This Was Our Pact

This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews, 329 pages

Every year on the autumnal equinox, Ben's town launches lanterns into the river and Ben and his pals follow them on their bikes for a while. But this year, Ben and his buddies are determined to follow the lanterns all the way to their final destination to see if the lanterns end up beached on the side of the river somewhere or if they really do travel to the sky to join the stars (which is what local legend says). What results, however, is an unexpected friendship and adventure for Ben and the slightly-too-nerdy Nathaniel, as they meet a bear and a crazy witch, and get hopelessly lost in the interim. It's a fantastic story, beautifully told.