An amazing debut. The concept of living "between" versions of yourself is so intriguing and absolutely pulled me in. The characters are likeable and relatable. The only thing I struggled with was the lack of quotation marks to denote convos. I can't wait to see what comes next for this author.

The Other Valley is a speculative novel with a fascinating conceit. The setting is a small town that is isolated geographically between mountains, and it repeats, that same town, in valley after valley at twenty year intervals. The boundaries are guarded and heavily controlled, but travel is possible. Our MC Odile is a teen nearing the end of her schooling and the narrative picks up as she's getting ready to find an apprenticeship and happens to make some new friends.
As a whole, the novel is unrushed and a bit distant emotionally but with an overlay of mild anxiety and anticipation. The town is very high control but is masquerading as well balanced. As we progress we become more and more disillusioned about their society, more and more wary. The novel ultimately ends on a hopeful note, but even that is tepid and contextualized in a child's powerlessness. There were several plot points that left me asking questions, not time travel twisty questions, but regular novel questions: why was this brought up? what happened to that character/object/event? did the text close this loop or did I miss something? Vaguely fussy moments but totally normal and not anything integral to the main arc or enjoyment of the story. Related, I think, is the sense it was 10-15% longer than it could have been while still achieving the same vibe and goal. Not that word count efficiency is necessary or best, just an observation that certainly aided in the unhurried quality of the narrative while also letting me wander a bit through it, musing and wondering about small things that I might not have noticed otherwise.
In this moment, I'd say I enjoyed it but that my response matches the somewhat distant emotionality of the novel. I do have the sense that the memory of this story will stick with me though, and will likely get more potent over time. I think that's the mark of a job well done, but take it for whatever it's worth to you.

A beautiful, quiet, high-concept, and character-driven literary sci-fi treasure, reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, Emily St. John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility, and The Giver. The author did a fantastic job of building and maintaining the feeling of anticipation and simultaneous hope and dread throughout. I'm amazed this is a debut.

*No quotation marks for dialogue - I didn't realize this was something that bothered people so much. You get used to it quickly, and it adds to the dreamlike state and flow of this novel.

A big thank you to the publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this gem!

For Kazuo Ishiguro Fans!

Odile lives in the valley, the valley to the East is 20 years in the past and the Valley to west is 20 years in the future. Odile's mom dreams that she'll join the Conseil, the people who can decide about who gets to visit the past or the future. One day, Odile sees her friend's parents visiting and this can only mean one thing....

After this her life changes, but she keeps making decisions that affect her version in the West. It's hard to explain, you have to read it!

I received a digital copy from NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

Speculative fiction has become a favorite genre for me, and the premise of this is absolutely fantastic. Imagine you live in a town. Now look towards the West, that town right there is 20 years behind in time. Loved ones you lost are very much there. Now look towards the East, that town right there is 20 years in the future. If you go there, you can see what will be. And then there's our main character, a teenage girl trying to get a job where she grants or denies visit requests to these towns. Whose anxieties most deserve addressing? Whose grief is most deserving of a visit? I'll be thinking about this premise for so long. It is important you don't try to understand how this traveling back and forth in time works; you won't get the answers you're looking for and part 2 isn't as lovely as I make that set up sound. You will, however, get a fairly quiet look at the lengths one would go for someone they love, a reminder to cherish the present, and the need for a box of Kleenex.

In this book, set in some vaguely dystopian society, the action takes place in a town in a valley. There is no travel to anywhere else, as to the east there’s the identical town 20 years in the future, while to the west there’s the same town 20 years in the past. Patrollers stop people from trying to exit/enter, but in certain cases (like death of a loved one) you can petition to go for a viewing in one of the other valleys. Main character Odelle is a 16 year old girl who is a bit of an outcast and is applying to apprentice to be one of the people who review the petitions, and then later in the book we see her as an adult (20 years later of course).

For a book that’s only 300 pages long, I found this to be an incredibly slow read, and it also has no quotation marks which is always annoying. It’s definitely a unique premise and atmospheric, though it’s also confusing and why the town is like this is never explained. The end was quite good though also left my head spinning a bit. I think if you loved Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin you might like this more than I did.

