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To Break a Covenant Hardcover – September 21, 2021

by Alison Ames (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 58 ratings
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Debut voice Alison Ames delivers with a chilling, feminist thriller, perfect for fans of Wilder Girls and Sawkill Girls.

Moon Basin has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. It started when an explosion in the mine killed sixteen people. The disaster made it impossible to live in town, with underground fires spewing ash into the sky. But life in New Basin is just as fraught. The ex-mining town relies on its haunted reputation to bring in tourists, but there’s more truth to the rumors than most are willing to admit, and the mine still has a hold on everyone who lives there.

Clem and Nina form a perfect loop―best friends forever, and perhaps something more. Their circle opens up for a strange girl named Lisey with a knack for training crows, and Piper, whose father is fascinated with the mine in a way that’s anything but ordinary. The people of New Basin start experiencing strange phenomena―sleepwalking, night terrors, voices that only they can hear. And no matter how many vans of ghost hunters roll through, nobody can get to the bottom of what’s really going on. Which is why the girls decide to enter the mine themselves.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Page Street YA
  4. Publication date
    September 21, 2021
  5. Grade level
    10 - 12
  6. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  7. Dimensions
    5.86 x 1.18 x 8.54 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    1645672069
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1645672067
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alison Ames lives in Colorado with a lot of animals and her almost-wife. She loves birds, comics, and the rule of three. THE HAUNTING OF MOON BASIN is her debut novel. Find her on social media @2furiosa, and if you know (or are) Harry Styles she insists you do so.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Page Street YA (September 21, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1645672069
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1645672067
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 10 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.86 x 1.18 x 8.54 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 58 ratings

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
58 global ratings
Spooky, sweet, and so engrossing
5 Stars
Spooky, sweet, and so engrossing
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the first surprising chapter to the last, perfect page. It’s the exact right amount of eerie ghost story combined with a friendship tale that tugs at the heart, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for your Halloween read.
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Top reviews from the United States

Ally Malinenko
5.0 out of 5 stars AH!!! THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
spooky and atmospheric, delightfully queer, the friendships are top tier - like these girls LOVE each other and will do literally anything for each other. The dialogue is amazing. All of it so good.

But friends, the horror, the bone chilling, nightmare, haunted mine, horror is PERFECT. Ames is a writer to watch. I haven't read body horror this good in awhile. Also, like all good horror, she leads you back to the light and I promise if you close the book without feeling a rush of emotions I'm just not so sure about you.

FIVE FREAKING STARS
3 people found this helpful
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Corey Beth
4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Spooky Read 3½ stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2023
It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I did I enjoyed it. To Break a Covenant is a ghost story, but it is not just a ghost story. It is the tale of a town existing with a curse. It is filled with the supernatural, but more than anything it is a coming of age story, a story about friendship & finding yourself. Clues in the text indicate that the events of this book take place in the early '00s, & we witness these events through the eyes of our POV character, Clem, a queer young woman trying to figure out where to go now that she's graduated from high school.

The setting is a town called Moon Basin, where there is an old coal mine with a fire in it raging beneath the earth. The fire has been burning for nearly 100 years. When it started, a rain of ash started to cover the town, but instead of moving away, the people just rebuilt the town outside of the ash radius. It is said that those who are born in Moon Basin can never leave. Ever since the fire started, strange happenings have plagued the town. People hear voices, suffer from nightmares, experience strange compulsions, see terrifying visions, & more. The mine itself is off limits, but over the years the town has been a magnet for paranormal groups.

One aspect of this book I really enjoyed was the excerpts from the myriad paranormal groups who have explored the area. These interludes appeared between chapters, and were written out in a scrip type format, as if someone had transcribed a video. Through these tidbits of interviews, explorations, & history, we the readers are provided an eerie picture of what life is like in Moon Basin. There are strange deaths, stories of sleepwalking, haunting dreams, ghostly apparitions, & deadly compulsions. Many of these scenes were written with a delicious creepiness to them. Although there are a wide variety of different types of experiences, the commonality is that the mine is at the center of them all.

The story unfolds between these meloncholy looks at the cursed town. Clem & her three best friends, Nina, Lisey, & Piper enter the mine with Piper's dad, who is doing work down there for the city. No one has been in the mine for years, & after their first unsettling experience down there, the paranormal activity in the town increases exponentially. The more time Piper's fun loving father spends in the mine, the more he begins to change. He becomes creepy & almost inhuman, and the girls decide that they have to do something to save him before it is too late.

There are a few truly creepy moments in this book, & I loved that. It is the kind of story that leaves you wondering. It feels like one of those stories that will stick with me long after it's completion. The writing is generally good; I didn't notice any major grammatical errors or anything like that. The pacing was well done, with just enough excitement to keep it interesting while also sustaining an undercurrent of unease, a constant expectation that something bad was going to happen at any time.

