Twelve-year-old Addie remains to be working by way of the aftermath of a household disaster when her dad, a futurist, decides the 2 of them want a change of surroundings for the summer time. He’ll oversee a college analysis lab the place proficient college students are experimenting with utilizing digital actuality as a instrument to show every thing from vitamin to empathy. While her dad is engaged together with his work, Addie is very happy to retreat into the VR headset she borrows from the lab. Entire days go by as she explores a digital world with out ever leaving their small campus residence.
Virtual actuality is straightforward and enjoyable, however actual life and actual relationships could be scary, and Addie is initially hesitant to type a friendship together with her new neighbor Mateo. His life, full of household, hobbies and volunteer tasks, appears so uncomplicated in contrast with Addie’s. But as Addie begins to divulge heart’s contents to Mateo, she’s impressed to hatch a plan for a brand new approach to make use of VR to make different children’ real-life anxieties a bit of extra manageable.
Bestselling kids’s writer Wendy Mass (The Candymakers, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life) has greater than two dozen books beneath her belt, so it appears humorous to confer with her as a debut writer, however with Lo and Behold, she’s making her graphic novel debut. The e book is a collaboration with comics artist Gabi Mendez, who’s additionally a first-time graphic novel illustrator, and the 2 work effectively collectively. Mass has all the time been expert at portraying the hidden ideas and feelings of younger folks, and Mendez is adept at capturing Addie’s changeable moods, from loneliness and fear to pleasure and elation, in her expressive face and physique language.
Mendez additionally excels at depicting the digital actuality worlds that Addie explores, creatively utilizing background colours and patterns to distinguish the VR world from the actual one. Mendez’s wealthy, vibrant paintings fantastically expresses the pure world, too, and her evocation of the play of mild and shadow beneath a tree is particularly efficient.
Readers who, like Addie, are excited concerning the potential of digital actuality expertise gained’t need to miss the extremely cool augmented actuality function included within the e book, which additional enriches an already full and complicated story.
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