What readers think of The Other Valley, plus links to write your own review.

Scott Alexander Howard clearly aims to capture a huge chunk of the reading population with his finely crafted debut, "The Other Valley." It is first and foremost literary fiction, a novel that takes and twists family drama in surprising ways, a coming of age saga, and the oft used alternate reality concept is upgraded to a level unexpected and infinitely imaginative.

Odile is our leading character and we meet her standing alone in the back of her school, her usual state of being after her only friend moves away. Already heavily burdened at the tender age of sixteen with a father who committed suicide, a mother whose ambitions are centered on her only child's fulfilling her failed desires for her own life, and the unfortunate reality that now, at this ridiculously impossible young age, is the time to pick her career and vocation, Odile is without close peers for support.

Surprisingly accepted for the coveted Conseil vetting, a lengthy audition process for the group that dictates who among the bereaved or terminally ill residents will get permission to travel outside of the heavily patrolled borders of their town-a consolation to see a person you would never live to meet or a person you would never get to see again. To the west you would be twenty years in the past and to the east you will be twenty years in the future. Odile is uncomfortable with the idea of such a public position, but cannot disappoint her mother by not making the attempt.

Before she even learns if she is chosen, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time and sees the parents of her classmate Edme, wearing masks, accompanied by a guard, and clearly there to secretly see their son, which means they are visiting from the future and Edme will die soon. This knowledge sculpts Odile's actions and feelings and leads her to make choices that imperil her life's path.

This story will linger in your thoughts and feelings for a long time. What decisions would you make? Grief and love complicate judgment and resolutions. Put this completely original work at the top of your TBR pile. Howard is a talented author and hopefully is already at work on his next creation!

I got chills when reading this speculative fiction story about a town surrounded by its identical past and future and the towns people living out their lives while contemplating their free will vs their fate.
The writing is beautiful but at times melancholy. This creative story includes a mystery, a coming of age, first love, and life’s unbearable choices but also hope, making this a great bookclub pick.