Scan barcode
als_booklist's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mj56_3's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
rachelkay1821's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was fine! A quick, easy MG read that was fun and suspenseful. Not the best action/"spy" one I've read but still entertaining.
mariahistryingtoread's review
2.0
*I am reading all of the books on the 2022 SSYRA Grades 6 to 8 list. This was book #1 read out of 15 total. It’s book #8 in terms of quality of the 9 I’ve read so far. If you want to see a complete list altogether in one place in order of best to worst check out my ko-fi. As of 7/10/22 The Elephant In The Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan is my next read.*
Concealed has such an interesting premise. It's a shame the book was so lacking.
I'll be the first to admit I'm hard on books. I try to give books for kids some grace because I am well aware I'm outside the target demo, but that only extends so far. The mere existence of phenomenal children's literature is proof that bad kid lit has to exist as well - why else would there be distinctions if it's all the same level of quality either way? All of this is to say that while I do expect a kid will enjoy Concealed, it objectively still has flaws.
First off it relies heavily on one of my least favorite archetypes - the computer whiz.
Unless the genre is contemporary, a character being good at computers is almost always guaranteed to be a crutch. This is because outside of contemporary where it's allowed to simply be a normal trait even if the character is particularly talented, in other genres it inevitably devolves into a cheap way to move the story along through 'hacking'. Computer science skills can be difficult to convey realistically as the general populace is largely unaware of the intricacies of working with computers. Movies and TV help somewhat because they provide a kind of template to follow at least even if it's rarely accurate. Most people still get the gist of what's going on.
Hacking is a whole other level, however, because of the complexity involved. I know more than a lot of people about computers, but I in no way am able to understand exactly how hacking works. All I've got is that it involves coding. I've never seen hacking portrayed accurately in a book before. The author always has the convenient excuse of 'well it'd be too much to explain in layman's terms for these purposes' which means the character is largely able to do whatever the plot demands whenever necessary and as the reader you're expected to simply eat it because technically you can't argue that it's not possible. On the other side it means when the character is unable to do something it feels arbitrary and manufactured as the author can't fully articulate why it doesn't work either. It just doesn't now because the story calls for it not to work.
Such is the case of Katrina's new friend Parker. He's 12 but he's so good with computers he's able to hack into banks and high tech million dollar facilities. Obviously this is for kids which comes with some suspension of disbelief so I'm not nearly as bothered as I could be. A lot of kid books involve a certain level of wish fulfillment. Still, it reached a point when it started to feel like a cop out. It was doubly frustrating since Parker was the only one with any utility to the story as Katrina had no discernible skills of her own.
While I didn't like the over reliance on Parker's hacking at least he was contributing. Katrina was dead weight the entire time. She was the key to the mystery, but that was simply by existing. Other than that she brought nothing to the table. She wasn't clever or quick witted or funny. She was a vessel to move through the plot points, nothing more. Most of the book was her merely subsisting in the same space as the other characters while the other characters did things. She never came up with ideas or figured anything out for herself. There was always someone else who got the ball rolling. She was supposed to be great at lying due to her upbringing, but she wasn't even good at that as she failed pretty much every time she was ever put to the test.
It doesn't help that the kids are saddled with a handler the entire book who helps them do all the real heavy lifting meaning she has very little opportunity to prove her skills either way.
The entire appeal of kids books is to see kid protagonists take on situations adults think they can't handle and come out on top. That's the basis of middle grade as a demographic signifier regardless of genre. Adults can and do help, of course, depending on the goal of the novel. Even so, the kids are supposed to be the primary force pushing the story along.
Concealed doesn't work that way. Instead of reading about the kids ducking and dodging evil minions or scrounging their last two cents together to buy a meal or using clues to find out what the next location is, the two are carted around by the handler the whole time. He makes sure they're safe and taken care of the majority of the adventure. He is in complete control of all the logistics. After the initial escape from the guys who kidnap her mother the kids only have to get by on their own wits in the final quarter. At that point it was too late to salvage since that left over a hundred pages in the middle where they were sitting pretty.
