{"product_id":"the-vale-9798890130310","title":"The Vale","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Ambitious . . . themes of family, friendship, and personal integrity shine.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A highly engaging journey of connection and transformation and an innovative read for this present age.\" --Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor author of \u003ci\u003eOne Crazy Summer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWelcome to \u003ci\u003eThe Vale, \u003c\/i\u003e a world that grows by the power of imagination\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA magical new phenomenon from the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author and executive producer of the \u003ci\u003eLoveboat, Taipei\u003c\/i\u003e series (adapted to the Netflix film \u003ci\u003eLove in Taipei)\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThirteen-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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBran 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCan Bran and Gnomly uncover the truth of what is happening before both their worlds are destroyed?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLook out for \u003ci\u003eThe Vale--Origins\u003c\/i\u003e, the short film prequel to \u003ci\u003eThe Vale starring\u003c\/i\u003e three-time Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, coming to film festivals and screenings near you!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Exposes both the wonder of AI and its pitfalls, and the elastic boundary between. Storytelling at its best!\" \u003cbr\u003e --Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor author of \u003ci\u003eThe Underneath\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWen, Abigail Hing:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eAbigail Hing Wen \u003c\/b\u003eis a tech leader, filmmaker and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of the \u003ci\u003eLoveboat, Taipei \u003c\/i\u003eseries. She executive produced the Paramount+ book-to-film adaptation\u003ci\u003e Love In Taipei\u003c\/i\u003e, a romantic comedy starring Ashley Liao and Ross Butler now on Netflix. Abigail holds a BA from Harvard, where she took coursework in film, ethnic studies and government. 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 \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Hollywood Reporter, \u003c\/i\u003e NBC News, \u003ci\u003eForbes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFortune\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCosmopolitan\u003c\/i\u003e, Bloomberg, and more. Abigail lives with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCheong, Yuna:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eYuna Cheong\u003c\/b\u003e works in various mediums, including digital illustration, sculpting, and traditional painting. Her artistic style features vibrant colors and imaginative storytelling that captures the essence of people's stories and emotions. Yuna has done design and fabrication work for clients and projects such as Citi, Make Us Visible, Pedalpalooza, Netflix's stop-motion animation feature film \u003ci\u003eWendell and Wild\u003c\/i\u003e, short animated film \u003ci\u003eBrim Broome Boulevard\u003c\/i\u003e, and various commercials. Yuna currently resides in Portland, Oregon.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWu, Brandon:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eBrandon Wu\u003c\/b\u003e is a character designer whose work has appeared with Disney Television Animation, Netflix, and Cartoon Network. Drawing from his Asian American heritage, Brandon aims to bring an inclusive approach to character design. When he's not drawing, Brandon is looking for new books to collect or playing the one song he knows on the piano. He studied at CalArts and is based in Los Angeles, California.","brand":"Third State Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51603349340434,"sku":"9798890130310","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_47a15385-f596-4474-9bf6-656861398a70.jpg?v=1757435394","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-vale-9798890130310","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}