Rating: 2.72 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover: 4/5
-Story: 2.75/5
-Writing: 2/5
Genre: Fantasy, LitFic, Magic Realism, Time Travel
-Fantasy: 4/5
-LitFic: 1/5
-Magic Realism: 1/5
-Time Travel: 4/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Eh

Hated|Disliked|Meh|It Was Okay|Liked|Really Liked|Loved

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

Where to even start? The good? I liked the concept of the story. The going to the past and present just by something simple. There were some sad parts but the writing style ruined a good bit for me, on top the whole "love" part. It needed some clean up, in my opinion. I don't know why Scott thought that writing style was the best.

When I first started reading this book, I was a little leery because of the lack of dialogue tags, and I was worried that that would hamper my ability to follow the story. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I absolutely flew through this book. It really lived up to the marketing of being like the Giver, and even though the ending felt a little abrupt, I think it definitely fit the story and I would recommend this to anyone who likes books that make your brain spin!

The valley where this book takes place is bordered on either side by different versions of the same valley – the only difference is time. To the east is the valley twenty years from now, and in the west, the valley from twenty years in the past. Travel from one valley to the next is strictly prohibited, with guards and fences separating one valley from the next. The only exception is for those who have experienced loss to visit their lost loved ones, clad in a mask so that no one knows who is being visited, for fear that knowing might change the future. One day Odile, a teen girl, catches a glimpse behind a visitor’s mask – the parents of a friend. A friend whom she now knows is about to die.

In spite of the lack of quotation marks for dialogue (so annoying) I really enjoyed this book. The premise is intriguing, and though it’s not what you might call fast-paced, my interest never waned – the characters and Odile’s journey pulled me in. The writing is really beautiful, too.

Four and a half stars, rounded down. (I’d round up if it had the damned quotation marks!)

CW: Oblique mention of suicide, threat of sexual assault

I wanted to LOVE this story as the concept is really fascinating and right up my alley. I love anything to do with time travel/distortion of time. In the end, I ended up just liking the book. I had a hard time immersing myself into the story and had to push myself to read and finish it. Other readers may not have that problem at all as it is well written, but it just didn’t work for me.

Thank you Netgally for the arc.

Time travel! My absolute favorite subject, and this was such a unique take. As with any good time travel story, my brain is left broken trying to reconcile the space-time continuum and what it all means. What a treat! This is also a very well-written novel with complex and interesting characters, and the last quarter of the book had my heart racing.

I also need to mention, the cover for this book is absolutely brilliant and perfect for this story. Just wow.

So grateful to NetGalley for the chance to read this early copy. Thank you!

After reading the synopsis of The Other Valley, I was in. I love science fiction and time travel books and this one has such an incredibly unique concept with the valleys spaced at 20 years in time.

The Other Valley started strong and I was invested in Odile’s story. I loved the first part where she is in vetting and dealing with the ramifications of witnessing the two visitors from the future. And I wanted more of that story. So I was disappointed when it came to the time jump in part two.

Scott Alexander Howard created an interesting world and I really enjoyed the thinking exercises I went through with every turn of the plot. What did each event mean for the fate of our characters? How would it impact the timeline in the different valleys?

And yet, I ultimately did not enjoy reading this book. I loved the idea of it, the questions it raised and the way it explored time travel. But I did not enjoy the story itself. It is a short book and still, it took me a very long time to get through it. I contemplated DNF many times, but I powered through because a small part of me was curious to see how it would all pan out. But when the climax came I was disappointed. The resolution was rushed. I think trudging through the tedium of the middle of the book lessened the emotional impact I should have had.

I wanted the book to explore what happens to the characters after that Big Event. There are a few side characters that I found intriguing and influential to the story, but were underutilized. They enter the story to play a particular role but then they disappear even though I thought we would and should get more from them. I also would’ve liked to better understand this dystopian and violent world. We didn’t get much explanation beyond the need to prevent interference in timelines. I don’t think the ends justify the means, but that wasn’t addressed much in the book.

In the end I liked the idea of this book but not its execution. I did think it was well written, the absence of quotation marks didn’t bother me. I do think it would make a great book for book club discussions.

The Other Valley broke my brain in the best possible way. I’m always a sucker for a time travel premise, and Howard’s version is a new take - a string of valleys co-existing in 20 year time spans. A council determines one’s ability to travel between, for mourning visits, and borders heavily guarded to ensure no interference between the eras.

Rather than harping on the time jumping, which is often what time travel novels do, this novel focuses more on questions of morality and choices, all while following Odile’s experience in the valley.

With its literary focus and descriptive language, it’s definitely for a patient reader. The second half moves more slowly but the payoff is worth it. There is so much to dig into and unpack here and this would make an excellent book club pick. I look forward to Howard’s future work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books.

