I thought I would share a new addition inside our 2025 Halloween Gift Guide a children’s book called The Vale written by Abigail Hing Wen (Author), Yuna Cheong (Illustrator), Brandon Wu (Illustrator). I received a copy of the bool in exchange for this review. Inside this post are my affiliate links. If you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the products you purchase.
About the book:
At 13, Bran Joseph Lee is a computer coding whiz kid inventor of the AI generated game, The Vale, a game world of fantasy with castles and, of course as every 13 year old gamer needs, a mushroom loving elf named Gnomly. Or if you were to ask David and Charlie they would says they needa mushroom loving Elf. Which I can also say might be fun to have.
Sound interesting so far? It’s the good part of Bran’s life as the real world is much different. He and his family find themselves living in dire straits with little to eat and Bran, with The Vale, is their last hope as he enters the Elf into a competition.
Bran begins to notice The Vale is changing, and not by his design and he must find out why and save The Vale before it’s too late.
In addition to Gnomly, Bran comes across an evil wizard and a mysterious girl. You can imagine what happens to a boy who spends all of his time programming comes face to face with a girl in his virtual world. No, not that anything bad but he does experience emotions and feelings in The Vale.
U did want to let you know the Vale is not all about the game, it’s also about the real world of Bran. How real life situations he’s in are handled, along with his time in the game are a back-and-forth kind of thing, but the Author does it in a way that doesn’t get confusing and is more connected than you might think.
David and Charlie wanted me to let you know from them The Vale starts out a little slow, but then you find you’re moving along faster than you think. Make sure your buckled in because its going to become a bumpy ride but one you will enjoy.
I believe The Vale is the perfect book for middle school students and up and even adults will enjoy the story. With more AL happening The Vale is about a boy in an AI virtual fantasy world and the story is relevant and timely.
We meet the Lee family who are brilliant but full insecurity around people because of this David and Charlie rooted for the family and their inventions all the way to the end. The AI technology is so accessible that anyone can understand it without even realizing they’re learning from a leading thinker in the field. For my family that was a blessing because we haven’t learned AI yet, which we need to do.
About the book:
Ambitious . . . themes of family, friendship, and personal integrity shine.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A highly engaging journey of connection and transformation and an innovative read for this present age.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author of One Crazy Summer
Welcome to The Vale, a world that grows by the power of imagination
A magical new phenomenon from the New York Times bestselling author and executive producer of the Loveboat, Taipei series (adapted to the Netflix film Love in Taipei).
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?
Look out for The Vale—Origins, the short film prequel to The Vale starring three-time Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, coming to film festivals and screenings near you!
“Exposes both the wonder of AI and its pitfalls, and the elastic boundary between. Storytelling at its best!”
—Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor author of The Underneath
Meet the Author: Abigail Hing Wen
Abigail Hing Wen is a tech leader, filmmaker and the New York Times best selling author of Loveboat, Taipei and companion novels Loveboat Reunion and Loveboat Forever. She executive produced the Paramount+ book-to-film adaptation LOVE IN TAIPEI, a romantic comedy starring Ashley Liao and Ross Butler now out on Netflix August 9, 2024.
Her debut middle grade novel, The Vale, launches September 16. It’s short film prequel, The Vale — Origins, stars 3x Tony Award winner Lea Salonga and is Abigail’s directorial debut.
Her fourth young adult novel, Kisses, Codes and Conspiracies is an Amazon Editor’s Pick and Amazon Best Book of the Month.
Abigail holds a BA from Harvard, where she took coursework in film, ethnic studies and government. She also holds a JD from Columbia and MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her career in tech, she has negotiated multibillion dollar deals on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, worked in venture capital and hosted Intel’s Artificial Intelligence podcast. She and her work have been profiled in Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg, Google Talk, People en Espanol and the World Journal, among others.
Abigail lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area. She enjoys long walks, and hanging out with friends and family. She loves music and dances to it when no one is watching.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
