I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while.

In my spare time over the last few days, I've been an inhabitant of this (autocratic? oligarchic?) valley sandwiched between identical valleys either 20 years in the future or the past. This novel was philosophical, exploring ethical dilemmas with the highest stakes. But the story was also completely engrossing and so very compelling. At the end of each chapter, I needed to keep going.

The characters are incredibly complex. At times they are sympathetic. At others, they appear cold, uncaring, even monstrous. This is certainly true of our main character, Odile. During the book, she seesaws between modesty bordering on self-loathing and extreme ambition. Throughout, the author does an amazing job of keeping us on her side.

I think readers will adore Edme, Odile's friend and secret crush. In him, the author has crafted an unusually intelligent, funny, and kind 16-year-old boy. Simply charming.

Also, I really appreciate that while the book certainly depicts plenty of violence, the author avoids luridness, and often leaves the implications or possibilities up to the imagination of the reader (which I personally find much more effective, anyway).

I believe this novel could appeal to a wide range of readers for many different reasons. It kind of has something for everyone. I'll certainly be recommending it to my friends.

This speculative literary fiction debut by a new Canadian author sounded so good. Any comparison to Station Eleven automatically has me sold plus I am a huge fan of narrator, Cindy Kay. However, even her excellent voice talents couldn't make me get into or interested in this overly long and slow-paced book. Sadly it was a miss for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Time travel is one of my favourite tropes to explore and The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard is an intimate look at our influence of time when we are taught that events are already set in place.

The Other Valley is told from the perspective of Odile. In the first part of the book, she is sixteen years old. A lonely teenager who keeps to herself, an incident of bullying leads her to make some new friends. This age is pivotal in the town she lives in. It is when students decide the careers they will pursue for the rest of their lives.

The Fate of Odile
Odile’s mother wants her to be a conseil. She believes in Odile, though she isn’t the most emotionally available parent. The two aren’t close and continue to be in each other’s lives as an obligation.

The defining moment in Odile’s life is when she accidentally recognizes two visitors from the valley to the east, they are twenty years older than the people she knows. Based on her knowledge of visits related to bereavement, she concludes correctly that Edme would pass away in the coming months but what she fails to predict is the timing of the demise and this affects her deeply. In the time that they are close friends, she develops feelings for him and, later, when he is gone, there is a lingering disappointment of not using her time wisely.

Though she is brilliant and has been doing very well in the Conseil classes, she abandons that path and signs up to be a cadet with the border patrol, the worst job she could have chosen, the one people who can’t do better are expected to go into. Her relationship with her mother and others deteriorates and existence goes back to being lonely. She passes her time by carving in wood, thinking about her life.

It has been drilled into her through her education that outcomes should not be changed and any interference in one valley can have unprecedented effects on the other. As time passes and Odile grows older, she wonders about the night Edme was last seen and what she herself saw. When her circumstances deteriorate further in the sexist world of the gendarmerie, she decides to take matters into her own hands and try something different.

I liked Odile as the protagonist. At sixteen, she is faced with a tough reality and it is not surprising that she takes Edme’s death the way she does. The things that befall her are unfortunate and she does the best she can with her but underneath, she is always wondering what could have been different. I liked her journey from start to end.

The Operation of Time Travel
Time travel in The Other Valley is synonymous to crossing the border from one valley into another. There are professions built around this travel, those of the guards called gendarmerie, the people who look at appeals for travel, the Conseil and the perceptions around who ends up these two professions – those who have no better choice and those who are the best. In some ways, the cut throat competition of the town reminded me of the Indian education system. There is corporal punishment, there is berating, the teachers do not hide who they think are weak students and will not do well. In the case of those who fail the Conseil vetting process, there is a cap on the jobs that they can take, as is evident through Odile’s mother.

Interference has unpredictable consequences in all valleys and hence, its punishment is death. Conseils have to weigh each case in terms of risk, make sure that the visitors they allow from one valley into another will not lead to change in how life is supposed to play out. The visitors’ true identity cannot be known to anyone as this knowledge can be dangerous, as Odile comes to realize. Many precautions are taken around the timing of the visits, the attire of the visitors and how the visit went. Gendarmerie must eliminate any threat at the border and report how the visit went.

The system is fleshed out well and has a gravity to it. In the first part when Odile is preparing to be Conseil, the responsibility of the profession and the consequences of anything going wrong are drilled into her.

