The Other Valley

A Novel

By: Scott Alexander Howard

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

*Soon to be a TV series*

A Goodreads Most Anticipated Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror Book of 2024
Jimmy Fallon’s Book Club Top Four Pick

For fans of Never Let Me Go and The Giver, an elegant and exhilarating literary speculative novel about an isolated town neighbored by its own past and future, and a young girl who spots two elderly visitors from across the border: the grieving parents of the boy she loves.

Sixteen-year-old Odile is an awkward, quiet girl vying for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll decide who may cross her town’s heavily guarded borders. On the other side, it’s the same valley, the same town. Except to the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind. The towns repeat in an endless sequence across the wilderness.

When Odile recognizes two visitors she wasn’t supposed to see, she realizes that the parents of her friend Edme have been escorted across the border from the future, on a mourning tour, to view their son while he’s still alive in Odile’s present.

Edme—who is brilliant, funny, and the only person to truly see Odile—is about to die. Sworn to secrecy in order to preserve the timeline, Odile now becomes the Conseil’s top candidate. Yet she finds herself drawing closer to the doomed boy, imperiling her entire future.

A breathlessly moving “unique take on the intersection of fate and free will” (Nikki Erlick, author of The Measure), The Other Valley is “a stellar debut, full of heartbreak and hope wrapped up in gorgeous prose” (Christina Dalcher, author of Vox).

©2024 Scott Alexander Howard (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrator Whispers

Story is fantastic! Don't waste your time on the audio. The narrator whispers the whole story and accents words to the point that you can't understand some of what she's saying.

Great story, innovative use of time travel

First of all, I typically worry about genre novels, written by non-genre authors. Rest assured, you are in good hands. This is an interesting and novel take on time travel it will be familiar enough that you can follow the issues if you are a sci-fi, fan, but novel enough that you will be intrigued. The main character is interesting, it feels as if she is held at arms length from herself, almost throughout the entire novel, she feels strange and isolated. It made me able to view her from a distance, and I liked her, even though I knew that she was odd. I enjoyed very much her object of affection even if he was not very well flushed out. Some of the other characters had flashes of real interest, Edme’s best friend, and at times, Jo. I found the world building good, but more of a broad sketch than a detailed dive. The writing was wonderful. The first part of the novel was a bit of a slog, but by the end I was breathless with anticipation. Recommended.

time traveler loop of the year

awesome read, considering the first book by a philosophy professor, I loved the plot, ending and all the characters a lot. enjoyed every bit of it.
the narrator's voice is too raspy and at some point I feel like clearing my own throat 😕 strange, I know!

Weird

Very different. Sometimes it was entertaining and sometimes boring. I think this took place in a place like Nazi Germany.

Referred by Jimmy Fallon

This was one of the books that didn’t make it but I voted for it and wanted to read lol or listen to it.
Amazing concept of being able to go forward or backward in time by crossing a barrier somewhat like the demilitarized zone between N and S Korea.
The author does an excellent job navigating the coulda woulda shoulda of the character’s lives.

Loved this book! Immediately read it again!

Suspenseful. Thought provoking. Relatable characters.
Imagine the possibilities and consequences of a world where you could just take a peek forward or backward in time with a good enough reason.
This book had me asking myself all kinds of hypothetical questions and dissecting the details of infinite scenarios of how things might change.
Is it worth the risk?

A lovely complex story

I enjoyed the story and the characters. It was worth the read. The time travel was interesting.

Narrator whispers the story

I have never returned a book so fast. The narrator reads it like she's hiding under the covers so her parents do hear her. I've never been so annoyed in the dozen years I've had Audible. What were they thinking??