the death of their mother some time before. When Sylvie, whose 'burning wish' is always to run faster, falls into the Slip - the point at which the local river goes briefly underground - and is never seen again, Jules and her father must once again face the terrible grief of losing a family member. Trying to deal with her own guilt - why didn't she stop Sylvie that day, when she disobeyed their father's rules, and sprinted to the forbidden Slip? - Jules must also contend with her best friend Sam, whose elder brother Elk is newly returned from the war in Afghanistan, and her promise to find the 'Grotto,' a legendary local cave where grieving people have been reputed for generations to leave offerings of rocks for their lost loved ones. Parallel to Jules' story, is that of Senna, a young fox who is born one of the 'Kennen' - special animals with a strong bond to the spirits, who come into the world to accomplish some specific purpose, usually involving a human being. As Jules and Senna's paths converge, tragedy and transcendence is not far behind, and the reader learns the significance of Sylvie's burning wish, and just who Senna is...I finished Maybe a Fox on the uptown A-train, with tears trickling down my face. As is usually the case when I am deeply moved, it took me some time to process my feelings, and to marshal my thoughts for a review. I was attracted to the story initially because of the fox character - the depiction of foxes in children's literature is one of my research areas - but found the humans every bit as compelling. The co-authors here capture the strength of a sister's devotion, and the depth of pain at a sister's loss. They also, through the story of Elk, offer a sensitive depiction of the trauma of returning home from war. I was intrigued (naturally) by the character of Senna, and the idea of the 'Kennen.' Kennan is, of course, the German verb 'to know,' something the authors must surely have been aware of, and Senna is a fox with a heightened sense of knowing - of connection to the natural world, whether that be the forest, the catamount (Sam's obsession) or the bear. She is also a fox with a special connection to one human - Jules - just as the catamount has a special connection to Elk. I had certain preconceptions about what that would turn out to mean - I assumed that Senna was meant to be a kind of guide, something that is becoming more common, in fox stories. Instead, she is a sort of reincarnated form of Sylvie, and her self-sacrifice at the end of the book has a power and truth that I was not expecting.A beautiful, beautiful book, Maybe a Fox is a book I will be pondering for some time. I would recommend it to fans of Appelt's other books - apparently some of its themes have also been explored in her previous titles - and to young readers interested in stories featuring family and close friend dynamics, and in the human connection to the natural world.
    • 5/5
      It seems like the books I am choosing to read are all survival, emotional, coming of age stories. In this story, Jules and her sister Sylive live with their father. Their mother is dead. One day as she was bringing the groceries up to the house she crumpled and died. Sylvie ran as fast as she could to the neighbor's house. In her mind it wasn't fast enough. Jules collects rocks. She knows just about everything there is to know about them. She and her sister occasionally sneak off to throw rocks they have written their wishes on into the Slip. Their father has forbidden them to go there because it is dangerous. One morning after it snows the girls go out to build a snow family before the bus comes. Sylvie decides to throw a wish rock into the river. She doesn't return. Once again Jules is dealing with the grief that accompanies death. The other voice in the story is that of a fox who is born at the same time Sylvie dies. She is a special spirit animal connected to another being. The thoughts of Jules, the fox, Jules friend Sam and his brother Elk ring so true. It shows the range of emotions and the way that different people handle grief. The title comes from a game Sylvie and Jules played after their mother's death. They wanted to know what happened to you after you died. I won't say more than this because it would be way too easy to give too much away and this is a must read. Just make sure you have a box of tissues with you.
    • 3/5
      3-3.5 This was a well-written and powerful book. It made me cry in multiple parts and I almost stopped reading at one point because I could tell it was going to get very sad. But, I continued on and the story does end with some resolution to some of the sad things. A book I can see kids enjoying more if they read and discuss it with a parent or teacher. Lots of loss in this one!
    • 3/5
      An easy reading book about grief. Two girls live alone with their father after their mother died unexpectedly from a heart attack, by chapter 8 the elder sister has died in a tragic accident too. It's a story where a lot of the comfort is in the magic, the dead sister comes back as a fox who sacrifices herself to save her little sister, so if you are looking for comfort during grief that isn't 'their spirit definitely still exists and will go on to be with their mother in a better place' this may not be the book for you.
    • 5/5
      Jules older sister Sylvie always wants to "run faster" and one day as she is running, slips into a nearby river. Her body is never found. Jule's and her dad's grief is even more anguished because of the loss of the mother a few years earlier. Another perspective comes into focus though at the time Sylvie dies- that of a young fox kit just born. She is different; she was born with knowledge other foxes didn't have, a feeling of a destiny she would fulfill. This destiny was somehow tied to the girl Jules who lived in the sunny yellow cottage near the woods and the grotto where she sees a vision of a lovely red-headed lady with an important message for her. The story alternates between Jules and the young fox, which brings the themes of hope and purpose into this story of grief. This 258 page book would be excellent for a discussion group grades 4-6.
    • 4/5
      This is a sad little book, filled with poignancy, loss and some hope. To me the story proceeded slowly. The writing is absolutely beautiful so I focused appreciating that. I think it would lend itself to a read aloud.

      Sylvie and Jules mother died when her daughters were very young. and Unlike her older sister Sylvie, Jules barely remembers their mom, who died of an undiagnosed heart condition. All she remembers was Sylvie running as fast as she could to find help, but no one would have been able to run fast enough. Since their mother’s death, their small, grieving family has relied on each other for strength and comfort. A tragic event hits this family yet again. Sylvie drowns and her body was never sound. Jules is not sure how she can go on without her sister.

      Jules neighbor and best friend, Sam, is also coping with loss. His older brother Elk has come back safely but changed from fighting in Afghanistan. Elk’s best friend Zeke did not come back. Elk preoccupied with his memories of war and his grief over losing his best friend.

      For as long as they can remember, Sam, Sylvie, and Jules have created “wish rocks,” writing wishes on distinctive stones and then tossing them into “the slip,” the fast-moving creek and underground river that runs through their property in rural Vermont. Sylvie is the school's track star and constantly wishes to run faster. Sam always wishes to see an extremely rare catamount. As for Jules, her wishes never seem important enough, that is until Sylvie is gone from her.

      In a parallel story, in the woods near Jules’s home, a baby fox is born,Senna. Senna, she finds herself curiously drawn to humans, and to one very sad human in particular, Jules. Can they help one another?
    • 5/5
      MAYBE A FOX by authors Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee is a heart-wrenching story. After older sister Sylvie is involved in a terrible accident at a place called The Slip, Jules, and her father are left to deal with the loss. As Sylvie leaves the earth, three kits are growing in the belly of a mother fox. One of her kits has a special connection called "Kennen." Events unfold and intertwine beautifully leading from grief to healing. The language is poetic and the symbolism is exceptional. MAYBE A FOX will tug at your heart. Have a tissue handy!
    • 4/5
      I liked the characters, but, well, i wonder what Sylvie's father felt about the death of his daughter. The story, while told in the third person, focuses on the thoughts of Jules, Sylvie's sister, and Senna, a new born fox.Sorry, but I'm not sure what the book was trying to say and I didn't much like what I think it said. It seems to me that the wish rock ritual was a really terrible idea.
    • 3/5
      Jules and sylvie, sisters, are not always seeing eye to eye. But Sylvie tries to keep the memory alive of their mother for Jules who was very young when she died. When Sylvie dissapears in the woods behind their house, presumable dead, it is difficult for Jules to grasp that she is alone now. At that time Jules spots a fox that migth have a connection to her.
    • 5/5
      I love this book. The authors use beautiful writing to tell a wonderful story. Just be aware that if you read this book, you will probably cry.