Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

14 reviews

takecoverbooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Blood, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

ivi_reads_books's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What an intriguing concept carefully crafted into a story that made me feel like I know this valley and its inhabitants

The book explores themes like isolation, shyness, regret and societal expectations through a coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of a quite classist society.

I'll be sure to read whatever the author decides to read next

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Classism

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the free copy of this book.

 - 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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

meganpbell's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

An isolated town is neighbored by its past to the West and its future to the East. The Conseil regulates travel between towns, giving few the chance to see lost loved ones. Odile’s life changes forever when she glimpses a friend’s parents, visiting from the future. While the premise is fascinating and the ideas about fate, free will, and time interesting, and I can see readers of Ishiguro's understated speculative masterpieces enjoying this book, I was ultimately disappointed that grief felt utterly misunderstood in this story to me--and I happen to have experienced losses similar to the main character--and I was frustrated at the lost opportunity. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, and Alcohol