Pokémon Inspired Ava Reid's 'Winterveil' YA Novel — SkimNews
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- "Winterveil" opens Ava Reid's planned YA dystopian duology, set at Valeran Academy during a century-long Cold War where students are trained as elite assets through eerie war simulations
- Competitive Pokémon in the official VGC format — a hobby Reid picked up during COVID — inspired the novel's cutthroat academy competition and tactical strategy elements, which Reid compared to chess with exploding pieces
- HarperCollins positioned the book as "The Secret History" meets "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," leaning into Reid's dark academia bona fides
- "Necromantica", the sequel to Reid's gothic fantasy "Innamorata," debuts next April with Waltrude as a new POV character and Gamelyn (the Master of Blood) taking a central role despite never having a line of dialogue in the first book
- Reid is collaborating with "Room" writer Emma Donoghue on a film adaptation of her 2024 novel "Lady Macbeth," with the script still in early development
- Sally Field won the lead actress Emmy on Monday for "Remarkably Bright Creatures," a Netflix TV movie directed by Reid's aunt Olivia Newman — a streaming-success model Reid said she's open to for "Lady Macbeth"
Why it matters: Reid is releasing work across YA dystopian, gothic fantasy, and literary adaptation simultaneously, with competitive Pokémon giving 'Winterveil' a crossover pitch aimed at gaming readers. She's openly weighing streaming for the 'Lady Macbeth' adaptation, pointing to her aunt's Emmy-winning Netflix model as a viable path.
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