Rich storytelling in this speculative fiction

 

 ⭑⭑⭑⭑ There are three towns in three valleys. All identical except for time. The center is current day, the town to the East is 20 years in the future whilst the western town is 20 years in the past. People are occasionally granted permission to travel between the towns to observe those they have lost. Visitors are meant to be unrecognisable and can make no contact with the people or changes in the time they visit. Such an interesting premise, I had to read The Other Valley.

I am glad I did. The world building was meticulous with the story gradually building as we follow sixteen year old Odile, in the center town, who recognises visitors from the future as the parents of her friend, Edme. Being a smart girl, she cottons on as to what this must mean and it changes the course of her life. Where the book heads from there is anyone's guess. Though the pace is rather placid, I felt it suited the story's plot. This isn't a town filled with smartphones and time wasted online but rather a simpler time, at a simpler pace. The tension builds nearing the end of the book as the reader is anxious for what might happen at the climax. The progression, and the life Odile goes on to have, are richly constructed and of as much interest as her younger period. I found it all completely absorbing and could see it playing out in my mind like a film. A great effort and a worthwhile read that will stay with the reader long after as you ponder other possible endings.