The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
The Other Valley
by Scott Alexander Howard
Science Fiction | Fantasy | Speculative Fiction
304 Pages
Released February 2024
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads
Content Warnings
When I picked this book up, I very quickly realized it was going to be one of, if not my top, book of the year. I cannot stress enough how much I loved this novel - which came as a complete shock considering it’s Howard’s debut novel.
This book follows Odile, who lives in a valley bordered by a fence. In on direction, crossing the fence means traveling back in time twenty years, to the same valley. In the other direction, you travel forward in time twenty years. As such, crossing the border is treated with immense trepidation and only a select few are permitted to visit neighboring valleys each year. Overseeing the decision of who is allowed to travel is the Conseil, an organization which Odile is attempting to join through a rigorous selection process. But one day, Odile encounters visitors in her valley and realizing what this must mean for one of her friends, she is forced to keep silent in order to not disrupt the natural order of things.
This book was so many things to me. Beautiful, heartbreaking, triumphant, I felt all the emotions throughout the course of this novel. I adored Odile and became quickly attached to her. I love that this book had one of my favorite tropes (school/academy-esque competitions) and found the setting and plot to be very refreshing and intriguing. I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like this in a long time and I hope to see more of Scott Alexander Howard’s work in the future. This book easily put him on my auto-buy author list.