Official Review: FoxHide by John C. Hill
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- ciecheesemeister
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Official Review: FoxHide by John C. Hill
FoxHide is a novella by John C. Hill. It tells the story of a family of foxes: DaddyFox, MommaFox, and their three kits: Strike, Pawz, and BoomBoom. The story is told from the point of view of the middle brother, Pawz.
FoxHide might, on the surface, appear to be a children’s story, but it really isn’t. There is no strong language and no gratuitous violence or erotic scenes, but the creative wordplay and the way the story is told would be confusing for younger kids. The story does contain adult themes and a fair amount of peril for the foxes trying to avoid humans and their dogs or predatory animals such as coyotes, and for animals such as pigeons and rabbits that are hunted by the foxes.
Because of the deliberate creative spelling, it was a little difficult to determine if the book was professionally edited. It is my opinion that it was because the story was cohesive and flowed well. There was a lot of action going on, but one scene led to another in ways that made sense. I never found myself feeling lost or wondering how a character came to be in a new situation.
My favorite aspects of the book were the dynamics between the fox family members and the fact that the author addressed the unnecessary peril that foxes face due to human activities such as hunting and trapping. Fox hunting is a cruel practice that should be abolished, as should traps. Fur garments are an unnecessary luxury item in the modern world, and it would be preferable for farmers and ranchers to utilize non-lethal methods to keep predators away from livestock such as chickens.
My only complaint about the book was the fact that it was not broken into chapters. It read like one extremely long chapter and I did not care for that format. Since I have various tasks that I need to attend to on any given day, it is helpful to have chapter breaks in a longer story. Admissibly, this is a personal preference, but I believe that many readers would agree with me.
I give FoxHide four out of four stars. The creative spelling will not be to every reader’s taste, but I thought that it was entertaining, and it worked well with the story. The author captured the clever and playful nature of foxes in the narrative. The characters were compelling and, overall, the book was quite a fun read. I recommend the story for animal lovers who enjoy imaginative storytelling.
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FoxHide
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