THE VALE

A Silicon Valley teen navigates AI-generated troubles.

Thirteen-year-old Bran Joseph Lee’s parents—a descendant of “poor colonial Virginian farmers” and a daughter of Sichuanese immigrants—are brilliant but financially unsuccessful tech inventors. They’re pinning their hopes on winning a cash prize at the local Invention Convention with the Vale, the AI-based virtual reality fantasy world they’ve trained on public domain content and interactions with Bran. Gnomly, an elf created from one of Bran’s drawings, is a key feature of the Vale—but during the judging demonstration, he goes missing. Unable to pay the rent, Bran’s family is evicted. Bran turns for support to warm family friend Uncle Roy and new friend and hacker Piper, a girl he met at the convention (both are coded white). The third-person narration alternates between the real and virtual worlds. Within the Vale, Gnomly discovers an evil wizard who’s capturing elements of the world, hoarding their power and fundamentally changing the dynamics. In a last-ditch effort to help his family, Bran enters the Vale in a coding competition, in the process discovering uncomfortable truths and newfound courage. Some events feel contrived, and the clunky story sometimes buckles under the weight of the worldbuilding, but themes of family, friendship, and personal integrity shine in the last act. Static illustrations reminiscent of computer games bookend chapters and embellish key plot points.

Ambitious, if not entirely successful, with strong family-oriented messaging.