Review: Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke

Dissonance

Erica O’Rourke

(Dissonance #1)

Publication Date: July 22, 2014

Hardcover, 496 pages, Simon and Schuster

Genres: YA, Sci-Fi

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Delancy Sullivan has always known there’s more to reality than what people see. Every time someone makes a choice, a new, parallel world branches off from the existing one. Eating breakfast or skipping it, turning left instead of right, sneaking out instead of staying in bed ~ all of these choices create an alternate universe in which an echo self takes the road not travelled and makes the opposite decision. As a Walker, someone who can navigate between these worlds, Del’s job is to keep all of the dimensions in harmony.

Normally, Del can hear the dissonant frequency that each world emits as clear as a bell. But when a training session in an off-key world goes horribly wrong, she is forbidden from Walking by the Council. But Del’s not big on following the rules and she secretly starts to investigate these other worlds. Something strange is connecting them and it’s not just her random encounters with echo versions of the guy she likes, Simon Lane.

But Del’s decisions have unimaginable consequences and, as she begins to fall for the Echo Simons in each world, she draws closer to a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide ~ a secret that threatens the fate of the entire multiverse.

My Review

I’m going to start off by saying that I’m not really sure about this book… like at all. It was kind of strange. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it or something. I honestly have no idea.

The story started out waaaaaay too fast. I was thrown into a world of pivots and other jargon that I had no idea what to do with. This continued throughout the entire book. There were even little paragraphs of info on the words, but I still couldn’t picture what was happening in the alternate-reality verse. It felt like there needed to be another book before this one.

And although those parts were too fast, the entire book went by really slow. It’s almost 500 pages, and it seriously didn’t need to be. There wasn’t a lot happening plot-wise. This also fed into the characters’ relationships. The love relationship didn’t make any sense to me. It popped into being.

I also somehow managed to not care at all about the main character. Del wasn’t relatable. She was supposed to be some sort of rebel, but really she just came across as whiny. And her sister seemed a little too mean, for no reason.

All in all, this book just wasn’t for me. There was an interesting plot, and a promising story arc, it just failed to deliver.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way altered my opinion/review.