A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERABA Regional Bestseller"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 SummerWelcome to The Vale, a world that grows by the power of imaginationA 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