Resonance

May 15, 2015
This sequel to Dissonance (2014) continues Del's adventures in a musical version of parallel universes. Sixteen-year-old Del can, like her parents, Walk between worlds of the multiverse. She knows how to find the musical strings that bind the worlds together. However, the ruling Consort strengthens their own Key World by "cleaving," or unraveling, other worlds. When Del learns that cleaving actually destroys billions of lives, she joins the rebel Free Walkers. She also learns that her sweetheart, Simon, has survived the cleaving of the world he was on and has become a major player in the fight against the Consort. Hiding on various different worlds, the rebels race against time to stop the Consort, which includes Del's parents, from cleaving massive numbers of worlds. Opposing them is Lattimer, leader of the Consort and a run-of-the-mill megalomaniac-style villain. O'Rourke does her best to balance suspense and romance. Her multiverse premise is hardly original, but she freshens it a bit by tying it to music, plucking that string consistently. Both plot and worldbuilding are so complicated that it will be difficult for new readers to follow-newcomers need not apply. Two escape sequences are too easy for the supposedly impossible-to-escape setting, but they do supply action. Standard rebels-against-impossible-odds plot with a mild twist. (Dystopian romance. 12-18)

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June 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Delancey Sullivan's world has just been turned upside down. She is a walker, someone with the genetic ability to travel to parallel worlds. Walkers working for the Consort maintain order and balance between these multiple universes and the original Key World to ensure harmony for all. Del has been raised to believe that the Consort's main purpose in cleaving a parallel world and its echoes is to make the Key World stronger and more stable. As it turns out, not all is at it seems. Del learns from the Free Walkers, a rebel group trying to expose the Consort, that much of what she has been taught is lies designed to keep the Consort in power. When the love of her life, Simon, a half-Walker and echo, is lost in a cleaving, Del is devastated. Soon after, she finds out that Simon is not lost and the Free Walkers can reunite them. But the price is high-she must join them and go against the Consort, her family, her friends, and all she has known. In this sequel to Dissonance (S. & S., 2014), O'Rourke once again captivates readers with an intricate and complex alternative universe that is full of suspense and intrigue. Such descriptive and vivid writing not only drives the action-packed plot, but makes the link between the musical threads and science of free walking easy to visualize. Some strong new characters are added to the mix, allowing questions about a person's worth, honor, and value to be explored. VERDICT A fascinating and gratifying conclusion to this original and unique series.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

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