Welcome back to Rate & Review Books with NCBC!
August’s book review comes from another long-standing club in the Columbus area. This Tuesday night Next Chapter Book Club has been gathering for nearly 20 years!
Book: Conceal, Don’t Feel
Author: Jen Calonita
First, please tell our readers a little about your book club.
Ken shares, “We talk about everybody’s day and catch up with friends.” With many of these members nearing 20 years in the club, they know one another well and have become friends indeed.
“It is a good book club. Very nice group of people,” says Kristin.
Co-facilitator Christine started as a club member and was eventually trained to co-facilitate the group. She says, “It’s fun. It’s very much a place to connect.”
Another member, Eric, helpfully keeps a journal of what happens in the story. He says, “We read a book and discuss it with my notebook. I keep a summary at the end of each chapter. It’s a great experience.” Thank you for helping your book club stay on track from week to week, Eric!
Peter shares, “We read Gulliver’s Travels.”
“That’s right, Jack Black was in that movie,” Eric adds.
“Yes,” Peter says. “We watched the movie at my parents’ house.” Like several other book clubs, this group will sometimes gather to watch the movie version of a book they’ve read. Most of the time, members will still enjoy the book more. Though, in this case, Jack Black may have put this movie over the top!
Left to right: Christine, Liz, Eric, Kieran, Peter, Ken
Since a few people were missing for the first group photo, we are sharing two photos this month.
Left to right: Ken, Christine, Peter, Kristin, Natalie, Liz, Brittany, Kieran
What is Conceal, Don’t Feel about?
Peter says, “It’s a book about what if Anna and Elsa never met each other.” Conceal, Don’t Feel is one of Disney’s Twisted Tales. In these stories, one important detail is changed, which creates a whole new story.
Eric adds, “Elsa has gloves that conceal her powers. It helps her. Sometimes her powers can get out of control. Her sister Anna has fire powers. Anna is remembering back when she was a child with flowers everywhere. There were so many flowers it looked like snow.”
Kristin shares, “I’ve enjoyed all the chapters so far and really like reading about Olaf.”
How easy was this book to understand?
Kieran says, “I think it’s very easy to understand.”
“The book is very well written,” Kristin adds.
“There are always new words to learn,” Christine says. Isn’t that the truth, Christine? In Next Chapter Book Clubs, when clubs come across a new word, they usually stop briefly to talk about what it means, and sometimes someone will look it up on their phone.
Thinking about the movie Frozen, Ken shares, “The music helps me to connect with the book.”
What did you like about the book?
Kristin likes that “it’s another variation of the Frozen story.”
Eric gives the book high praise, saying, “It’s written perfectly.”
Summing things up, Kieran says, “We like it so far.”
Were there any parts you didn’t like? If so, what were they?
While Kristin says, “I have nothing to dislike,” Peter points out one character they do not like.
“Prince Hans,” he says.
“He’s the bad guy,” Eric adds.
If another Next Chapter Book Club was thinking about reading this book, what would you tell them?
“I’d recommend it. It’s really interesting and has great imaginary things,” Christine says.
Eric says that he would “definitely” recommend the book to other book clubs, and Kristin adds, “Enjoy! You will like it.”
Ken gives a recommendation for joining a book club, saying “I love reading books. It makes me happy to be here.” We are so glad to hear that, Ken!
What book has been your favorite so far?
It can be hard to pick just one book after reading so many together! Some members give their top two books.
- Ken: Percy Jackson, series by Rick Riordan
- Peter: Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Frankenstein, original story by Mary Shelley
- Kieran: Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling
- Eric: Conceal, Don’t Feel, by Jen Calonita, and Percy Jackson, series by Rick Riordan
- Kristin: Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo, and Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Christine: A Whole New World, by Liz Braswell (a Disney Twisted Tale about the Aladdin story)
Please rate this book on a scale from 1 to 5 stars.
This club gave Conceal, Don’t Feel an average of 4.83 out of 5 stars.