The Other Valley is going to stick with me for a while 🤯 Imagine cities on either side of you, where life is 20 years behind in one direction and 20 years ahead in the other. Then imagine the temptation to alter the past and future. I don’t want to say too much because the less you know going in, the better for this one.

As with most speculative fiction, it took me a bit to get my bearings but ultimately the plot and world building are well done and I was fully engrossed in the story.

Imagine, if you will, that you live in a town beside a lake in a valley. If you walk far enough to the east, you will run into the same town, but set 20 years into the future. Going back to your starting point, if you then start walking to the west, and walk far enough, you will arrive in the same town, too, only this time 20 years into the past. Doing these walks is a bit moot, though, because movement between the towns and valleys is prohibited unless you’ve put in a request with a governing body called the Conseil to go to and fro in time. The valid reasons for doing this bit of time travel are if you’re dying and want to see how your grandkids turn out, or your son or daughter has died and you’d like to go back into the past to see them one last time – all of this at a distance, as you cannot interact with anyone to not change time. Well, this is the outline of the premise for The Other Valley, the debut novel from Canadian author Scott Alexander Howard. This is time travel that is different from any kind that you may have experienced (in fiction) before. To that end, Scott Alexander Howard is a creative genius. However, is the first book from a Harvard University postdoctoral fellow all that good? Weeeellllll … that’s a harder question to answer. (Um, it’s easy, but I’m trying to play nice.)

The plot of The Other Valley is intriguing. It involves a 16-year-old girl named Odile who seems to be a shoo-in for a job at the Conseil after passing through most of her vetting with flying colours. However, initially, she was turned down for the vetting process. (Note to kids: Never give up on your dreams!) The reason the decision on her application is reversed is because she inadvertently sees the parents of a classmate named Edme who have come from the future to have a last look at their son – which is a tip-off to her that something’s about to happen to him. Has Odile been given a fast track to a coveted job because she saw something she shouldn’t have seen? And what is to become of Edme? Does he die? Does he, at least, get to play his violin at an upcoming competition? Is Odile falling a little bit in love with the soon-to-be-possibly dead boy? And, well, that’s just the first half of the book described. The rest of the novel I’m not going to give away (so I’m not spoiling it) but, suffice to say, it only fleetingly has to do with the first half. In fact, until the book’s very end, it feels as though you have walked into a completely unrelated book kept afloat by the fact the two distinct stories are connected by the same main character and world-building tissue.

The Other Valley is the kind of read that will probably have judges of the mainstream Giller Prize and science-fiction-oriented Hugo and Nebula Awards wetting their pants for how clever and original it is. That is, by far, the biggest commendation I can give this read. Scott Alexander Howard is a genius – as I’ve said earlier. He is probably, in a sense, the new Jonathan Lethem – the kind of author who comes along once in a generation to upend all preconceived notions of what defines a fantasy or science-fiction novel. I’m betting that this book sets some trends in time travel fiction. What’s also a bit of a nice – but confusing – touch is that everyone in the author’s world speaks a kind of combination of French and English. The town to the east is referred to as Est 1 and the town to the west is Ouest 1. That’s just for starters. However, all compliments end there. For one thing, you can’t think about the mechanics of the world building too hard. For one thing: everyone drives cars. Tell me, if the world is confined to a small valley that repeats itself, where are the car manufacturing plants and oil refineries? And, as touched upon in the book, how does the weather operate? If it’s sunny 20 years in the past, can it be stormy 20 years into the future? See what this is making me do? I’ve got a headache.

