What do you think?
Rate this book
Dissonants
Jo was broken. Tattered from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child, she finds a new life with the woman who adopts her. Still, she keeps running, hiding, and fighting as the years go on. Until she meets Ben. A kind boy who she shares a class with during her freshman year of high school. Free of judgment, Jo falls in love with him and reveals her scars, creating an unbreakable bond. Now in their senior year, Ben is drawn back to his childhood friend, Emily, who faced the same abuse as Jo. This drives him to help her escape that reality, but before he can do anything, she is sent away by her abuser and father, Robert. Thoughts of leaving a dear friend to suffer takes its toll on Ben, a weight Jo shares with him. Soon after, their paths unexpectedly cross with three others, three powerful stories that tie them all together. This incredible coincidence births a set of unique friendships, and inspires Ben to do whatever he can to help them heal. Will he lose himself, or possibly the one he loves most, in the end?
444 pages, Paperback
Published November 24, 2020
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 21, 2021
Released November 23, 2020
I received a copy of Dissonants by Antonio Rivera thanks to the publisher through Reedsy in exchange for an honest review.
Content warning: sexual abuse, child abuse, familial abuse, abduction/kidnapping, sexual content
Blurb thanks to Reedsy:
“Jo was broken. Tattered from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child, she finds a new life with the woman who adopts her. Still, she keeps running, hiding, and fighting as the years go on. Until she meets Ben. A kind boy who she shares a class with during her freshman year of high school. Free of judgment, Jo falls in love with him and reveals her scars, creating an unbreakable bond. Now in their senior year, Ben is drawn back to his childhood friend, Emily, who faced the same abuse as Jo. This drives him to help her escape that reality, but before he can do anything, she is sent away by her abuser and father, Robert. Thoughts of leaving a dear friend to suffer takes its toll on Ben, a weight Jo shares with him. Soon after, their paths unexpectedly cross with three others, three powerful stories that tie them all together. This incredible coincidence births a set of unique friendships, and inspires Ben to do whatever he can to help them heal. Will he lose himself, or possibly the one he loves most, in the end?”
Review:
First off, I want to give some love to the cover. It is so eye catching that I needed to see what it was about. I also love all of the small details included for Jo!
Secondly, the blurb needs to be discussed. After reading the blurb I knew this was going to be an emotional read. Sexual abuse, especially that of children, is a very prolific and horrendous act. I was nervous about the way this topic would be discussed, but it was done well. There was acceptance and love from those not involved in the act in the character’s lives. Additionally, understanding and patience was very evident, both of which are crucial with victims. Trying to pressure them to talk about the incident(s) is further trauma and completely unnecessary. Yes, there is the desire to know what happen to provide context, but the main reason is almost always to get ‘gossip’. This does not occur here, which makes me happy.
Next is the characters and their development. There are a bunch of major characters in this story, although Jo and Ben are the main ones. Since there are so many characters involved (4 outside of Jo, Ben, the ‘bad guy(s)’, and minor characters), I expected it to be a bit confusing. However, this was not the case. Each character had a distinctive voice and personality, which made it easy to remember who was who. It also helps that the story is in 3rd person with names used regularly. A+ writing design. I do have a few complaints though. There is very little character development (if any) and the way the individual ‘groups’ come together feels… forced. They all have similar histories (well minus one) and a plan is formed that ‘requires’ all of them despite not knowing multiple players for long.
I also want to discuss pacing. I thought this would have a decent pace, with points of increased tension and lulls to ‘regroup’. But this isn’t the case. Throughout most of the story the pace is slooooow. To the point where I would have DNF’d if I didn’t like the writing style. Even the characters were not quite enough to hold my attention for long (although I do love Jo).
Overall, the story was enjoyable. It is written incredibly well and tackles a difficult topic in an appropriate manner that is sensitive to the victims involved. There were places I lost myself and others where I was pushing myself to get though. I do recommend the story, although definitely definitely be cautious of the content warnings because they are HARD and central to the plot and characters.
Recommended with content warnings and slow pacing expectations.
I received a copy of Dissonants by Antonio Rivera thanks to the publisher through Reedsy in exchange for an honest review.
Content warning: sexual abuse, child abuse, familial abuse, abduction/kidnapping, sexual content
Blurb thanks to Reedsy:
“Jo was broken. Tattered from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child, she finds a new life with the woman who adopts her. Still, she keeps running, hiding, and fighting as the years go on. Until she meets Ben. A kind boy who she shares a class with during her freshman year of high school. Free of judgment, Jo falls in love with him and reveals her scars, creating an unbreakable bond. Now in their senior year, Ben is drawn back to his childhood friend, Emily, who faced the same abuse as Jo. This drives him to help her escape that reality, but before he can do anything, she is sent away by her abuser and father, Robert. Thoughts of leaving a dear friend to suffer takes its toll on Ben, a weight Jo shares with him. Soon after, their paths unexpectedly cross with three others, three powerful stories that tie them all together. This incredible coincidence births a set of unique friendships, and inspires Ben to do whatever he can to help them heal. Will he lose himself, or possibly the one he loves most, in the end?”
Review:
First off, I want to give some love to the cover. It is so eye catching that I needed to see what it was about. I also love all of the small details included for Jo!
Secondly, the blurb needs to be discussed. After reading the blurb I knew this was going to be an emotional read. Sexual abuse, especially that of children, is a very prolific and horrendous act. I was nervous about the way this topic would be discussed, but it was done well. There was acceptance and love from those not involved in the act in the character’s lives. Additionally, understanding and patience was very evident, both of which are crucial with victims. Trying to pressure them to talk about the incident(s) is further trauma and completely unnecessary. Yes, there is the desire to know what happen to provide context, but the main reason is almost always to get ‘gossip’. This does not occur here, which makes me happy.
Next is the characters and their development. There are a bunch of major characters in this story, although Jo and Ben are the main ones. Since there are so many characters involved (4 outside of Jo, Ben, the ‘bad guy(s)’, and minor characters), I expected it to be a bit confusing. However, this was not the case. Each character had a distinctive voice and personality, which made it easy to remember who was who. It also helps that the story is in 3rd person with names used regularly. A+ writing design. I do have a few complaints though. There is very little character development (if any) and the way the individual ‘groups’ come together feels… forced. They all have similar histories (well minus one) and a plan is formed that ‘requires’ all of them despite not knowing multiple players for long.
I also want to discuss pacing. I thought this would have a decent pace, with points of increased tension and lulls to ‘regroup’. But this isn’t the case. Throughout most of the story the pace is slooooow. To the point where I would have DNF’d if I didn’t like the writing style. Even the characters were not quite enough to hold my attention for long (although I do love Jo).
Overall, the story was enjoyable. It is written incredibly well and tackles a difficult topic in an appropriate manner that is sensitive to the victims involved. There were places I lost myself and others where I was pushing myself to get though. I do recommend the story, although definitely definitely be cautious of the content warnings because they are HARD and central to the plot and characters.
Recommended with content warnings and slow pacing expectations.
Displaying 1 of 1 review