Today I decided I’d write a Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review – I’m so glad that this rhyme, just makes it much cooler. Like many of the books that I pick up, I started this one not knowing anything about it. I didn’t even know that Disney made books! I knew the title made me start singing “Let it Go” crazily inside my head but I thought it was just a coincidence. Nop! This is a retelling of Frozen, by Disney. It’s part of a series called Twisted Tales, and there’s a bunch of retelling of Disney stories. This is written by Jen Calonita. So, let’s jump right into Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review (I can’t stop saying that)
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review – The Summary
Anna and Elsa are sisters who were separated when they were little and their memories were erased, so no one remembers Princess Anna – except for her parents. This was because Elsa’s powers were dangerous to Anna, one day she almost killed her, so their parents asked for the help of some magic trolls. Initially, the trolls of the forest were only going to wipe the memory of the powers away from Anna, but Elsa interfered with her magic and blacked out. This created a curse, in which Elsa would only remember Anna when she needed her sister the most. Elsa grows up quite lonely, and even she doesn’t remember her powers until the day her parents die.
Things start going wrong on the coronation day when Elsa turns eighteen. She had already created Olaf again by then and Prince Hans want to marry her – not Anna, like in the movie. Elsa finds a letter that her mom left her, telling her all about Anna, and she goes crazy. She accidentally shows her powers to the kingdom and people start thinking she’s a witch, so she runs away, putting the kingdom under a winter curse, in which the worst winter of all times starts right in the middle of the summer. People start to starve and lack resources. The only way to save Arandelle is by finding Elsa and breaking the curse. Anna is the person that’s going to do that. She learns about her own past and is determined to find her “sister”.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review – Original Blurb:
What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other?
When a magical accident erases Anna and Elsa’s memories not only of magic, but of each other the sisters are separated for protection. But when Elsa unexpectedly finds herself as a young queen mysterious magic begins to happen and questions of her past start to form. Will the sisters ever be reunited?
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review – The Good:
- The cover art;
- The characters stay true to themselves;
- If you like Frozen, you’ll probably like this too;
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: The cover art
I had to start by pointing this out. Just look at this magnificent cover. It made me want to read the book as soon as I lay my eyes on it. It feels magical, and only marginally makes us remember the movie. I was afraid that this book would be too childish when I heard it was about Frozen, but the cover gave me hope, and I’m glad I picked this up.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: The characters stay true to themselves
The thing that I liked the most about this book was that Elsa was our Elsa from the movies, Anna was our Anna, Olaf was our Olaf, and so on. It’s really hard, as a writer, to write other people’s characters and make them sound like they originally did. Elsa is still cold, insecure, motivated, and brave. Anna is still funny, clumsy, lovable, and loyal. Olaf is still funny and caring.
Hans is less childish than in the movie, but that’s good. He feels more well-developed, and not so one note. I guess him trying to lure Elsa and not Anna helped, as Elsa is much more critical and introspective.
Kristoff is the only one that falls short in my opinion. It’s almost as if in this new version, we don’t need him as much. At least he has Sven, who is still really cute.
Olaf is silly and funny. He says the same thing as in the movie: I like warm hugs, and I love Summer.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: If you like Frozen, you’ll probably like this too
At times, this felt almost like a fanfic. The same characters and settings, a different story. There’s much of the original movie, even the same scenes, but in a different order. The logic makes sense, and, sometimes, it’s even better than the original lore. I don’t see how a die-hard fan wouldn’t like it. It’s the same movie in a book format with extra things. What’s not to love? Elsa still teaches us a lesson that it doesn’t matter how much you want to hide who you truly are, it won’t work, and your real power will only flourish when you stop concealing it and not feeling it, and let it go!
Before writing my own review, I read some other conceal, don’t feel book review and some people hated it because it was too much like the movie. Almost as if it’s the movie in a different order and with some minor twists.
But as I really like the movie, I thought this was great. The worst thing is when you already love a setting and characters, and something changes and destroys it – Cursed Child, I’m looking at you.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review – The Bad:
- The logic still doesn’t make much sense;
- Some things were out of character just to fit in;
- It’s extremely predictable.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: The logic still doesn’t make much sense
Why does Elsa have powers and nobody else does? How come she didn’t have any accidents for 18 years and then it happens? How did she forget she had powers for 15 years in the first place? I don’t understand the trolls’ magic. I also don’t understand this curse they’re talking about. Things are confusing and not very well-developed. Oh, well.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: Some things were out of character just to fit in
I don’t know if Disney demanded that at least 80% of the movie scenes were in the book, you know how Disney is, but it feels as if the author were made to put everything in the movie in the book, even if it didn’t fit in. For example, there’s one scene where Elsa finishes Hans’ sentences, just like Anna does in the movie. This seems just so out of character and out of place. Elsa is not Anna, and I feel like she would tell Hans to f*ck off instead of finishing his sentences.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: It’s extremely predictable
This book is the same as the movie, just different. If you want a real twist, a different ending, or a real change, definitely do not get this book. You simply know what’s going to happen and how it’s going to end, you know about Hans and Kristoff, and Elsa, the death of their parents, the accident, everything. Nothing new.
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: Q&A Time
I found these questions on Google and I’ll try to answer them.
What is the book Conceal Don’t Feel about?
Conceal Don’t Feel is about Elsa and Anna’s story but as if they had forgotten they were sisters.
Is Conceal Don’t Feel the same book as Let it Go?
Yes, Conceal Don’t Feel is sometimes referred to as Let it Go, but there’s only one retelling of Frozen in the Twisted Tales series.
What Genre is Conceal Don’t Feel?
Conceal Don’t Feel is fantasy.
Do you have to read Twisted Tales in order?
You don’t have to read Twisted Tales in order. I’ve never read any of the other books, and I read this one just fine.
What age is the Twisted Tales series for?
The Twisted Tales series can be read at any age, but I’d say 8-16 years old would enjoy it more?
Conceal, Don’t Feel Book Review: Final Thoughts
I really liked this book. I read it in less than 2 hours. It’s simple, the story is fun, it’s predictable, and nothing made me mad about it, which is really freaking rare. If you like Frozen, you’ll probably like this too.
4 stars!
