Dissonance

Gr 9 Up—Delancy Sullivan is a Walker, someone with the genetic ability to travel to parallel worlds. When choices are made in the "Key World," an alternate reality is established where an echo follows a different path. Walkers maintain order and balance between these multiple universes and the Key World to ensure harmony for all. Walkers travel by feeling and hearing musical frequencies called threads. These threads connect the multiple worlds allowing them to sense discord and then either fix or destroy it. On a routine training mission things go terrible wrong, and if not for Del's unconventional thinking, she and her sister Addison would have been lost. As a result the Consort, the governing council for Walkers, suspends Del from Walking, determining that her reckless ways need proper supervision. Headstrong and determined, Del questions the Consort's motives as well as her parents' secret involvement in a mysterious multiverse anomaly. But the investigation turns her world upside down as she faces difficult choices as well as accept their consequences. O'Rourke brilliantly builds an intricate and complex alternate science-fiction universe that contains beautiful imagery and visualization. The pacing and attention to detail drive the plot forward, while the link between Walking and music is fascinating. The well-defined characters deal with important themes such as family, loyalty, romance, and betrayal. A definite page-turner full of thought-provoking discussions about morality and humanity. Throw in a pseudo love triangle, forbidden romance, sibling rivalry, a witty grandpa, and a cliff-hanger ending, and fans will be longing for the next installment.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY