lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
4.0
*I received a free ARC of Dissonance from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers via Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review*
A fresh story on alternate universes - Dissonance shows us what might happen if by every single choice we make, the 'what if' creates a new world with the choice not taken.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
A fresh story on alternate universes - Dissonance shows us what might happen if by every single choice we make, the 'what if' creates a new world with the choice not taken.
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
amarylissw's review
4.0
I think I'm verging on a 3.75 stars here.
The world-building in this story was excellent. Well researched, even to a point that anyone who doesn't have a disposition to science might be confused (I understood enough to be able to still follow the story, but some parts were still confusing as I am terrible at science). One question I do have about the world, though, is how was Walking discovered? How did the Consort form and how do more people not know of the Walkers?
Anyway, my biggest problem with this story was probably the characters. The plot some might find slow (especially since it's a nearly five hundred page book, thick with romance!), but the characters irritated more. Del herself wasn't a terrible protagonist, and I get that she's supposed to be the trouble-maker, but she seems so offended when she breaks a rule, almost dies, and then gets in trouble for it. If it was a stupid rule, sure, I'd be mad, too. But the rule seemed perfectly fair to me seeing as she and her sister could've almost DIED.
Another thing. I started off hating the two sisters' relationship, then it got better, and then it kind of fell apart again. Being fairly close to my sister, I thought Del and Addie were both so mean to each other, but maybe it's normal, I don't know.
Best friend falls in love with protagonist and the protagonist pretends to not notice/ignores it? So cliché.
Simon was pretty boring. Had no substance, nothing to make him different than another thousand love interests we've had before.
Also, Monty. I was kind of annoyed by this. In the end, we
The writing was pretty good, and had some awesome moments even. But what makes this story really shine is the world-building. Much better than most YAs these days.
The world-building in this story was excellent. Well researched, even to a point that anyone who doesn't have a disposition to science might be confused (I understood enough to be able to still follow the story, but some parts were still confusing as I am terrible at science). One question I do have about the world, though, is how was Walking discovered? How did the Consort form and how do more people not know of the Walkers?
Anyway, my biggest problem with this story was probably the characters. The plot some might find slow (especially since it's a nearly five hundred page book, thick with romance!), but the characters irritated more. Del herself wasn't a terrible protagonist, and I get that she's supposed to be the trouble-maker, but she seems so offended when she breaks a rule, almost dies, and then gets in trouble for it. If it was a stupid rule, sure, I'd be mad, too. But the rule seemed perfectly fair to me seeing as she and her sister could've almost DIED.
Another thing. I started off hating the two sisters' relationship, then it got better, and then it kind of fell apart again. Being fairly close to my sister, I thought Del and Addie were both so mean to each other, but maybe it's normal, I don't know.
Best friend falls in love with protagonist and the protagonist pretends to not notice/ignores it? So cliché.
Simon was pretty boring. Had no substance, nothing to make him different than another thousand love interests we've had before.
Also, Monty. I was kind of annoyed by this. In the end, we
Spoiler
figure out that he's been manipulating Del for pretty much her whole life in order to find Rose, his wife, who disappeared a long time ago. Del seems so hurt by this, and she hopes he "rots" in his cell where he'd been taken. But to me, I couldn't really understand this. Sure, I'd be angry, too, but Monty is her grandfather and she's loved and looked up to him for her whole life. And plus, she found Simon, and she definitely manipulated people to be with him. How is that so different than what Monty did? So yeah, that just kind of annoyed me. Especially since I thought Monty was one of the more interesting characters in the story.The writing was pretty good, and had some awesome moments even. But what makes this story really shine is the world-building. Much better than most YAs these days.
samiism's review
3.0
This was really confusing. I feel like I needed a degree in music to understand what was going on. I might have to reread the book because terms like "Echo", "strings", "Key World", "break", "inversion", and whatever else where just thrown in and explained hurriedly.
Lack of musical knowledge aside, this was a well-written book. Lots of similes and metaphors, which helped me understand what the heck was going on.
Lack of musical knowledge aside, this was a well-written book. Lots of similes and metaphors, which helped me understand what the heck was going on.
dani_bugz's review against another edition
4.0
Now this is how you write a book on parallel worlds!
The world building in this novel was BRILLIANT! Everything was so well thought out and structured, and better yet, it didn't come out in a massive info-dump sesh. So yeah, I was very, very happy. Additionally, it was a very addictive read. I had an exam today, but as soon as that was done I smashed through three quarters of Dissonance!
Alas, not everything was rainbows and sunshine. It was a typical YA romance; a sexy jock falling for the freaky chic, him being totally moody and the usual 'I want to love you... but can I?' shiz going down. There was even one of those love triangles, but this one didn't even go anywhere! Though, honestly, it will likely make more sense in the next book. But hey, you get that!
All in all it was a great read and I am sooo looking forward to the sequel.
The world building in this novel was BRILLIANT! Everything was so well thought out and structured, and better yet, it didn't come out in a massive info-dump sesh. So yeah, I was very, very happy. Additionally, it was a very addictive read. I had an exam today, but as soon as that was done I smashed through three quarters of Dissonance!
Alas, not everything was rainbows and sunshine. It was a typical YA romance; a sexy jock falling for the freaky chic, him being totally moody and the usual 'I want to love you... but can I?' shiz going down. There was even one of those love triangles, but this one didn't even go anywhere! Though, honestly, it will likely make more sense in the next book. But hey, you get that!
All in all it was a great read and I am sooo looking forward to the sequel.
alexperc_92's review against another edition
3.0
Although I began reading the book with the hope to see action and a hint of Doctor Who-like travel, I really didn't expect to have this story.