The big mystery was interesting enough. I guessed the gist of it fairly quickly though I can't be sure if it was due to it being obvious or if it's because I'm an adult. Your mileage may vary in regards to this plot point.
I usually don't advocate for multiple books since I feel lots of books are series for no good reason, but this was definitely a time when two or more was warranted. There was this random addition that majorly changes the trajectory of the story that gets thrown in at the last second. It had absolutely no time to breathe or explore the fallout because of how rushed it was. It involves the sudden introduction of an all new character who would have been the perfect lead-in for the second book rather than squashed into this one. It tanks the ending because I had no feelings whatsoever about this character yet I'm expected to feel betrayed, excited, and mournful for/by them to the same extent as Katrina or Parker when their existence was only established in the last 70 or so pages. And we don't meet them immediately. That's just when we're told about them.
I also found the characterization to be unbelievable. Based on the background of this character there is no way they wouldn't be brainwashed to an insane degree. And even if they weren't like I said before there isn't enough time to fully explore why they aren't or what clued them into their circumstances. I'm supposed to believe this person has no qualms whatsoever throwing over everything they've ever known at the first opportunity which is painfully unrealistic. Adults struggle to disentangle themselves emotionally from their abusive parents even knowing how bad the situation was. This character is a child. I can't buy at all that they'd be able to do it so easily - for strangers no less.
My pet peeve in books is parents lying to kids for no good reason and the entire premise rests on that trope. I understand why it's done. I'm not opposed to its usage. It's a simple yet effective way to create tension when executed well. Either way, it drives me bonkers. If you talk to your kids about x,y,z young then it will be normalized as they age. You won't get as much or possibly any pushback when they're older if they're well informed about the full scope of the situation as they grow. It's a pet peeve and not a serious grievance.
Therefore, I was annoyed with her parents from the beginning mostly her father who seemed to (and proved to be over time) the catalyst for the events that followed due to his subterfuge. What drove me to hate him was the overly controlling snit he threw every time she interacted with Parker - a foster kid who clearly had a rough home life. I get being worried about the potential influence of a kid on yours, especially when you're running for your life but the level of contempt he had towards this twelve year old kid was staggering. He viewed him purely as opposition to his ability to have total control over his daughter. Obviously they need to be wary due to the whole running for their lives thing, but the whole point in settling where they did at the time was for Katrina to make friends. Then when she does so he turns into an overbearing jerk. Growing pains from your kid outgrowing your perception of them is normal. Getting jealous and snippy is not.
In the midst of an argument about him Katrina lies and says that Parker was moved from his previous homes due to abuse. Her father doesn't even bat an eye. Sure, as the readers we know it's not actually true, but in that moment he had absolutely no way of knowing that and he still hates him - a child he believes was abused . He never apologizes to Parker for being so nasty to him either. He disappears for a solid chunk in the middle then once he reappears we've moved onto other things so it no longer is supposed to matter. But, his whole character was irreparably soured for me from that moment on.
It totally ruined the forgiveness tip they had Katrina on later because I absolutely could not fathom forgiving a man or pushing a readership of children to forgive such a man so quickly especially under the harmful reasoning that 'he was still her father'. His actions should have had deeper consequences which further supports my opinion that this needed to be a duology at the very least.
The way they get around the whole issue of needing to run forever is ludicrous. It was randomly suggested in the eleventh hour for one and to me didn't seem to solve the problem long-term only provide a stop gap. Then again, given recent events I have 0% faith in the American government so maybe I'm just biased.
One, as we've seen with the Jeffrey Epstein case, the American populace will move on very quickly even when given damning, irrefutable evidence of heinous wrongdoing. Two, as we've seen with the disgusting repeal of Roe v Wade the American government does not care about the majority of the populace being upset at them. Three, children have no business being full time Internet stars anyways. Obviously kids are going to aspire to it which is fine because hopefully they have parents or a support system who will take the time to ensure they're safe and aware of the dangers, but to casually present these kids now complete dependence on the dangerous, volatile nature of the Internet with not a hint at all as to how they're the exception not the rule was majorly off-putting.
