Conceal, Don’t Feel by Jen Calonita

Bibliographic Information:

• Title: Conceal, Don’t Feel
• Author: Jen Calonita
• ISBN: 1368052231
• Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
• Copyright Date: October 1, 2019

Genre: Fiction/Fairy Tale-Folklore/Adaptations

Format: Book

Awards/Honors: None

Reading Level/Interest Level: Teens Grades 10-12, Ages 15-18. Baker & Taylor, Titlesource360). (Other sources rate this book for grades 6-12).

Plot Summary: “What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?” This is the premise of Conceal, Don’t Feel, a Twisted Tale adaptation of the movie Frozen (which is loosely based on the fairy tale The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen.) Do to a curse accidentally placed on the sisters when they were young, their parents were forced to separate them, and their memories of each other were erased. Elsa grew up as a princess in castle with her parents, the King and Queen of Arendelle, while Anna grew up with adopted parents who owned a bakery in a nearby village. After the king and queen were tragically killed in an accident (typical Disney storyline), Elsa discovered she has magic powers. She could create ice and snow through her fingers. Unable to control her magic, Elsa turned the kingdom into a frozen wasteland and ran away to the mountains. She started to have flashbacks of her childhood, which included images of a younger child. Determined to discover who the mysterious girl was, Elsa visited the troll who had cast the curse on her when she was a child. He told Elsa she needed to learn to control her magic before she would be able to reunite with her sister.

Author Background: Jen Calonita is the author of many middle grade and young adult books, including the series Secrets of My Hollywood Life and Fairy Tale Reform School. Jen admits that as a child, she hated reading and writing, but due to a teacher who helped her find books about her passions (dance, funny movies, and big adventures), she became an avid reader and began to write (Calonita, N.D.). Calonita is obsessed with Disney and loves fairy tales. She is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of Teen People magazine. She has written over two dozen books about young Hollywood celebrities.

Calonita was born, and currently lives, on Long Island, NY. She is married, has two boys and two chihuahuas. Jen hopes that people “will have fun and escape into a new world for a bit” through her novels (Vivona, 2018). Her advice to young readers is “the more you read, the better you’re going to write” (Vivona, 2018).

Critical Evaluation: Conceal, Don’t Feel is well written but a little slow moving. The story is what I would consider light fantasy- a little magic but nothing too fantastic. The story is really about two girls trying to find each other. It is true to the movie while spinning the plot a little- I thought it could have been more creatively done. Although the audiobook was rated for teens ages 15-18, it is better suited for middle grade students and younger teens. I found this book to be a little underwhelming, however fans of Disney, in particular Frozen, would enjoy it. I plan on reading another book from the Twisted Tale series in the future to see how it compares.

Creative Use for a Library Program: Since Conceal, Don’t Feel is an adaptation of the Disney movie Frozen, I would show the movie (if copyright permits this), followed by a discussion of the differences between the original story and the “Twisted Tale” adaptation. A frozen treat, such as ice cream or Italian Ices would be served.

Speed-Round Book Talk: What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other? Would we still know Olaf? Would Elsa become the Queen of Arendelle? If you are a fan of the movie Frozen, check out this “Twisted Tale” of Anna and Elsa and their lives in an alternate universe. Share their adventures as they search for each other through a frozen wasteland, learn their family’s secrets, and try to connect.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: The only potential challenge I see is the use of magic. Although many fantasy books contain magic, there is a segment of the population who does not approve. The defense would be that it is fiction- the book is not pretending that magic is real.

Reason for Inclusion: The Twisted Tales series is a collection of YA books by different authors based on “what if” scenarios of different Disney movies. The series is very popular with teens and twenty-somethings. This demographic grew up watching Disney animated films and possibly vacationing in Disney World and seeing the Broadway shows. I included Conceal, Don’t Feel as a representation of the series so readers could decide if they want to dive into the series or not.

References:

Bitch of Rome Entertainment. (2014, December 27). Conceal, Don’t Feel- Frozen music video. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhxq1Uan18o&t=40s&ab_channel=BitchofRomeEntertainment

Calonita, J. (N.D.). Bio. Jencalonitaonline.com. Retrieved from https://www.jencalonitaonline.com/bio.html

Official Jen Calonita. (2020, April 16). Twisting your favorite fairy tales. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwsoKPXwn-M&ab_channel=OfficialJenCalonita

Vivona, V. (2018, June 13). Author interview & review: the scoop on Jen Calonita. Sarahscoop.com. Retrieved from https://sarahscoop.com/author-interview-review-the-scoop-on-jen-calonita/