Del is a flawed character; there were times when i wanted to get into the book and kick her for her egoistic nature but as the book progressed, I saw that her choices were really motivated because of her parents and later by Simon. She felt inferior to her sister and this is a part which gets to be shown in almost every page, to my annoyance.
Simon was mostly one of the strongest characters. While he looked arrogant, he was dealing with great obstacles and many times I rooted for him, instead of Del.
The whole concerpt was really original but I would like to see quicker development on the next books.
Del is a flawed character; there were times when i wanted to get into the book and kick her for her egoistic nature but as the book progressed, I saw that her choices were really motivated because of her parents and later by Simon. She felt inferior to her sister and this is a part which gets to be shown in almost every page, to my annoyance.
Simon was mostly one of the strongest characters. While he looked arrogant, he was dealing with great obstacles and many times I rooted for him, instead of Del.
The whole concerpt was really original but I would like to see quicker development on the next books.
vr_alyssa's review against another edition
2.0
2017 review: Interesting concept, great idea. However, the characters are little flat. I don't think I'll read the sequel.
toastii's review
2.0
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. It took me awhile to finally pick it up.
I was really excited to read this book. The cover art is great, the synopsis sounded amazing.
I liked how the book was split into movements, the third sending us into the next book.
I had a problem getting in touch with the main character, Del, at first. She is very selfish and does not seem to care how the decisions she makes affect the people around her, including her family and closest friend. Del is a Walker, a person who can travel into different worlds and keep everything in harmony. These worlds are very fragile, though - any decision one makes creates another parallel-world.
The other problem I had was the main characters crush, Simon. He was everywhere.
I did start to enjoy the book more towards the ending, but I just couldn't agree with the main character and I had a tough time with that.
I was really excited to read this book. The cover art is great, the synopsis sounded amazing.
I liked how the book was split into movements, the third sending us into the next book.
I had a problem getting in touch with the main character, Del, at first. She is very selfish and does not seem to care how the decisions she makes affect the people around her, including her family and closest friend. Del is a Walker, a person who can travel into different worlds and keep everything in harmony. These worlds are very fragile, though - any decision one makes creates another parallel-world.
The other problem I had was the main characters crush, Simon. He was everywhere.
I did start to enjoy the book more towards the ending, but I just couldn't agree with the main character and I had a tough time with that.
sillyhappy's review
3.0
I loved this world. I love the idea of the multiverse and it's fun. This world and Walkers though is too much for me and my not so deep reading. I still don't quite understand what it looks like to go from the Key World to an Echo.
I wasn't planning on writing a review so below is probably just going to be a jumble of thoughts that could potentially contain spoilers.
As characters go, Del is too different from me to truly relate to. I don't truly understand her life to put it simply. Obviously a book is going to ignore parts where she doesn't do things. But how often was she ditching classes to Walk? Maybe I'm too used to fanfiction where I'm used to extra details built on existing known ones that I just want more knowledge about characters. Maybe I read too shallowly to pick up deeper hints of what more there is to her.
Another thing is that as books go, this could be kind of considered a slow read. All the action seems to lie in the last 50 pages of the book. It escalates quickly to end up a read the next book for more ending. Her grandfather's story seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly to me.
I feel baited by the inside summary. The big secret that was revealed in this book was likely the Free Walkers. Honestly I was expecting more than that. While I'm not one to truly think of resistance, learning about one doesn't surprise me. Having Del's grandfather know Simon's mother wasn't shocking either. We know something's weird with Simon so for that sort of thing to happen, it's not that odd.
What I'm more curious of is Simon's status as a half Walker. I don't believe in a pure bloodline idea. If there's anything I've learned from reading Harry Potter fanfiction, that can't end well. Also at some point they'd get to over interbreeding and go crazy. Which brings me to wondering if is Simon a pivot because he's half Walker or because of how half Walkers are regarded that he is a pivot. It makes me believe that the Counsel's actions are the reason that Simon has such an impact. His ability to Walk lies in him and he potentially could have been trained. But the Counsel's belief of "pure" Walkers results in his existence to increase in importance of the worlds. Obviously there are flaws with that idea, but who's here to argue with me over a book published 3 years ago?
I wasn't planning on writing a review so below is probably just going to be a jumble of thoughts that could potentially contain spoilers.
As characters go, Del is too different from me to truly relate to. I don't truly understand her life to put it simply. Obviously a book is going to ignore parts where she doesn't do things. But how often was she ditching classes to Walk? Maybe I'm too used to fanfiction where I'm used to extra details built on existing known ones that I just want more knowledge about characters. Maybe I read too shallowly to pick up deeper hints of what more there is to her.
Another thing is that as books go, this could be kind of considered a slow read. All the action seems to lie in the last 50 pages of the book. It escalates quickly to end up a read the next book for more ending. Her grandfather's story seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly to me.
I feel baited by the inside summary. The big secret that was revealed in this book was likely the Free Walkers. Honestly I was expecting more than that. While I'm not one to truly think of resistance, learning about one doesn't surprise me. Having Del's grandfather know Simon's mother wasn't shocking either. We know something's weird with Simon so for that sort of thing to happen, it's not that odd.
What I'm more curious of is Simon's status as a half Walker. I don't believe in a pure bloodline idea. If there's anything I've learned from reading Harry Potter fanfiction, that can't end well. Also at some point they'd get to over interbreeding and go crazy. Which brings me to wondering if is Simon a pivot because he's half Walker or because of how half Walkers are regarded that he is a pivot. It makes me believe that the Counsel's actions are the reason that Simon has such an impact. His ability to Walk lies in him and he potentially could have been trained. But the Counsel's belief of "pure" Walkers results in his existence to increase in importance of the worlds. Obviously there are flaws with that idea, but who's here to argue with me over a book published 3 years ago?