Book Review: Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke

Dissonance (Dissonance #1)
Author:  Erica O'Rourke
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 495 pages
Publication Date:  July 22, 2014

From Goodreads:
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.

Review:
This. Book. Blew. Me. Away.

1.  The author has created an inventive and creative parallel world book where there are an infinite number of parallel worlds created whenever someone makes a choice, no matter how small.  Are the people (Echos) in these parallel worlds real, as in alive?  According to the Consort, no, so they have no problem cleaving the worlds (cutting them off, destroying them) if they pose a threat to the Key World (the original world). I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning.  I was a little confused since the information is doled out a bit at a time so it took me awhile to understand the rules and the terminology, but I'm not sure how else the author could have written it without a lot of info-dumping in the beginning.

2.  Del's a great heroine.  She's rebellious and makes some rash decisions, but she's brave and willing to put herself in danger for other people.  She's a Walker and Walkers lead secret lives, not allowed to tell anyone about what they do.  They're discouraged from having relationships with Originals (the regular people in the Key World), which means Del is pretty much an outsider at school, her only friend being Eliot, who's also a Walker.  

3.  Simon and Del.  As Del gets to know Simon better (the original Simon), I fell for him as much as she did.  He's not perfect, but there's something about him in every world that draws her to him, and him to her.  At first you think he's just this charming jock, but then you find out his story.  I loved how their relationship progressed.

4.  Family plays a big part in this book, from Del's grandfather to her sister.  

I couldn't put this book down.  Sci-fi with a dose of romance, it's unique, fast-paced with plenty of plot twists, and the world-buildng is ambitious and detailed.  Truly impressive.  Add to that well fleshed out characters I care about and a sweet and forbidden romance.  It has all the feels!  Outstanding, this book is a must read.

Posted by:  Pam