You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
'There are no indications when speech is present. No quotation marks, no italics, no dashes - nothing.' - Sandi
'There's a community in a valley. Some distance on either side lie duplicate valleys - exactly the same, except on is twenty years in the past, the other twenty years into the future. Movement between valleys is both physically taxing and strictly controlled; requests must be approved or denied by a special council, the Conseil. Our protagonist and narrator, Odile Ozanne, is a 16-year-old schoolgirl who hopes to join the Conseil. At the same time as she enters the competitive 'vetting' process to win an apprenticeship, she accidentally witnesses a visit from residents of the future valley. She recognizes them as the parents of her classmate, Edme, and realizes what this must mean: in the near future, Edme will die. Odile is drawn to him; they become friends; she begins to fall in love. In the second half of the story, we meet Odile as an adult and see how the events of her youth have affected her life.
The first half of the book the valley is wistful, nostalgic, and magical. In the second half, however, that that pretty facade is ripped away.' - Blair
'Moral exploration of the moral and practical reasons a citizen should and should not be allowed to visit their neighboring valley to the east (20 years into their future) and to the west (20 years into their past).' -The Speculative Shelf
When Odile see's Edme's parents, she knows that Edme is going to die. They have come from the future valley to see him. His mother takes off her hood/mask (all visitors must wear this mask as their identity is supposed to remain anonymous. For this same reason, when visiting another valley, the visitor cannot interact/talk to/show themselves to anyone in the valley for this runs the risk of changing the entire future). When Odile sees them, she reports her findings, and she is forced to keep this knowledge a complete secret from everyone, especially Edme.
Originally Odile is vetting in hopes of joining the Conseil where she can help decide who can visit the neighboring valleys, but she ends up terminating the program.
Edme is practicing his violin on a cliff during the night - he is hiding his practice from his parents. He falls from the cliff and dies. Odile goes into the vetting program but ends up becoming a guard to the fences between the valleys. She and the other guards are in charge of watching for people who cross the borders (because their request was denied so they're doing it on their own accord) and terminating them, essentially. Her life is not fulfilling, she's not happy, and it's not at all what she thought her life would be like. A boy from her childhood ends up ruining her present day (he was a friend of hers and Edme's and tries to convince her to travel to the past valley with him to help save Edme. Odile refuses to do this, and out of vengeance, this boy goes to Odile's superiors and reports false claims about her), and she's forced to transfer to another position (after almost cinching a promotion at work) where she's demoted and degraded.
At one point in the 'present day' valley, Odile even runs into her future self. Her future self is older and is scrubbing floors in a building. She never mentions this, though, because there can be grave repercussions for such an occurrence.
Odile ends up being able to sneak her way into the past valley, she finds her way to Edme on the night he was practicing his violin on the cliff, and after he falls into the water below, she dives in after him and saves his life. She then has to run from the guards and ends up running into her younger self as well. But, she's unable to speak - something that has been reported as a regular occurrence when a person runs into themselves - and her younger self rats her out. The younger Odile realizes that Edme will survive, and that she is a top prospect for the Conseil that she was vetting for, and she's happy to be given another shot at the life she wants, essentially.
This was a very original idea for a book. I've never read anything like it. The pacing felt off at certain points in the book. There would be something really exciting happening, and then it would go into a lull. Then something exciting, and then another lull. It was a bit of a struggle for me to finish.
I think it begs the age-old question: if you could go back to the past, would you change it? Would changing the past be worth risking the present as you know it? What unforeseen consequences could happen if even the smallest thing changes?
'There's a community in a valley. Some distance on either side lie duplicate valleys - exactly the same, except on is twenty years in the past, the other twenty years into the future. Movement between valleys is both physically taxing and strictly controlled; requests must be approved or denied by a special council, the Conseil. Our protagonist and narrator, Odile Ozanne, is a 16-year-old schoolgirl who hopes to join the Conseil. At the same time as she enters the competitive 'vetting' process to win an apprenticeship, she accidentally witnesses a visit from residents of the future valley. She recognizes them as the parents of her classmate, Edme, and realizes what this must mean: in the near future, Edme will die. Odile is drawn to him; they become friends; she begins to fall in love. In the second half of the story, we meet Odile as an adult and see how the events of her youth have affected her life.
The first half of the book the valley is wistful, nostalgic, and magical. In the second half, however, that that pretty facade is ripped away.' - Blair
'Moral exploration of the moral and practical reasons a citizen should and should not be allowed to visit their neighboring valley to the east (20 years into their future) and to the west (20 years into their past).' -The Speculative Shelf
When Odile see's Edme's parents, she knows that Edme is going to die. They have come from the future valley to see him. His mother takes off her hood/mask (all visitors must wear this mask as their identity is supposed to remain anonymous. For this same reason, when visiting another valley, the visitor cannot interact/talk to/show themselves to anyone in the valley for this runs the risk of changing the entire future). When Odile sees them, she reports her findings, and she is forced to keep this knowledge a complete secret from everyone, especially Edme.
Originally Odile is vetting in hopes of joining the Conseil where she can help decide who can visit the neighboring valleys, but she ends up terminating the program.
Edme is practicing his violin on a cliff during the night - he is hiding his practice from his parents. He falls from the cliff and dies. Odile goes into the vetting program but ends up becoming a guard to the fences between the valleys. She and the other guards are in charge of watching for people who cross the borders (because their request was denied so they're doing it on their own accord) and terminating them, essentially. Her life is not fulfilling, she's not happy, and it's not at all what she thought her life would be like. A boy from her childhood ends up ruining her present day (he was a friend of hers and Edme's and tries to convince her to travel to the past valley with him to help save Edme. Odile refuses to do this, and out of vengeance, this boy goes to Odile's superiors and reports false claims about her), and she's forced to transfer to another position (after almost cinching a promotion at work) where she's demoted and degraded.
