An engrossing middle grade novel that’s part Kathryn Erskine’s Mockingbird, part Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls, set in a high-fantasy video game world.

12-year-old Nick Reeves’s mother has just moved into an assisted living home equipped to handle early onset Alzheimer’s. Nick has done his research and is sure that there are alternative explanations behind his mother’s declining memory–and her strange outbursts, like the scene she caused at school that made him a target of constant bullying.

Nick’s only escape from a torturous junior high experience is the high-fantasy world of Wellhall, an online video game that he and his mom used to play together. At first Nick seeks distraction in the game, but he soon becomes convinced that his mom is playing the game as a character named Reuenne, dropping him in-game hints about her diagnosis and how he can help her return home.

As Nick becomes more and more certain that Reuenne is actually his mother, Nick’s father and his new friend encourage Nick to confront the possibility that the game is just a game, and that he needs to be prepared to say goodbye to his mother as he knows her…

Lev AC Rosen is the critically-acclaimed author of two books for adults: All Men of Genius, and Depth, as well as one books for young readers: Woundabout (illustrated by his brother, Ellis Rosen). He received his BA from Oberlin College and his MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. He is originally from Lower Manhattan and now lives in even lower Manhattan with his husband and a very small cat. Find him online at LevACRosen.com