Digital Dryad

by Jennifer Kyrnin

Saving the forest, one line of code at a time.

Sierra's comfortable life as a dryad might go up in flames if she can't convince her nature-loving family of dryads that computers are just as natural as trees. At the old age of 14, she's relieved when she finally bonds with a tree. But her tree isn't physical—it's digital.

If that's not enough, her grove now has to fight fires that threaten to destroy not only their beloved trees but also the nearby human town. As Sierra's natural and digital worlds collide, she must connect them or risk losing everyone she loves.

Digital Dryad is the first book in a new middle grade fantasy series for girls. If you like girls who code, engaging fantasy set in the modern world, and exciting juxtapositions of programming and magic, then you'll love this new book by professional web developer/author Jennifer Kyrnin.

Buy Digital Dryad to discover this exciting new series today!

Genres: Fantasy

384 pages, Paperback

Published June 12, 2024

About the author

Jennifer weaves code by day and stories by night. When she's not crafting digital experiences or penning tales like her latest novel Digital Dryad, she can be found surrounded by the menagerie of animals on her small farm outside Seattle.

Her first novel, Digital Dryad, came out in 2025. Her short fiction has appeared in Meniscus Journal and the DreamPunk Press Anthology Blame It On the Pumpkin, while her expertise in web design and development has led to seven technical books and various video courses. A lifelong lover of fantasy and science fiction, Jennifer writes daily in her writing shed, a fresh, black coffee close at hand in her purple Yeti.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. Definitely a new take on a young dryad. Well written and well edited(which is a big deal these days). It seemed a little slow at first but then it picked up after a while. All that coding stuff was hard for me to get used to and I never really did, especially all that stuff at the start of each chapter. I knew it was supposed to relate to the part of the story in that chapter but I couldn't make any sense out of it at all.
I hope there will be another book to tie up the couple of loose ends that were left at the end of the story.
I did have a couple issue with the book but they didn't prevent me from reading it and in fact at about 70% I got to the point where I didn't want to put the book down and just wanted to read the rest non-stop. One minor issue I had was the MC was only supposed to be 14. (Her best friend was apparently at least 16. I inferred that from info in the glossary at the back of the book) But she never seemed to be treated that way, especially by her mother and her bullies. She never really acted that way either for the most part. Heck she was even able to get a job. My other issue was I got very angry at one point on behalf of the MC. Her friends complained about how she never seeming to want their help or to ask for it. Then when she did ask for help (or offered to help them), they brushed her off, very rudely in a couple cases. It took two or three times of practically begging on her part to finally get them to even think about helping. At least it seemed like that to me. Even her mother ignored her at first.

[Tony Fecteau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I have been a programmer most of my life and the programming aspects of the book intrigued me. A well done novel of old magic and new technology woven together.

[Jignet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun, imaginative and inventive. I enjoyed it very much. I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 because the beginning is slow and almost lost me. I am glad I finished it as it gets better and better. I think it is a good, clean read for any age.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was a breath of fresh air. It has a well thought vast environment, a wonder to the imagination.
This should be at the top of any fantasy reader’s list.
Thumbs up all the way! ❤️

[Dion Desjardins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

Very different than what I expected from a story about dryads. But there were quite a bit of dryad legends and myths in there, both aspects helping this to be a nice story.