The Plot and Storytelling
The Other Valley is a literary exploration of time travel. It is about breaking free of the stories and narratives we have been told and taking action. The dejected manner in which Odile purses life is hard to read in the second and third parts. The content also portrays sexism, bullying and betrayal in friendships. But all of this is for a purpose.

It was an interesting thought exercise to put myself in Odile’s shoes when she is older and to think of her younger self as someone else entirely. To want more for her. I felt remnants of the multiverse theory in the story as Odile grappled with her choices in the past and the pivotal moment when she had the opportunity to choose differently but she didn’t know when she was young. The storytelling does a great job of bringing it all together at the end.

Overall, The Other Valley is a fascinating exploration of growing old and the choices that, if we could, we would make differently. It is not a comfortable read and that makes sense for the situation that it portrays. To know that someone will die and to be left behind, shaken by the fact that their time came too soon, can change the very course of life, time travel possible or not. This book beautifully integrates the challenges of time travel and influence through Odile’s story.

If you are looking for a book that will make you think, pick up this one. The discussion questions at the back are great to further explore the themes in this book. I might read it again in the future.

The Other Valley has joined the ranks of my must-read time travel books with The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Psychology of Time Travel.

Many thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reading copy of this book!

Wow, an utterly unique and imaginative premise. And the story unfolded so well. I will say this book is not for everyone, but the combination of literary prose and speculative elements really scratched an itch in my brain that I didn't know I had. It is very much a character and setting focused book, but it also had brilliant prose and a fascinating storyline. I savored the last of it because I didn't want it to end. I felt like I lived in the valley. Manipulating time is such a difficult concept to get right and I think Howard did a fantastic job. What a debut!

This book takes place in the Valley, surrounded by other valleys - to the west is a valley that exists 20 years in your past. To the east, a valley that exists 20 years in your future. In the middle is your home, in your "present", with these valleys stretching out endlessly in each direction, further and further into your past and future. What happens in each valley affects the other, which leads this world to have strict policies and procedures to follow when it comes to visits between the valleys.

My favourite part of this novel was the world-building, and all the questions this type of world poses. What risks would you take to plan a visit to either valley? To see a loved one who's passed or who you won't get to see grow up? While the first half of the book sets up the rules, under a looming cloud of anticipation, the second half becomes an examination of grief. The way it unravels you, can change your entire future - and perhaps unravel your adherence to those rules.

Comparisions to Emily St. John Mandel are warranted here. This felt very much like one of her books, along with notes of things like "The Giver" and "Never Let Me Go". If you like emotional speculative fiction and can handle the lack of quotation marks (my only major grumble!), definitely add this one to your list.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria, and Simon and Schuster Canada for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Intricate, unique, and thought-provoking!

The Other Valley is a clever, absorbing tale that takes you into the life of Odile, a young girl who has her life turned upside down when she accidentally glimpses people visiting from the east who are living twenty years in the future, one of her close friends suddenly dies, she destroys her chances of becoming a member of the influential Conseil, and she must decide whether she will risk her life to go twenty years in the past and enter the duplicate valley to the west to alter the one tragedy that changed so many lives forever.

The prose is raw and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, conflicted, and inured. And the plot is a mysterious, immersive tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, self-identity, power, security, control, duty, desperation, and magical realism.

Overall, The Other Valley is a gripping, pensive, speculative story by Howard that did a beautiful job of incorporating a creative storyline, what-if fiction, and an atmospheric setting into a compelling coming-of-age tale full of reflection, friendship, and first love.