At one point in the 'present day' valley, Odile even runs into her future self. Her future self is older and is scrubbing floors in a building. She never mentions this, though, because there can be grave repercussions for such an occurrence.
Odile ends up being able to sneak her way into the past valley, she finds her way to Edme on the night he was practicing his violin on the cliff, and after he falls into the water below, she dives in after him and saves his life. She then has to run from the guards and ends up running into her younger self as well. But, she's unable to speak - something that has been reported as a regular occurrence when a person runs into themselves - and her younger self rats her out. The younger Odile realizes that Edme will survive, and that she is a top prospect for the Conseil that she was vetting for, and she's happy to be given another shot at the life she wants, essentially.
This was a very original idea for a book. I've never read anything like it. The pacing felt off at certain points in the book. There would be something really exciting happening, and then it would go into a lull. Then something exciting, and then another lull. It was a bit of a struggle for me to finish.
I think it begs the age-old question: if you could go back to the past, would you change it? Would changing the past be worth risking the present as you know it? What unforeseen consequences could happen if even the smallest thing changes?
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
I couldn’t stop listening to this book. I felt like the end was a little rushed and unfinished which I didn’t love. There was also a seeming plot hole at the end about time travel. But I feel like there always is.
I really enjoyed this book! I love to guess the endings of books and I can confidently say this book had me continually guessing until the end. Every time I thought I knew where it was going, something different happened and my views were changed and new theories arose. Despite this, I never felt like anything that was happening was a “gotcha” moment because even though I did not expect the turns it took, they were all reasonable and natural.
I really liked Odile’s character. I appreciated how complicated she was in her attitudes and approaches to life as well as how age appropriate I think she was written (as both her 16 and 36 year old self). She was given giant decisions with seemingly impossible questions of morality that she had to grapple with. Not only that but she first grappled with this at 16 and then had to deal with the fallout of that for 20 years with no one helping her. It was super well written and I think makes the reader really think about how some knowledge is not necessarily meant for us to know and also brought up interesting (yet non-applicable) questions about time manipulation. Overall, just a really interesting storyline surrounding her.
In terms of other parts of the story, I thought the “class system” and notes about the Conseil and gendarmes especially were very interesting. It was cool how the author brought us through all the classes essentially (mostly via Odile but also through other character like Jo or Alain). I definitely was waiting for a drop that the Conseil was going to be the “bad guys”.
I was fully convinced toward the end that they were going to kill Edme and stage the scene to be as it was, so I was very surprised when they let him live, especially because while the future that was gone didn’t matter to them, without Edmes parents visiting, their lives would also eventually be erased and redone. It was very interesting to me the way they handled it because in a sense the way they handled it lived up to their principles of letting the timeline do what the timeline will do with minimal interference, but I’m so used to authors writing bodies of authority as the bad guys that I was refreshingly surprised to not necessarily have a bad guy at the end of the story.
In terms of the gendarmes, the commentary on them and the role they play in the story is so interesting to me. It seems like a classic depiction of unsavory law enforcement/ military personnel, but I have a little trouble understanding what that depiction and commentary meant to the book at large. Doesn’t mean it was bad commentary, it just felt a little out of place for me.
Additionally, sometimes I felt a little like I didn’t know where the book was going and things felt slow because of that I think. I like to have theories driving me forward in my reading, and I was so confused about the direction of the book for a bit that I was having trouble theorizing. BUT this last note doesn’t factor into my actual rating of the book cause it’s a little more about preference than actual quality of the writing.
Overall, very good book and would recommend to others. The ending didn’t go as I had imagined but I liked it all the more for that.
I really liked Odile’s character. I appreciated how complicated she was in her attitudes and approaches to life as well as how age appropriate I think she was written (as both her 16 and 36 year old self). She was given giant decisions with seemingly impossible questions of morality that she had to grapple with. Not only that but she first grappled with this at 16 and then had to deal with the fallout of that for 20 years with no one helping her. It was super well written and I think makes the reader really think about how some knowledge is not necessarily meant for us to know and also brought up interesting (yet non-applicable) questions about time manipulation. Overall, just a really interesting storyline surrounding her.
In terms of other parts of the story, I thought the “class system” and notes about the Conseil and gendarmes especially were very interesting. It was cool how the author brought us through all the classes essentially (mostly via Odile but also through other character like Jo or Alain). I definitely was waiting for a drop that the Conseil was going to be the “bad guys”.
I was fully convinced toward the end that they were going to kill Edme and stage the scene to be as it was, so I was very surprised when they let him live, especially because while the future that was gone didn’t matter to them, without Edmes parents visiting, their lives would also eventually be erased and redone. It was very interesting to me the way they handled it because in a sense the way they handled it lived up to their principles of letting the timeline do what the timeline will do with minimal interference, but I’m so used to authors writing bodies of authority as the bad guys that I was refreshingly surprised to not necessarily have a bad guy at the end of the story.
In terms of the gendarmes, the commentary on them and the role they play in the story is so interesting to me. It seems like a classic depiction of unsavory law enforcement/ military personnel, but I have a little trouble understanding what that depiction and commentary meant to the book at large. Doesn’t mean it was bad commentary, it just felt a little out of place for me.
Additionally, sometimes I felt a little like I didn’t know where the book was going and things felt slow because of that I think. I like to have theories driving me forward in my reading, and I was so confused about the direction of the book for a bit that I was having trouble theorizing. BUT this last note doesn’t factor into my actual rating of the book cause it’s a little more about preference than actual quality of the writing.
Overall, very good book and would recommend to others. The ending didn’t go as I had imagined but I liked it all the more for that.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No