The Free State of Jax by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The Free State of Jax by Jennifer A. Nielsen is her newest middle grade novel that is a departure from much of her historical fiction. This adventure story is centered about 12-year-old Jax Averett and his ambitious attempt to establish his own micronation in an effort to separate from his evil Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. The story opens with Jax declaring his independence and running to the neighboring property to set a raft afloat in a pond fed by a hot spring to settle his new nation. With the help of the mysterious Owen O’Keefe, Jax’s attempts at his own nation lasts approximately five days before the Grimmitz’s manage to get a hold of him for their own purposes.
Jax was orphaned young when his parents died in a boating accident. His grandmother was his guardian and caretaker until Alzheimer's made that no longer possible. Sent to his next of kin, Jax is in the custody of the Grimmitz’s who are described as a mean, disgusting family with five of the six children known widely in the community for their terrible behavior. Owen O’Keefe is believed by the community to have killed his brother and swindled the whole town that donated to the once dream of creating a hot springs resort to share the healing springs on their property and to drive tourism to their dying town. Unfortunately, Owen’s brother went missing the night of a fight with his brother and he and the money have not been seen since. Without concrete evidence, he has not been arrested and most of the community stay clear of him. That is, until Jax shows up on his property claiming eminent domain.
Overall, the story is extremely fun and cute as Jax learns to ask for and receive help, build friendships, and trust people despite the cruel treatment he has received from the Grimmitz family and the pain of his past. The mystery and the antics keep readers hooked to discover if Jax will be successful and what is the reason behind the Grimmitz’ insistence on adopting and getting Jax back. It is clear to readers that something is suspicious, and it is eventually revealed that there is a connection back to the Grimmitz family and Owen’s missing brother.
As a complete spoiler for parents, readers discover there was a run-in with Jax’s uncle Clive and Owen’s brother Waylon the night of his disappearance. However, Clive didn’t kill him, but he did steal his winning lottery ticket. Waylon is found in the storm bunker the night a tornado strikes as the climax and revelations of the novel are flying about. In the end, there is a lot of forgiveness going about and Jax not only is able to find a family who desires to truly love and care for him, but he manages to prove Owen’s innocence after all.
There is much I enjoyed about this story, and Jennifer A. Nielsen has always been one of my “go to” for middle grade fiction. HOWEVER, and it is a big however, I was deeply saddened and disappointed to find a reference to a character and her “dads” twice in the novel. If I had to guess, it was probably a compromise or something forced by the publisher and not Nielsen herself, OR I could be wrong, and it could be a hint of things changing in her foreseeable novels. I’m going to hope it was a forced representation by Scholastic. Nevertheless, I will now have to put a cautionary warning on the title.
Noteworthy Quotes/Mentions:
“‘If adults don’t like something in their lives, they have the power to change what’s happening. I don’t have that power, Daisy. This is all I’ve got’” (49).
When Alicia first appears on the scene, she attempts to help Jax, but he is reluctant to accept her help. She eventually tells him that he needs to learn how to ask for help, but Jax responds that he used to ask for help, but “[n]o one ever answered” (65).
In speaking with Alicia’s mother, Mrs. Baylor - who is also Jax’s attorney general, tries to explain to Jax that the state will not allow a 12-year-old to take care of himself. She kindly responds to his agitation that he can take care of himself, “‘I know you can, but that’s not the way life should be’” (81).
When explaining who his country is for, Jax states to another boy, “‘It’s for kids who no one listens to, for kids who have important things to say. [...] It’s for everyone who will change the world by changing their world’” (101).
A lot of children show up early on to swim and play about in Jax’s new country, but in a conversation after the day with Owen O’Keefe, Owen tells him the truth that many were there just to swim. He says kindly to Jax, “‘You’ll have friends one day, kid. And it’s important to know the difference between real friends and people who’ll take advantage of you. Then you don’t have to waste your time with frauds’” (108).
Indira is the character who is presented as having “dads” in the book. The first mention of them is on page 118 when takes gravel from her home. She states, “I think my dads were going to use this gravel for our yard.” There is a second mention on page 313 as “Indira’s dads were closing the storm shutters on their windows.”
“‘It’s an easy thing to hide. Loneliness is nothing compared to people whispering about you in lines at the store or calling you names every time you walk out for the mail’” (147).
“‘Words are powerful things’ [...] ‘The right words can build up a person, or destroy them’” (149).
On page 154, Jax has a conversation with Owen about forgiveness and holding grudges. He shares about the time his grandmother finally forgave the man that killed Jax’s parents in the boating accident. Jax’s grandmother told him “that holding a grudge is like holding fire” and she chose to forgive because “she didn’t want to feel that burning anymore.” She told him that she couldn’t get rid of the pain of the loss without letting go of the anger. This idea of forgiveness comes around when Owen and Waylon are reunited and even with Jax as he chooses to forgive his aunt, uncle, and cousins for the way he was treated.
The premise of the story is cute; the themes and characters are great. There were many times that I literally laughed out loud. However, I do want to make parents aware that there are homosexual parents.