Speculative Fiction | Adult
<cover image>
What an interesting premise – this is a town in a valley with a lake. To the west is the same valley, 20 years in the past; to the east, it’s 20 years in the future. It’s a repeating patterns, going back decades and going forward decades. Travel between the valleys is forbidden, except with permission of the Conseil (council), which as a rule grants visits only for grieving family members who wish to visit a lost loved one, or a future grandchild they will never see due to a pending death. That kind of thing. In this town lives 16-year-old Odile, in her final year of studies and about to embark on her apprenticeship. Encouraged by her mother, she applies for a highly competitive spot with the Conseil. Few applicants are successful, and Odile isn’t sure it’s the right fit, but her mother convinces her to apply. While waiting to hear, Odile spots two elderly visitors in the telltale masks – they are from the future, but when a mask slips, Odile is shocked to discover they are the parents of the boy she has feelings for, Edme. It can mean only one thing – his will be a premature death. Caught between her affection for Edme and the ethics of the role she is about to take on, Odile struggles to figure out what to do. I loved so much about this novel – written by a Canadian, it features a plethora of French names and words – chemin des Pins, Conseil, the Hôtel de Ville – giving it a wonderful sense of being a translation, set in a different world. It’s oddly timeless – there are trucks, but no cellphones or internet. It’s a melancholic novel – other than the odd teenager, no one seems joyful, more resigned than content. And while Part 1 feels very much like a coming of age novel, Part II jumps the story forward 20 years, without leaving this town’s timeline, giving a very adult and, as I said, resigned, perspective on where life has led. It reminds me of Lois Lowry’s The Giver – the role of the Conseil is to protect the community from the pitfalls of time travel, of course, but it’s also to keep them in check. Morality and ethics are on shifting sands – it really depends on whose perspective you are taking. An innovative debut from a Vancouver writer, it’s a bit of genre bender, essentially literary fiction featuring a speculative fiction device. It’s being published in a few days and is on order for the Grand Forks (B.C.) & District Public Library. Look for it on the new book shelf! My thanks to Atria Books for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176450755

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for a free eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this imaginative and thought-provoking debut novel by Scott Alexander Howard that poses some key philosophical questions through a propelling and introspective story, while not constantly throwing these questions in the reader's face.

The Other Valley imagines a series of identical valleys. Going in one direction, you would find yourself twenty years back in time, while the other direction takes you twenty years into the future. Life in the valleys, including the valley of the protagonist Odile, focuses on preventing an alteration in the "timeline" by irresponsible visitors. Conseilors (public officials) on both sides decide who can travel across the borders based on reasons and impact to the timeline through controlled visits.

The book is divided into two parts - one where Odile is a teenager and the second where the protagonist is her thirties. Saying anymore may spoil the book for others and I would highly recommend knowing no more than what I have summarized above before reading this great book. While you may question how time can operate in such a way where all that divides the valleys are probably just longitudes, I would suggest suspension of disbelief and to avoid questioning the science as this novel's strength is really the psychological insight and the existential questions it raises. With elements of a fantasy, a sprinkle of romance (not much really), and a character study, the novel is truly one of the most unique I've read recently.

I started off by LOVING this one. The whole of Part 1 was gorgeous. I lost interest a bit in Part 2, (hence only 4 stars) but the ending was perfect. Thank you for the Advance copy of this one, I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Boy... the lack of quotation marks was a real miss for me. Sorry, but I just can't get behind this alleged "trend." What I read of this book was gorgeously written and melancholic, and I loved the premise, but I found it so confusing without punctuation. I enjoyed what I read, but ultimately this was a DNF for me.

Odile is a sixteen year old girl who is vying for a coveted apprenticeship position on the Conseil. If she earns this position, she will be able to decide who crosses the isolated town’s heavily guarded borders to reach either the past or future. To the west, the town is 20 years behind; to the east, the town is 20 years ahead, each in a repeating sequence across time. One day, Odile recognizes two visitors she wasn’t supposed to see, leaving her with the knowledge that her friend Edme is about to die. Odile is sworn to secrecy to preserve the timeline, ensuring her position as a top candidate for the Conseil, yet she finds herself getting closer to Edme and imperiling her future in the process.

THE OTHER VALLEY has such an interesting premise with concept of an identical town repeated in sequence to the past and future in either direction. I thought that the author executed this plot point deftly and I was wholly fascinated by the idea of being able to travel from one time point to another with special permission from the governing bodies of each town, the Conseil. I loved the discussion surrounding the ethical and moral reasons that this permission to enter past or future was so heavily weighed - it gives excellent food for thought!

Odile is a fabulous character to tell this story. She’s a 16 year old girl who is trying to fit in and live up to the expectations of others, but she’s also very shy and isolated. It was interesting to see her life journey and how certain choices impacted her future/present self. I also enjoyed seeing her befriend and get close to Edme, Alain, Justine, and Jo.

Admittedly, it took me a while to get into this book as it’s a bit slow to develop but the last 20-25% of the book had me hooked, eager to know what was to come. The writing is lyrical and very descriptive. My one qualm while reading this story was the lack of quotation marks or any other punctuation to indicate dialogue amongst characters; I initially found this quite distracting.

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Atria Books, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

The Other Valley is a slow burn, literary speculative work of art!

