Scott Alexander Howard's first novel, The Other Valley, is a lyrical, thought-provoking coming-of-age story that probes the question of self-determination.
"That fall I was sixteen and the course of my life was ready to be determined. My class had reached the apprenticeship level," at which young people choose a professional path. Odile lives in a village in a valley bookended by villages in valleys identical to hers, with an important difference: to the east lies her village 20 years in the future. To the west, 20 years in the past. The Conseil governs the rare and tightly controlled visits from one valley to another. Coinciding with her bid for a conseiller position, Odile witnesses a visitor from the east. From what she has seen, she understands what is to come, and has the opportunity to influence events--but the Conseil teaches that she must not. Intervention, it is well understood, leads to catastrophe.
At the same time, Odile suddenly finds herself part of a group of friends for the first time: a fivesome of boys and girls her age, all struggling with choices about their future lives, including budding romance. She develops concurrent loyalties to the Conseil and to her friends, and these quickly clash. The nature of the valleys implies preordination, but her actions are her own. What if she could save a life? What if she had to sacrifice her own?
The premise is strikingly unusual and provocative; the climax, after a long, subtle build, is electrifying. With beautiful prose, a compelling protagonist, and serious fodder for thought, The Other Valley is a remarkable debut. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia