This Was Our Pact

Starred review from May 13, 2019
Creepy yet benign, this leisurely graphic novel opens on the autumn equinox, when a community sends paper lanterns down a river. Five boys and a bullied tagalong science fanatic named Nathaniel make a pact to find out where the lanterns go. They pedal their bikes along a deserted road, but the vow proves daunting, and Nathaniel and the narrator, Ben, are soon alone on a bridge at the edge of town. They pledge to soldier on, unaware of a hulking shadow creature that rises from the river below. Ben approaches their subsequent adventures with trepidation, while Nathaniel greets every vertiginous cliff and bottomless lake with a gleeful grin. They take up with a fellow traveler, a stylish anthropomorphic bear who seeks to catch the floating lights, which are rumored to turn into fish en route to the stars. Andrews (Nothing Is Forgotten for adults) crafts a phantasmagoria of events that recall animation from Studio Ghibli and Cartoon Saloon. Scenes unfold beneath the Milky Way in twilit dark-blue and charcoal-gray panels, while flashbacks and industrial interiors in glowing ember hues amplify a simmering sense of threat. Picaresque episodes and a dreamlike resolution conjure a giddy sensation, like staying up all night. Ages 10–14.

Starred review from April 15, 2019
Two reluctant friends--and a talking bear--journey deep into the night in search of answers. - The night of the annual Autumn Equinox Festival unfolds as the villagers cast hundreds of lanterns down the river in honor of a local folk legend. For Ben, this year will be different from the rest. He and his friends make a pact to follow the lanterns until the unknown end of their voyage. One by one Ben's friends give up and return home, all except for Nathaniel, whose love for the cosmos and nerdy ways ostracize him from the group. In spite of his misgivings, Ben decides to uphold the pact with Nathaniel. A third, unexpected member joins the adventure when the boys come across a talking fisherbear who's on a quest to fish as his ancestors did. The trio eventually loses track of the path, and an unplanned encounter with the feisty Madam Majestic leads to even greater escapades. To shed more light on the story risks spoiling Andrews' marvelously melancholic, earnest graphic novel, at its core an exercise in whimsical self-reflection. This story's a quiet one in which danger flickers and hope flares at odd but fruitful moments. The core relationship between Ben (a dark-haired, light-skinned, bespectacled boy) and Nathaniel (a dark-skinned boy with puffs of hair) never veers into pure mawkishness. Likewise, the primarily blue and red mixed-media pictures underscore how nighttime sometimes promises transformation. Brilliantly enchanting. (Graphic fabulism. 10-14)

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Starred review from June 1, 2019

Gr 4-7-Each year, during the Autumn Equinox Festival, the townsfolk release lanterns into the nearby river in honor of a local folk song. And every year, a group of boys ride their bikes along the river to follow the lanterns, always stopping partway through. This year, they make a pact to follow the lanterns for as long as possible and discover where they go. But one by one, each rider turns back until the only ones left are narrator Ben and perpetual tag-along Nathaniel. The two boys discover wonders around them: an anthropomorphized bear, a potion maker, and more. This is a charming read, thanks to adventurous Nathaniel, who remains steadfast and self-assured despite enduring verbal bullying from the other boys, in contrast to insecure, timid Ben. The palette is dominated by an inky, navy blue sky infused with ethereal blue stars, occasionally interrupted by vibrant, warm hues. Imprecise linework mirrors the fluidity of the book's reality, and Ben has a Harry Potter-like appearance. VERDICT For readers who want an escapist fantasy with a light touch. Hand this title to fans of whimsical or unpredictable adventures such as Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk or Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.-Alea Perez, Westmont Public Library, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2019
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* A group of boys on bikes sets out to learn whether the lanterns cast down the river in their town's annual ceremony actually turn into stars like the legends say. The titular pact: no turning back from their quest. Who ends up breaking the pact and who doesn't is only one element of this richly imagined and complexly emotional story that would be spoiled by too thorough a plot summary, though the story's power rests less in surprise than in the moment-to-moment unfolding of the journey. Andrews visualizes his concept with a tone and texture that produces an unassuming but profound strangeness: A telephone on top of a boulder in the middle of a stream? All the constellations in the sky interpreted by a talking bear? This embeds the fantasy in an earthy, handcrafted reality, apparent right up to its rough panel borders. It also empathizes with its relatable protagonists?cautious white Ben and guileless, brave, dark-skinned Nathaniel?in a deep way, understanding that being annoying is often the result of reaching out and that being an asshole often stems from fear. It may owe some of its eerie melancholy and occasional menacing absurdity to the likes of Lewis Carroll and Shaun Tan, but its message is distinctly its own: What you imagine to be the end of the journey may be satisfying, but the adventure actually goes on as long as you keep riding down the road.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2019
An enthralling graphic-novel tale, full of unusual surprises. On the night of the Autumn Equinox Festival, narrator Ben sets off to follow the hundreds of released floating paper lanterns to discover where they go; social-outcast Nathaniel tags along. Behind them looms a creature--never seen by the boys--with glowing saucers for eyes. Then a talking bear arrives, and magical adventures ensue, as the boys also meet a grouchy potion-brewer, a map-making crow, and other supernatural beings. Blue hues dominate outdoor scenes; jewel tones saturate interior settings.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2019
Hundreds of paper lanterns are set afloat on the night of the Autumn Equinox Festival, and narrator Ben and four pals vow to follow them on bicycles to discover where they go. But one by one the kids renege on their pact and turn back, leaving Ben alone on Toad Canyon Bridge, "the barrier that all our parents made us promise never to cross." Ben is soon joined by tagalong Nathaniel, an astronomy buff who'd been trailing the group. Ben grumpily allows Nathaniel to accompany him: "It's not that I didn't LIKE Nathaniel. It's more that, well...no one ELSE did." Behind the two boys looms a shadowy creature with glowing saucers for eyes. This creature-never seen by the boys-is strange, but not particularly frightening, and it hints at the unusual surprises in store in a graphic novel that starts as straightforward realism. Sure enough, after the first page-turn in chapter two, a new character is introduced: a talking bear whom Nathaniel immediately befriends. Magical adventures ensue, as the boys also meet a grouchy potion-brewer, a map-making crow, and other supernatural animals and beings. Throughout Andrews's panel illustrations, blue hues dominate the outdoor scenes and jewel tones saturate his interior settings. An enthralling tale of friendship, determination, and wonder. Tanya D. Auger

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)