The Midnight Fox Book

The 1970s and '80s were arguably the prime of Betsy Byars's career, but she produced many good books outside of that period, including The Midnight Fox in 1968. Nine-year-old Tom is looking forward to summer vacation from school. He and his friend Petie Burkis are never short on creative ideas for how to spend their free time, but Tom's summer derails before it starts when his parents inform him he'll be spending the next two months at his Aunt Millie and Uncle Fred's farm. Tom's parents are going on a bike trip through Europe, and need to be sure he's safe back in the states so they can enjoy themselves. Not wanting to ruin their vacation, Tom pretends he's looking forward to being stuck on a farm for most of summer, but in truth he doesn't see how he could possibly enjoy the upcoming months.

Tom settles in quickly with Aunt Millie (who is actually his cousin) and Uncle Fred, as well as their teenage daughter Hazeline. They don't ask him to do many chores, so Tom has a surplus of time to explore the woods, and he's glad of that when he crosses paths with the black fox. It moves as smooth as dark silk, soundlessly foraging food to take back to her cub. Tom hasn't had luck in the past with animals, but this fox fascinates him, and he spends more time outdoors in hopes of seeing her again. Eventually Tom follows her to her den, where a miniature black fox emerges so his mother can feed him. Tom has never seen anything more wonderful than the foxes, but Uncle Fred is a hunter, so Tom keeps his sightings of the animals to himself. Better not to share this source of joy than to risk Uncle Fred ending it with his rifle.

Despite oppressive hot temperatures, summer passes rapidly once Tom learns to like the farm. It isn't boring, and Aunt Millie and Uncle Fred are kind. Hazeline has her dramas with her boyfriend Mikey, who wants her to shed some weight before he commits to a longterm relationship, but Tom doesn't mind occasionally being a voice of reason for Hazeline. The easy rhythm of the summer is broken one evening when Aunt Millie reports that one of her turkeys was stolen from its nest last night. She suspects a fox is the culprit, and wants Uncle Fred to track it down and eliminate the problem. Tom's anxiety shoots sky high, but he has no time to panic. Without being obvious, he attempts to lead Uncle Fred away from the black fox's den, but Fred is a wily hunter and soon has the animal and its cub surrounded. He sets a trap that's sure to apprehend the black fox by sundown, but Tom can't let him kill the majestic creature and her cub. He must find a way to liberate them both from Uncle Fred's trap, but will the saga of the black fox have a cheerful ending, or is it destined to be a tragedy?

Some of the best parts of The Midnight Fox are insights that arise from Tom's way of thinking, how he connects concepts that to most would seem unrelated. Often we're introduced to these insights by Tom reminiscing about old escapades with Petie Burkis, and for a kid who hardly appears in this novel, Petie has an impact. Tom is interesting by himself, however; after discovering the black fox, he finds himself spending hours every day looking for the animal, but patience isn't his strong suit. "I like to have things go ahead and happen. I thought one time that if there was some way to turn your life ahead like a clock, then I would probably lose half my life turning it ahead to avoid waiting for things." I think most of us identify with that, but if we're so preoccupied counting down to the "special" moments that we squander large quantities of the everyday, we're losing priceless portions of our life we'll never get back. The summer of the black fox adds essential elements to Tom's life experience; not just the action-packed moments of the climax, but all the smaller ones that led him there. Tom isn't the same kid he was two months ago; he's evolving into a better version of himself. I'll rate The Midnight Fox two and a half stars; the story's subtlety is impressive, but maybe it's too subtle, lacking the emotional kick that would propel it to three stars. Also, some of the foreshadowing is less than veracious. The writing is vintage Betsy Byars, though: humorous, wise, and endearing. I wouldn't mind reading this book again.