There was a bit of choppiness to the story at times. The author had a way of jumping around that sometimes left me a little wrong footed, feeling like I needed to play catch up. There were several things that happened that were intriguing, but that could have been really amazing with a little more detail & fleshing out. The ending came on abruptly, but despite its suddenness I actually liked the open-endedness of it. There is definitely room for a sequel, & quite a bit of space for speculation.

This book was touted as being LGBTQIA+, but I was a bit disappointed with how little Clem's sexuality actually came into play. It felt more like an afterthought to me. Yes, she was a gay main character, but there was a very minimal amount of romance in the book at all. I kind of feel like someone just slapped the LGBTQIA+ label on this to try to rope in readers who are hungry for that type of content, & I think that readers who are seeking a meaningful same sex relationship or a thoughtful portrayal of gay teenage sexuality will be disappointed by how understated that element actually is.

Honestly, I thought the romantic subplot overall detracted from the book more so than adding to it. It felt like an afterthought, & there was no tension or any kind of tangible on page attraction. All of a sudden Nina started becoming jealous of Clem's relationship with Piper, & suddenly declared her feelings out of nowhere. As I mentioned above, I think that the lesbian romance was only thrown in there to try and reach a wider audience. It was neither well written nor necessary (but would've been worse if she'd tried to stick a M/F romance in there, so we can at least be grateful for that!). I think the book would've been stronger had it just focused on the female friendships instead of attempting to throw a poorly planned romance in there.

Overall I did enjoy this book. The characters were compelling, although I wish they had been fleshed out a bit more. The town & the mine are the most intriguing elements within the story, however despite the importance of the supernatural aspects & their affect on the town & it's people, we are actually given very few answers. Bottom line is that this was a good book with the potential to be great. I definitely recommend it to anyone after a truly spooky & haunting read (it was an excellent spooky season selection for me). I will likely check out other books by this author, as I think this is her first book & I am curious how she will continue to grow as a writer. 3½/5 stars.
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Grayson Hoge
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
I bought this because an old friend had posted about it and I am forever glad I did. This is easily one of my favorite stories and I can see myself coming back to re-read time and time again. The way it's written really pulls you in and plants images in your head that might just haunt you a little (that smile did it for me). With loveable characters and fun lightheartedness right where it's needed, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a spooky read.
One person found this helpful
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Stacey Filak
5.0 out of 5 stars Spooky, sweet, and so engrossing
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the first surprising chapter to the last, perfect page. It’s the exact right amount of eerie ghost story combined with a friendship tale that tugs at the heart, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for your Halloween read.
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Stacey Filak
5.0 out of 5 stars Spooky, sweet, and so engrossing
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from the first surprising chapter to the last, perfect page. It’s the exact right amount of eerie ghost story combined with a friendship tale that tugs at the heart, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for your Halloween read.
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2 people found this helpful
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Paige G.
4.0 out of 5 stars book review
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2021
Disclaimer: I received an e-arc and an arc of this book. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: To Break a Covenant

Author: Alison Ames

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Lesbian MC, Queer side character, F/f romance

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For…: young adult readers, horror, paranormal, friends to lovers romance

Genre: YA Paranormal Horror

Publication Date: September 21, 2021

Publisher: Page Street Kids

Pages: 306

Recommended Age: 14+ (Death, Gore, Violence, Animal Gore, Animal Death, Language, Child abuse and neglect, Child murder, Suicide TW)

Explanation of CWs: Lots of death and gore and lots of animal death and gore. Child abuse and neglect mentioned. Child murder mentioned once. Suicide is mentioned a handful of times and shown once.

Synopsis: Moon Basin has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. It started when an explosion in the mine killed sixteen people. The disaster made it impossible to live in town, with underground fires spewing ash into the sky. But life in New Basin is just as fraught. The ex-mining town relies on its haunted reputation to bring in tourists, but there’s more truth to the rumors than most are willing to admit, and the mine still has a hold on everyone who lives there.

Clem and Nina form a perfect loop—best friends forever, and perhaps something more. Their circle opens up for a strange girl named Lisey with a knack for training crows, and Piper, whose father is fascinated with the mine in a way that’s anything but ordinary. The people of New Basin start experiencing strange phenomena—sleepwalking, night terrors, voices that only they can hear. And no matter how many vans of ghost hunters roll through, nobody can get to the bottom of what’s really going on. Which is why the girls decide to enter the mine themselves.

Review: I really liked this book overall! I loved the plot and the story. The characters were well developed and lovable. The world building was decent. And it just reads as one of those campfire tales you listen to at camp before a masked murderer starts killing everyone.

The only issue I really had with the book is that the monster wasn’t well defined and wasn’t well explained. I also felt like the ending was a bit rushed.

Verdict: A perfect ghost story! Highly recommend!
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Top reviews from other countries

Shan@ Shans_Shelves
4.0 out of 5 stars Did someone say Ghosts and Sapphics??
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
This majority of this book was phenomenal but I wasn’t too big on the ending. However, it’s probably just a me thing and I do recommend for the soft Sapphics, creepy town with an extra creepy mine, and great atmospheric writing.
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