What do you think?
Rate this book
Towervale
TOWERVALE is a book and a video game at the same time, and a sprawling fantasy series for ages 9-12. Towervale is organized in seven sections that are not in order. Each section ends with a password you must enter in the Towervale game, unlocking a level. When the level is cleared, the next page to turn to in the book is revealed. But there's a if you didn't read the previous section of the book, you'll have no idea how to clear the level in the game (free game access included with each book - web, app). Your adventure begins in the Caves of Iron and takes you through three realms where you'll encounter a world beyond your imagination and a villain of unparalleled danger.
257 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
6 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Carman
93 books1,610 followersI have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.
I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.
I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.
When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.
I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.
I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.
When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 4, 2019
An amazing concept-book where readers have to read then play a level of a game to get items and page numbers to continue. The story is cool, characters are fun (mini stone man Rumble is the best), but it just needed a bit more. The video game component didn’t have a point, and there easily could have been one. And the story is weak but the world the author creates is so intriguing.
Regardless kids are going to love it, and it is fun. Patrick Carman writes books for his audience and knows how to get kids reading.
Regardless kids are going to love it, and it is fun. Patrick Carman writes books for his audience and knows how to get kids reading.
February 4, 2019
3.5 stars. This book is told from Winnie’s perspective, a young scribe who lives with “you,” the reader, in the Caves of Iron, an underground world of machines and gears. It’s the only world you and Winnie have ever known. That is, until the two of you receive a special journal and are sent on a journey up to the realms above to try and defeat the evil Tower Master who is ruling the world and continuously making his tower taller and taller. There are a variety of characters that join in to help the heroes along the way.
This book’s chapters and sections are out of order in the book. In order to find out which page to turn to next, you have to play a little mini game (either online or downloaded on a device -it’s free). Once you beat the mini game, it will tell you where to turn to next in the book. The games are spaced about every two chapters or so and the book tells you what you need to do in order to beat the level. The tricky part is doing it correctly or without dying. I had a few moments where parts were tricky, but the games are fairly straightforward and I believe younger readers (the book is said to be written for ages 9-12) shouldn’t have a problem passing the levels with time and practice.
With that being said, I was disappointed that the games didn’t actually add to the storyline. I was hoping there’d be little tidbits in them, but no. The games barely have anything to do with the story. But, it is a neat concept and hopefully it will get some reluctant kids reading and maybe we’ll see more books like this in the future.
The story itself was pretty simple but enjoyable and I found myself wanting to continue reading to see what happened next. I felt the heroes had a bit of lucky go with the challenges in their adventure and would’ve liked to see more problems come their way for them to solve.
Another note I’d like to share is that this book has quite a lot of typos and errors, what with there being no editor I assume (self-published), which distracted me from the story at times. Younger readers probably won’t even notice a majority of these, but teachers, parents and older readers are likely to.
**Also, in case anyone is wondering how to get ahold of a copy of the book, they are currently only available to purchase online at towervale.com. You could also see if it’s available at your school or public library. :)
This book’s chapters and sections are out of order in the book. In order to find out which page to turn to next, you have to play a little mini game (either online or downloaded on a device -it’s free). Once you beat the mini game, it will tell you where to turn to next in the book. The games are spaced about every two chapters or so and the book tells you what you need to do in order to beat the level. The tricky part is doing it correctly or without dying. I had a few moments where parts were tricky, but the games are fairly straightforward and I believe younger readers (the book is said to be written for ages 9-12) shouldn’t have a problem passing the levels with time and practice.
With that being said, I was disappointed that the games didn’t actually add to the storyline. I was hoping there’d be little tidbits in them, but no. The games barely have anything to do with the story. But, it is a neat concept and hopefully it will get some reluctant kids reading and maybe we’ll see more books like this in the future.
The story itself was pretty simple but enjoyable and I found myself wanting to continue reading to see what happened next. I felt the heroes had a bit of lucky go with the challenges in their adventure and would’ve liked to see more problems come their way for them to solve.
Another note I’d like to share is that this book has quite a lot of typos and errors, what with there being no editor I assume (self-published), which distracted me from the story at times. Younger readers probably won’t even notice a majority of these, but teachers, parents and older readers are likely to.
**Also, in case anyone is wondering how to get ahold of a copy of the book, they are currently only available to purchase online at towervale.com. You could also see if it’s available at your school or public library. :)
January 20, 2020
I read this with my ten year old son and we had a great experience. The format of novel combined with video game was exciting and fun. There were editing and grammatical issues, the most problematic being one character, introduced as Talbot, renamed Tolbert after the first few pages of his involvement. Still, we were able to go with the flow and enjoyed the book immensely! We are excited for the follow up novel!
Read for Garden City Library's "Extreme Book Nerd" under the category "a book written in the first person."
Read for Garden City Library's "Extreme Book Nerd" under the category "a book written in the first person."
February 9, 2020
This is a very interestingly done book. It starts out by saying that YOU are the hero of the book. A spell has been put on you that makes you forget to protect the story.
The book itself is supposed to be a journal by your friend, Winnie, who is a scribe.
I read this book to Andrew. The book is written out of order. You read a section and then you go play a level in a video game (a downloadable app). The book tells you what to accomplish in the game and then the game tells you what page to start reading on.
Cool idea, but the story was only ok and the game was only ok 🤷♀️
The book itself is supposed to be a journal by your friend, Winnie, who is a scribe.
I read this book to Andrew. The book is written out of order. You read a section and then you go play a level in a video game (a downloadable app). The book tells you what to accomplish in the game and then the game tells you what page to start reading on.
Cool idea, but the story was only ok and the game was only ok 🤷♀️
June 2, 2019
AWESOME concept, but the story line was sorely lacking depth. At times the plot felt so rushed that it was confusing. Many typos and grammatical errors. The writing just needed to be more of a focus.
February 12, 2020
it was the best book ever
November 24, 2020
Patrick Carman has done it again! He has found yet another fun and innovative way to attract non readers into the pages of a book. Great story and great idea to draw readers in.
December 19, 2020
Excellent
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews