Between Worlds

by Skip Brittenham

Overview

Immersive augmented reality brings this action-packed fantasy to life.

The town of Eden Grove has a legend: In the center of a pine forest there is an aspen grove, and in the center of the aspen grove is an ancient, magnificent tree. A tree that grants wishes.

Mayberry and Marshall have heard the stories about the Wishing Tree, but they know nothing like that could really exist near their dreary town. Misunderstood and restless, the teenagers wish for a lot of things, including being on another planet altogether. Somewhere with magic and adventure—someplace where they can be heroes.

And then the unlikeliest thing happens: On a hike through the forest, they find the Wishing Tree. The pair make their wish, fall asleep . . . and wake up on Nith, a world that is exactly what they asked for. The alien landscape is beautiful, but it’s also full of dangerous and fantastic creatures, and almost without exception, the creatures are hungry. Soon Mayberry and Marshall learn two very important facts about their wish: First, that magic comes at a very steep cost; second, that they can only be heroes if they can survive. The journey that follows will test the limits of their courage and strength . . . and change them in ways they haven’t begun to imagine.

This epic work brings fantasy to life, first by inviting readers into another world, then by using cutting-edge augmented reality technology to bring the world alive in interactive 3D.
Experience BETWEEN WORLDS in Augmented Reality now: http://www.experienceanomaly.com/between-worlds/demo


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698411029
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Skip Brittenham is a senior partner of one of the country's premier entertainment law firms. He is the co-creator/writer of Anomaly, the longest original full color graphic novel ever published. Brittenham, with Brian Haberlin, have helped pioneer and bring the next generation of Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to the book mass market.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

"Teen misfits accidentally discover a portal to a dangerous fantasy world in this immersive book/app combo."—Kirkus

"This is an inventive and fluid fantasy novel with likable characters."—School Library Journal

"To enhance the reading experience, readers will be able to use their mobile devices to explore the world of Nith and interact with animated digital creatures and landscapes from the book."—VOYA

From the Publisher

Just before her sophomore year, Mayberry’s family moves from New York City to middle-of-nowhere Eden Grove, Minnesota. Mayberry does not fit in at school and spends most her time collecting data for her scientist mom and hanging out with her only friend, the equally unpopular Marshall. Marshall recalls to Mayberry the local legend of a wishing tree located deep within the Mystery Forest. Wanting to go on an adventure, the two hike through Mystery Forest and find the legendary tree. There they make wishes to go on an incredible voyage, and the two are transported to the land of Nith, a world filled with magic and creatures unlike anything found on Earth. Mayberry and Marshall excitedly explore the land but soon find they are not the first humans to discover the wishing tree’s transporting abilities, and some of the creatures of Nith are not friendly. The narrative trudges along but eventually builds up to an appropriate pace once the main characters reach Nith and interact with other human characters. Promoted as an augmented-reality book, the novel includes twelve full-color illustrations that pair with a companion app. To enhance the reading experience, readers will be able to use their mobile devices to explore the world of Nith and interact with animated digital creatures and landscapes from the book. While the illustrations and app will help to garner interest in the story, it is not on its own a strong or unique enough adventure narrative that students will clamor to read. Reviewer: Jewel Davis; Ages 11 to 15.

VOYA, October 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 4) - Jewel Davis

08/01/2016
Gr 6–9—Years ago, the residents of Eden Grove were encouraged to create stories around "Mystery Forest," an old aspen grove outside of town. One of the more enduring tales was that of a tree located in the exact center of the forest that would grant wishes. When Mayberry, a recent transfer student to the high school, hears of this wishing tree, she is intrigued. Her one and only friend, Marshall, a fellow social outcast with a secret crush on Mayberry, agrees to help her locate it. They find the elusive tree and jointly wish to be transported to an alien world where magic exists. This new world, Nith, is populated with fantastical creatures, many of them intent on killing the teens. The pair must use their magical abilities and wits to survive and hopefully return home. This is an inventive and fluid fantasy novel with likable characters. There is an app that readers can download for "immersive augmented reality," which allows them to delve deeper into the history of the creatures. VERDICT A good choice to hand to the younger YA crowd who might not be ready for edgier content.—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, MI

School Library Journal

2016-06-22
Teen misfits accidentally discover a portal to a dangerous fantasy world in this immersive book/app combo.Bullied nerd-type Marshall and proudly nonconformist new girl Mayberry (white, relatively blank-slate characters) decide to investigate a local legend about a grove in the middle of a forest and the magical Wishing Tree in its center. They jokingly wish for a magical adventure in a new world and then fall asleep at the foot of the tree. Initially, it's great fun, but soon they encounter a chain of life-threatening dangers and vicious creatures, the final one a violent Troll-man with a white human slave (readers will quickly make a connection with the prologue, undermining the characters' discovery later in the book). The villainous Troll-man teaches the teens magic in order to make them tools in his plan, the goal of which is murder and conquest. While the earlier parts of the adventure read like a walking tour and introduction to the land and its inhabitants, a later storyline—to save the other human—is where the story really picks up steam. The ending leaves plenty of wiggle room for other adventures in the magic world, Nith, as well as possible mishaps with powerful magical objects. The book will release alongside an app that uses a smartphone's camera and the book's illustrations to "create" 3-D animated models; it also gives bonus world information in the form of Mayberry's diary, with planned additional interactive features. (The preview app consists of clean, high-quality sample character models and animation based on the full-color images; most full-color images not seen but likely will be the base of the full app's materials.) This fantasy relies on technology to stand out. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews