In The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard, Odile lives in a valley with two identical valleys on either side: the one to the west is 20 years in the future, and to the east is 20 years in the past. 

Travel between the valleys is strictly controlled to avoid interference. Odile is working to become a member of the Conseil, the group that determines who can visit.

She unexpectedly learns that her best friend will die, which leads her to question what she believes about interference.

This was a quiet, melancholy speculative fiction novel that asks hard questions. It left me feeling pleasantly unsettled, and I’ll be thinking about it for a while.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for my review copy of this book.