Reviews - The Other Valley: A Novel

2.39k reviews for:

The Other Valley: A Novel

Scott Alexander Howard

3.96 AVERAGE

mgraciosa's review against another edition

3.5

emotional reflective

bri_dyson's review against another edition

3.25

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Really enjoyed the premise of this book. I have never read something like this before, and the writing made it go very fast.

The lack of speech indications did not affect my overall perspective of the book. However, I can understand the difficulty some readers may have with the lack of quotations.

Content Warnings

rachel_zim's review against another edition

5.0

This is an absolutely stunning debut novel from Scott Alexander Howard. A speculative fiction adventure that drew me in immediately, that I could not put down until I figured out exactly what would happen to Odile and her friends. This was reminiscent of Sea of Tranquility in its compelling and complicated overlapping timelines, but remained grounded in reality which I appreciated as a non-sci-fi reader. My heart was broken over ad over again as Odile's life progessed, and just when I thought she had hit rock bottom, things got even worse. Her bravery is the ultimate driving force of the movel, and the last 15% of the book had my heart absolutely racing. I thought I knew how the book would end, and I kind of did, but it was still such an exciting journey to go on.

aloeburst's review against another edition

5.0

emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

thundermitchell's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jkzie's review against another edition

4.0

I liked this book. Comparisons to The Giver are spot on. Very strong debut.

anniemitch's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book had an interesting concept: it portrayed a place that one could physically access the same place either twenty years in the future or twenty years in the best just but traveling to the next valley. The main character, Odile, sees an elderly couple come to the present. She recognizes them, and realizes they are coming back to see their son while he’s still alive. The rest of the book all revolves around the result of his death and the fact that she saw the visitors from a different time.
To be honest, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the way the time travel worked, nor could I keep all the government rules and plans straight.