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I've been looking forward to this book for more than a year. According to Goodreads, I added it to my TBR on April 9, 2013 - I still remember reading the blurb for the first time and going YES THIS. I NEED THIS. WHY SO FAR AWAY?! Obviously, with books that inspire this sort of excitement, there's the very real possibility that your excitement will get the better of you, and the book will end up disappointing you. =/ And to be honest, Dissonance... well...
Dissonance TOTALLY LIVED UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS!! Hahahaha, you thought I was going to say it disappointed me, didn't you?! Okay well, if you follow me on Twitter you know I was flailing about this book as I read it, so maybe you guys knew. And if you follow me on Goodreads you might know... and if you saw my rating, above, you probably know... Okay, maybe I wasn't as subtle just now as I thought. :P
But seriously, Dissonance was amazing. For three main reasons:
1. The Worldbuilding
Did you read the blurb, above? The world in Dissonance is pretty much exactly like ours, and is set in the present-day (more or less). In this world, though, there's a secret group of people (Walkers) who have the ability to travel between all the infinite worlds in the multiverse - Echo worlds which spring up after every choice that a normal human being (an Original) makes. According to the Walkers, the Key World is the only "real" world, and the Echos are just offshoots of possibility. Walkers are tasked with keeping the Echos in harmony with our Key World, to keep the Key World safe and the Echos from becoming too dangerous and unstable.
Time is not static. You can never get a choice -- or a moment -- back. The best you can do is witness the effects.Yes, it is as cool as it sounds. And it just gets better. This whole system is based on music. Walkers literally have to keep the strands of the Echos and Key World in harmony with each other. They literally tune the universes to resonate with each other. Those that are too unstable, the Walkers are forced to "cleave", unraveling that branch of Echo Worlds and keeping the rest of the worlds safe. I mean... AHHHHH. So flipping cool, I can't even. There's a lot of explanation required to impart all this information, and some people might find it a little info-dumpy, but holy crap, I have no problem with that when it means more explanations of how this flipping amazing multiverse works. I loved every second of the worldbuilding in this, and just... yes. It does not disappoint. Every part of it is intriguing and it hit ALL THE RIGHT NOTES (see what I did there?). XD- Dissonance, ARC, page 101
2. The Characters
Delancy, aka Del, is the main character, and Dissonance is told from her point of view. Del is seriously one of my favorite main characters I've read in a LONG time. She's incredibly talented at Walking, and she loves everything about it. She has an innate talent that she desperately wants to hone. But while she's super good at Walking, she's also a bit of a rule-breaker (understatement). Del tends to think she knows best about a lot of things, and that she can handle a lot more than people think she can. Oftentimes these things are true, but they're certainly not always true.
As far as they were concerned, I needed training. Someone to hold my hand while I took baby steps, when all I wanted to do was to run.Del's cockiness leads her to make some pretty huge mistakes -- throughout the book, but possibly most notably in the beginning, which spurs the rest of plot on. As a result of her actions, she's forbidden from Walking alone, and she has to train with her sister instead of going to her official Walker classes. Of course, Del doesn't exactly stick to her sister's lesson plans, especially when she starts noticing weird coincidences and learns of an anomaly in the multiverse that has people seriously worried. Many of Del's decisions are stupid and impulsive, but there was something about her drive and talent - and her ability to question her own beliefs and choices - that had me rooting for her no mater what she was doing.- Dissonance, ARC, page 5
"People die not because of what they did or didn't do. It's not their choice. It just... happens. Why bother choosing if the world's going to do what it wants regardless? What's the point in trying to make a difference?"Simon Lane is an Original who goes to Del's (normal) high school. Del has had a crush on him for years, but he doesn't really notice she exists until they're paired up for a project in music class. The weird thing is, as Del continues to Walk to Echo worlds, she keeps running into Simon's echos everywhere - and there's something about him, in every world, that she keeps falling for.
"Because it matters."- Dissonance, ARC, page 225
The most powerful choices are the ones that disrupt the status quo -- that break free of momentum and push into the unknown.I really liked Del's and Simon's relationship, despite some stupid decisions on Del's part. (Have you picked up on the fact that she makes bad choices? She does. I still love her.) There's something immediately compelling about Simon's echos, and eventually Original Simon, that I loved. His character also spurs a lot of debate in Del's own mind about the "reality" of echos and Echo Worlds, which was incredibly interesting.
They're also the most terrifying.- Dissonance, ARC, page 250
3. The Family Dynamics
Something else that Dissonance does so, so right, is its portrayal of Del's family. Even though her parents are largely absent, which is typical in YA, they are very much an important part of Del's life, and of the story itself - which is pretty atypical. When they are present, they are actually portrayed as real, actual people, not just annoying parental figures - which, hello, YAY. And despite the fact that they're Del's parents and her rule-breaking self is disgruntled with them a lot of the time, she really does love them fiercely. There's one scene where something happens (not gonna say what)... but I actually got a little teary, not gonna lie.
I also really liked Del's sister -- as a character -- despite her actions often being pretty unlikeable. Del's relationship with her sister isn't the best, but they try. And her sister also makes some serious mistakes, as well. (I just love that the characters are allowed to be stupid and selfish, but they also end up questioning and learning from those actions.)
By far my favorite relationship in this book was that of Del and her grandfather, Monty. Monty has been instrumental in training Del as a Walker as she grew up, and he has such intense belief in Del's ability and in her instincts. It was so fantastic to see this kind of familial bond be such a huge part of the story. That's rare, and it was so well-done here.
One small issue...
The only thing I had a true issue with in Dissonance was the ending. I can't talk about specifics because holy major twists and spoilers (which were all awesome)! But there's a LOT going on in the last ~15%ish of the book - a lot of stuff happening really quickly. After a fantastic and basically perfect first 400 pages, the last sections were pretty jam-packed, and ended up feeling rushed to me after being in a nice groove for so long. I got rather confused with everything that was going on with the Echos and Echo Worlds and inversions and bad frequencies... It got pretty complicated. The rest of the book's music-based sci-fi-science was absolutely fascinating and I was riveted, but the ending was just too much too fast, for me, so I got a bit cross-eyed for a while.
But, OMG THE VERY END. I love cliffhangers because they give me feels, but holy crap. The ending will make you NEED the next book IMMEDIATELY.
In conclusion...
I really, really liked Dissonance. I'd hyped it up so much in my head because I adore books about parallel universes - and the multiverse in this book absolutely did not disappoint. I loved the characters, the family dynamics, pretty much everything about this book. I'm probably going to have to go back and reread the ending to alleviate some of my confusion, but come on - when weighted against the awesomeness that was the rest of this book, that's such a tiny issue.
The more you care, the fewer choices you have. If you care enough, sometimes there's only one. A single, impossible way forward, and you have to take it. Because it's the only way to live with yourself.Bottom line: Read this book. And then cry with me over the fact that I haven't found ANY information about when the sequel is coming out. ;_;- Dissonance, ARC, page 409
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There were books involved...