'It's not that I didn't like Nathaniel,' Ben tells the reader. Nerd alert: It's Nathaniel - uncool, pesky, with a bag of homemade Rice Krispies Treats from his mother. He's pedaling behind them, asking them to wait. But there's a sixth wheel they hadn't counted on. With this bond in place, the five boys set off on their bikes. The pact has two simple rules: No one turns for home and no one looks back. Ben, stubborn and determined, makes a pact with his friends to follow the lanterns until they know whether that's the truth. According to legend, the lanterns soar into the Milky Way and become stars once they sail out of sight. RYAN ANDREWS'S THIS WAS OUR PACT (FIRST SECOND, $14.99, AGES 8 TO 12) takes US to a nameless town's Autumn Equinox Festival, when everyone gathers to release paper lanterns in the river. They're just not sure about the ones they already have.

In these graphic novels, the main characters have no trouble making new friends. Middlegrade literature has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, but even among all the new genres, titles and characters, one element is forever universal: the power of friendship, for better and worse. As tweens drift away from adults, they find themselves in the thorny world of friendship, with its ever-changing loyalties, mysterious codes of conduct, and complicated social structure. MIDDLE SCHOOL IS FRAUGHT with shifting dynamics.

But mastering its mysterious codes is worth it. For these kids, friendship is the hardest test of all.

Camp by kayla miller summary