Welcome to Litsy!

This story was quite original and a times a tad confusing, but I really enjoyed it. I found it to be both sad and incredibly thought provoking. The author has created this interesting world where the valley to either side holds the same world 20 years earlier or later. Managing such a society, where someone can change the present if they were allowed to go back, results in a complex set of morality issues. This story will stay with me. 4/5 stars!

Odile lives in an unnamed valley close to a lake. East of the valley is the exact same valley, just 20 years in the future. West of the lake is 20 years in the past. Citizens can petition to visit the valley to the East or West under special circumstances and after consideration and under strict security conditions by the Conceil.
Odile notices such visitors one day after school and identifies who they are, and by that... ⬇️

Perhaps because Part 1 of this book read as YA, it gave me The Giver vibes. I liked the premise with adjoining valleys living the same lives separated by 20 years from the valleys east and west. Part 2 jumps twenty years which was intriguing my issue was the story didn‘t didn‘t have the tension needed to make the premise unforgettable.

An isolated town is neighbored by its past to the West and its future to the East. The Conseil regulates travel between towns, giving few the chance to see lost loved ones. Odile‘s life changes forever when she glimpses a friend‘s parents, visiting from the future. While the premise is strong and the ideas about fate and free will interesting, I was disappointed that grief is utterly misunderstood here and frustrated at the lost opportunity.