In the vein of Emily St. John Mandel and Kazuo Ishiguro, The Other Valley follows Odile - a teenager who is trying to balance her prospects with the normal everyday concerns of love and a social life. Odile is hopeful and tragic; someone you can’t help but root for.

This was such a great concept for a book – I loved the idea of time travel within the valleys, being surrounded by your past and future. I love the idea of this valley being everywhere and nowhere all at once. It feels familiar but unsettling. The Other Valley is a little dystopian, a little sci-fi and you can’t put it down!

As soon as I read the blurb for TOV on Netgalley I knew I had to read it so I also added it to the ARC team list for Simon and Schuster Canada and got both the eARC and a PB copy.

This book while some readers would deem slow to start for me it felt more like the author was giving us this very well built world and storyline that left us with very few questions because it was so thoroughly written.

Imagine being confined within the borders of your own valley. Never able to leave unless you petition the conseillers to get permission to visit a lost loved one. The valley to the west and east are parallels of your valley. The one to the west takes you back in time to 20 years in the past. The valley to the east takes you 20 years forward into the future. The only people to ever cross valleys would need to have their petition approved and must follow stringent rules so as to not interfere with the way ones future is meant to play out.

This author certainly wrote a book that was really thought provoking, deep and so intriguing that it kept me up well into the night to finish which I just don't do anymore.

**Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for both copies of the book.
Received eARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

I am nonplussed and jubilant all at once.

This is speculative literally fiction in the same vein as Emily St. John Mandel's, Sea of Tranquility. Where Tranquility is more melodic, The Other Valley hums with a quiet anticipatory tension throughout.

The first half carefully builds the foundation of an incredibly interesting world filled with characters and meaningful relationships. The second half is devastating for a number of reasons, none of which I can mention without spoilers.

It's a challenging read in some ways, the time travel makes sense but I likely missed some of the finer implications of interference in the past. More so it was difficult to see the characters struggle, after developing such high hopes for them earlier on.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, it's very well crafted, very well thought-out and ultimately it sticks the landing.

Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Other Valley – Scott Alexander Howard
Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024

Thank you @netgalley and @simonschusterca for this eARC.

I’m drawn to books that are devoid of time or place markers, books that make you wonder where and when it’s unfurling. The Other Valley is a book that falls into this category and sounds right up my alley.

The book’s protagonist, 16-year-old Odile lives in a valley that has eerily similar valleys on either side – just that, to the east, the valley is 20 years ahead in time and it’s 20 years behind to the west. And it keeps going to each side. Odile sees someone from another valley, sparking a chain of events that span three decades.

I was blown away by the premise, it’s so interesting. The fact that the story exists in a timeless, nameless place (there were moments when I even wondered if it’s on Earth, what if the characters aren’t humans at all?) makes it even more fascinating. And, with any time travel narrative, there’s always questions about how it all works. While The Other Valley leaves plenty of questions unanswered, it does leave you feeling like you kind of get it, like you can sort of imagine living there.

It reminded me of a bunch of books with similar-ish themes – Sea of Tranquility, Cloud Atlas and Memory Police.

So, did I like the book? Yes! But it took some time.

There are no quotation marks for dialogues, which takes a bit of time to get used to. The general tone of the narrative is sad and melancholic, so it felt very heavy on my mind. I also felt a sense of detachment throughout, like there was too much distance between the reader (me) and the characters. In fact, it was only around the last 80 per cent mark that the pace picked up and I began feeling for the characters.

Also, maybe it was just me, but I noticed quite a few words that were new or rarely seen (pellucid, elide).

While it has its issues and the narrative takes time to sink into, it’s a very thought-provoking speculative novel and an amazing debut (from a Vancouver author!).

4/5⭐

The premise of this debut novel is more than intriguing: A town in a valley, nestled between the very same town 20 years prior and in the future, and an agency tasked with controlling who gets to visit the past and future versions of the town. When our protagonist, 16-year-old Odile, witnesses the grieving parents of one of her yet living closest friends visiting from the future, she struggles immensely with the implications: In the future, her friend will be dead.
This is a thought-provoking work of fiction for sure, though its themes aren't entirely groundbreaking. In its most simplified form, the central philosophical question is whether someone could change the future if they knew it in their presence, and if they should.
I struggled a little with this story because I never really connected with any of the characters, and because the writing style, especially the lack of quotation marks, and the general meandering prose is just not my cup of tea. The characters aren't fleshed out much so I never actually cared about the dead-in-the-future friend, or any of the others. Odile was rather bland, too. I was invested early on but the book didn't manage to keep me interested all through to the end, and it's a rather short book.
Still, it's an interesting debut with a unique idea and while I wasn't blown away for it, I did like the melancholy vibes and the themes it dealt with.