That’s not all. The Other Valley moves at the speed of molasses. Anything that doesn’t have to do with the politicking around who gets to control the entrance of residents to the various other valleys is, frankly, as boring as mud in this long-winded tale. I frequently found myself thinking of tasks I had yet to do – the laundry, and making supper – instead of concentrating on this book. While the characters are likable enough, outside of Odile, they’re also sort of anonymous. That is, they don’t register enough for the reader to take much of an interest in them. And, to me, that’s the death knell for a book like this. It can be as inventive as all heck but forget to put in characters that resonate, and you don’t have much of a novel to stand on. Thus, I can say that The Other Valley is all sizzle and no steak. The concept is innovative enough to warrant its publication, but I don’t know how many readers are going to make it to that confusing second half. I’m not trying to be crabby here and I realize that maybe I’m not getting the concept of this title. Still, I felt that The Other Valley was a letdown. It’s a shame because the concept is unique and original, and if you look hard enough there might be the odd pebble of interest. However, when the dust has settled on this one a bit, you might find that it’s the type of book that resonates with those who love their science fiction to push boundaries – people in charge of award juries, in other words. For the rest of us hoi polloi, this one is an unsatisfying miss. Keep walking.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a time travel / high stakes / world in peril due to butterfly effect situation, so this book had me at the jump! We follow Odile, a high school student trying to earn a coveted spot as a conseiller, a high ranking official who gets to approve or deny citizens’ requests to travel forward or back in time. (She lives in a unique valley, situated between identical valleys to the left and right border where time is shifted forward or back in 20 year increments.) I thought the book did a great job of asking big philosophical questions — do you bend the rules to help your future or past self? What about someone you love? What if it’s a death? A preventable one? Is seeing the past or future EVER okay? It was fairly fast paced, and I loved that it felt distinctly Canadian (vs American) in locations, diction, and texture. This is one that sticks in your brain and makes you ask yourself those same moral questions!

PS - I know some folks took issue with not having quotation marks/ punctuation for dialogue. It didn’t bother me, to be honest — once you got used to it the reading experience was fine — and it made me wonder whether it wasn’t the author playing with us further, toying with the how and when and timelessness of these conversations. A quote makes it “final” but everything in this world - including words and situations and memories - are indeed fluid!

Noted: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I want to scream from the rooftops about The Other Valley - it's hands down the best fiction book I've read this year. Admittedly, I'm biased because speculative literary fiction is my favorite genre - but that typically makes me a harsher critic, and I have basically no notes. I can't believe this is Scott Alexander Howard's debut!

I found the concept of this book so provocative - and as importantly (and more unusually), the execution held up. The world-building was layered and vivid, the pacing strong, the information revealed at just the right points - I had no intention of blazing through in a single afternoon, but that's what happened. And the complexity and moral flexibility of the characters - oof! I know I characterized this as speculative literary fiction, and it is, but it's also almost ... a philosophical thriller? If that isn't a thing, it is now.

I'm writing this immediately upon finishing, so it might be more effusive than concise, but it's an accurate reflection of how powerfully and delightfully this book scrambled my brain. I'll be thinking about The Other Valley for a long while, and I can't wait to recommend it to customers at the bookstore.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

- Fans of literary sci-fi, gather round, because THE OTHER VALLEY is made for you.
- The quiet, spare prose calls to mind NEVER LET ME GO, which is then layered with multifaceted, unanswerable questions about morality, grief, and the road not taken.
- This book takes several unexpected turns and kept me guessing, and also trying to sort out what I would do in Odile’s place.
- The logistics of this society and how the Conseil structure came to be are never really explained, but I kind of enjoyed how the details were waved away and this book was just allowed to be a character study and extended thought experiment.

The premise of this book sounded amazing, so I knew I had to read it. The author does a fantastic job of drawing you into this world and explaining the dynamics. I'm not going to lie, there were times when the logistics, explanations, and hypotheticals of the valleys could be extremely verbose and complex. This forces you to think about the ramifications of violating the world's rules. I enjoyed how the main character moved through her life; she wasn't perfect, made mistakes, and grew so much as a person. This book really makes you think about what you would do if you lived in this world. One thing I did struggle with while reading was the fact that there was no punctuation around dialogue. No quotation marks, italics, bold - nothing. That took some getting used to. All in all, this book is unique and well-written. Would I read it again? Probably not. Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely.

"The Other Valley" by Scott Alexander Howard is a speculative fiction time paradox. It follows Odile who is living in a town surrounded by identical towns to the west and east. The only difference is that one direction the timeline is twenty years in the past and the other twenty years in the future.
This book was very reminiscent of "The Giver" or "The Butterfly Effect." The overall story was okay, but it was just too quiet for me. Nothing was bad plot wise, but I also felt like nothing happened. The plot just wasn't original enough for me. The instalove did a disservice to the plot and the effect the love story was supposed to have on the reader. The ending felt wrapped up with a bow and I wasn't sure I fully understood how the outcome came to be. I'm not sure if the concept of the time paradox wasn't explained well enough or if the book didn't follow its own rules. Despite all of that, my main issue with this book was the lack of quotations for any of the dialogue. It just made for a frustrating read and wasn't a choice I agreed with. The actual writing was good and I would read from Scott Alexander Howard again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced readers copy (ebook version).