Every year during the Autumn Equinox Festival, villagers light lanterns and send them down the river, believing they will journey as stars to the Milky Way. This year, Ben and his friends make a pact: They’ll follow the lanterns on their bicycles to see where they actually end up. Soon everyone but Ben and brown-skinned Nathaniel, a straggler who doesn’t quite fit in with the group, has given up and turned back. The two boys cross the bridge into a magical parallel universe, where they meet a talking fisherbear in search of fish—or are they the lanterns?—that appear each equinox. When they become separated from the bear and lose their way, they stumble upon a telephone that connects them to Madam Majestic, who lives in a Cliffside hideaway, concocts potions, and is willing to draw them a map while she awaits the arrival of the mysterious Enlightened Ones, whom she fears may be lost in the fog. Reminiscent of a Miyazaki film, this otherworldly graphic novel evokes the enchantment of nighttime and the tendency of a perilous adventure to strengthen the bonds of friendship. (Ages 9–13)

A 2019 Booklist Editor's Choice
A 2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
A 2019 Parents Magazine Best Children's Books of the Year

Ryan Andrews's This Was Our Pact is an astonishing, magical-realist adventure story for middle-grade readers.

It's the night of the annual Autumn Equinox Festival, when the town gathers to float paper lanterns down the river. Legend has it that after drifting out of sight, they'll soar off to the Milky Way and turn into brilliant stars, but could that actually be true? This year, Ben and his classmates are determined to find out where those lanterns really go, and to ensure success in their mission, they've made a pact with two simple rules: No one turns for home. No one looks back.

The plan is to follow the river on their bikes for as long as it takes to learn the truth, but it isn't long before the pact is broken by all except for Ben and (much to Ben's disappointment) Nathaniel, the one kid who just doesn't seem to fit in.

Together, Nathaniel and Ben will travel farther than anyone has ever gone, down a winding road full of magic, wonder, and unexpected friendship*.

*And a talking bear.