
THE VALE by Abigail Hing Wen
Welcome to The Vale, a world that grows by the power of imagination. A magical new phenomenon from the New York Times Best Selling 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, Al-generated virtual-reality environment using technology created by his inventor parents.It's a lush fantasy world complete with a Blue Forest, Castle, and adventures with his mushroom-obsessed Elf named Gnomly. It's 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 younginventor's doing.
Can he 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 Newbury Honor author of The Underneath

Abigail Hing Wen
"An entertaining and heartfelt debut..."
—Kirkus Reviews, on Loveboat, Taipei
"Taipei in the summer provides a winning backdrop to this joyful debut."
—Publishers Weekly, on Loveboat, Taipei
"Abigail Hing Wen's Loveboat, Taipei is a poignant and honest examination of first love, family obligations, and that strange place between high school and college...a unique story from an exciting and authentic new voice."
—Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes
"Equal parts surprising, original, and intelligent, Loveboat Taipei is an intense rush of rebellion, romance, and complex family dynamics."
—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series
"Beautifully wrought and lovely."
—Anne Ursu, author of the National Book Award longlisted novel, The Real Boy