An interesting premise of this story, a time travelling touch, love story in the side and historical fiction all in one. Odile our main character, wishes to join the conseil a some kind of community distinguishing rules to people who enters the valley.

Several themes under this short novel that you can pick on and overall this debut novel is well laid out and and read in one sitting.


3.6/5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Feb. 27, 2024
“The Other Valley” by Scott Alexander Howard is a thought-provoking novel about consequences, destiny and the lengths people will go to save someone they love.
Odile is sixteen years old in her town. Quiet and awkward, the only hope she has of getting respect, especially from her bitter mother, is to earn a coveted seat on the Conseil. The Conseil is responsible for granting the requests of townsfolk who want to travel over the borders and visit a time in their past or their future. When she sees a pair of travelers that she recognizes as her friend, Edme’s, parents, she is terrified in the understanding that something tragic will happen to Edme. But, if she warns him or interferes in any way, she risks far more than her spot on the Conseil.
“Valley” is reminiscent of “Divergent” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, but also is completely unique on its own. Young people at the age of sixteen choose a “career stream”, anything from policing the borders with the gendarmie, to being on the Conseil, or working in the butcher shop, where they apprentice and compete until they earn their place. As a strict rule follower and logical thinker, The Conseil seems the perfect fit for our protagonist, Odile.
Howard’s novel makes it possible for three version of yourself to exist in different towns; towns that are heavily guarded and travel to and from requires special permission, to avoid versions of yourself crossing paths. The creative plot of this novel was emotional and speculative and I was immediately pulled in. Sixteen-year-old Odile is naïve and brave, quiet yet intelligent, and I felt an instant kinship with her. The first part of the novel is narrated by teenage Odile, whereas the second part is Odile in the second stage of her life, at the age of thirty-six. Both Odile’s are likable, and Howard has crafted a character worth cheering for.
I am a bit of a stickler for grammar and punctuation and, although it seems to be a bit of a trend in literature these days, I struggled with Howard’s lack of quotation marks. With a novel like “Valley” that has multiple time periods, not marking conversations made the novel unnecessarily difficult to sort through in parts. Had Howard included quotation marks, the flow would have been utterly seamless.
Overall, Howard has created a stellar debut, with powerful characters and an intriguing plot. If “The Other Valley” is his first creation, I cannot wait to see what he delivers next.

Examening the idea of parallel timelines and time travel, this book had me wondering where it could possibly end up. I kept reading and reading with no idea how Howard would end the story, and only hoped it would end as I wanted it to.

If you are a fan of sci-fi, dystopian novels, or speculative fiction then this one is for you. It’s a page turner for sure. However, it is also a love story of sorts too.

A fabulous debut novel that has me waiting for @scottalexanderhoward’s next novel.

Thank you @netgalley and @simonschusterca for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[arc review]
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Other Valley releases February 27, 2024

4.5

In Howard’s debut novel, he creates a world where a town is sandwiched between its past and future with a sequence that repeats indefinitely. Travel past the borders in the valley to the east and you’ll find yourself in the same town only 20 years in the future, or head west and you’ll be 20 years in the past.

The story follows a character named Odile from when she’s 16 as she’s being vetted for a spot in the Conseil, a group of people who’re in a position to determine who gets to cross the borders or not.
But when she happens to notice a consolation viewing near her school and recognizes the anonymous figures, it burdens her with the knowledge that the lifespan of someone she knows will soon come to an end. This one moment in time is the catalyst for the rest of the story and will continue to follow Odile until she is 56 years of age.

An A+ concept brimming with originality and deeply thought provoking decisions that are complex and nuanced. Coming across books like this are such a treat to me.
Working through all the different scenarios had me so engaged in the storyline and characters; how one action could undo everything — not just affecting one person directly but causing a ripple effect that would change the course of so many lives.
Getting to see the understandings and realizations unfold from future timelines as the characters grew up and correlating that to their perspective of 20 years in the past added so many layers of depth.

Fair warning though, this doesn’t use quotation marks to indicate dialogue which is a stylistic choice that can be hit or miss depending on the reader.

cw: mentions of physical abuse