The Vale
Abigail Hing Wen
Released Sep 16, 2025 · Third State Books
Content report card
What's inside
Violence
Fighting, weapons, death
Language
Swearing, crude humor
Sexual content
Romance intensity, nudity
LGBTQ+ themes
Presence of characters or themes
Scary or mature
Horror, trauma, heavy themes
Substance use
Alcohol, drugs, smoking
What it offers
Positive messages
Kindness, courage, honesty, resilience
Positive role models
Characters who model good judgment and growth
Educational value
History, science, culture, how the world works
A note for parents
This middle-grade fantasy novel explores themes of escapism, creativity, and problem-solving through a virtual-reality world. The story centers on a resourceful teen inventor who must investigate mysterious events in his creation, emphasizing curiosity and perseverance rather than conflict. While there are elements of mystery and suspense (fading light, a mysterious girl, a thief wizard), these are age-appropriate challenges without graphic content. The book encourages engagement with technology and imagination while subtly addressing the importance of balancing virtual and real-world connections.
Analyzed by AI · 18 hours ago
From the publisher
Thirteen-year-old Bran Joseph Lee has spent half his life building the Vale, an immersive, AI-generated, virtual-reality environment using technology created by his inventor parents. It's a lush fantasy world complete with a Blue Forest, a Castle, and adventures with his mushroom-obsessed Elf named Gnomly--a much bette... Thirteen-year-old Bran Joseph Lee has spent half his life building the Vale, an immersive, AI-generated, virtual-reality environment using technology created by his inventor parents. It's a lush fantasy world complete with a Blue Forest, a Castle, and adventures with his mushroom-obsessed Elf named Gnomly--a much better place to spend his days compared to his real life, where his parents have suffered through the failed launches of one invention after another. Bran wants nothing more than to see his Elves come fully to life, a hope that seems on the brink of reality when he enters the Vale in a multi-million-dollar competition to fund its further development. But instead, things in the Vale begin to go wrong: The sunlight is fading. A beautiful girl appears from nowhere. A wizard is stealing from the Vale's inhabitants. And the strangest part of all is that none of this is the young inventor's doing. Can Bran and Gnomly uncover the truth of what is happening before both their worlds are destroyed?
Shelved under
- Juvenile Fiction
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ISBN 9798890130310 · Third State Books