I just can't see how this could possibly be a 100% happy ending. The situation has potential manipulation and grooming written all over it. Not to mention the psychological damage from no one ever knowing who you are to suddenly being broadcast to millions everyday. Think about those disgusting countdown clocks people do waiting for a female celebrity to turn 18. Imagine going through what the twins have been through in this book and stumbling upon that mess..
I don't think a kid will care, of course. They'll probably think it's cool. However, I think as an adult Christina Diaz Gonzalez shouldn't have made the outcome seem like such a foolproof solution when there are serious drawbacks. Outside of the broader implications, it's still a weak, abrupt ending.
The writing is solid. The story is decently paced. I liked the build up to the mystery. Despite my criticisms I was still interested in seeing it through because I was genuinely invested, not just desperate to be done already. That said, I would not recommend it for the age group it's slated for on the SSYRA list. I think this is better suited for 3 to 5 rather than 6 to 8 and that did impact my reading experience. If it was 3 to 5, I honestly might have given it 3 stars.
Concealed has such an interesting premise. It's a shame the book was so lacking.
I'll be the first to admit I'm hard on books. I try to give books for kids some grace because I am well aware I'm outside the target demo, but that only extends so far. The mere existence of phenomenal children's literature is proof that bad kid lit has to exist as well - why else would there be distinctions if it's all the same level of quality either way? All of this is to say that while I do expect a kid will enjoy Concealed, it objectively still has flaws.
First off it relies heavily on one of my least favorite archetypes - the computer whiz.
Unless the genre is contemporary, a character being good at computers is almost always guaranteed to be a crutch. This is because outside of contemporary where it's allowed to simply be a normal trait even if the character is particularly talented, in other genres it inevitably devolves into a cheap way to move the story along through 'hacking'. Computer science skills can be difficult to convey realistically as the general populace is largely unaware of the intricacies of working with computers. Movies and TV help somewhat because they provide a kind of template to follow at least even if it's rarely accurate. Most people still get the gist of what's going on.
Hacking is a whole other level, however, because of the complexity involved. I know more than a lot of people about computers, but I in no way am able to understand exactly how hacking works. All I've got is that it involves coding. I've never seen hacking portrayed accurately in a book before. The author always has the convenient excuse of 'well it'd be too much to explain in layman's terms for these purposes' which means the character is largely able to do whatever the plot demands whenever necessary and as the reader you're expected to simply eat it because technically you can't argue that it's not possible. On the other side it means when the character is unable to do something it feels arbitrary and manufactured as the author can't fully articulate why it doesn't work either. It just doesn't now because the story calls for it not to work.
Such is the case of Katrina's new friend Parker. He's 12 but he's so good with computers he's able to hack into banks and high tech million dollar facilities. Obviously this is for kids which comes with some suspension of disbelief so I'm not nearly as bothered as I could be. A lot of kid books involve a certain level of wish fulfillment. Still, it reached a point when it started to feel like a cop out. It was doubly frustrating since Parker was the only one with any utility to the story as Katrina had no discernible skills of her own.
While I didn't like the over reliance on Parker's hacking at least he was contributing. Katrina was dead weight the entire time. She was the key to the mystery, but that was simply by existing. Other than that she brought nothing to the table. She wasn't clever or quick witted or funny. She was a vessel to move through the plot points, nothing more. Most of the book was her merely subsisting in the same space as the other characters while the other characters did things. She never came up with ideas or figured anything out for herself. There was always someone else who got the ball rolling. She was supposed to be great at lying due to her upbringing, but she wasn't even good at that as she failed pretty much every time she was ever put to the test.
It doesn't help that the kids are saddled with a handler the entire book who helps them do all the real heavy lifting meaning she has very little opportunity to prove her skills either way.
The entire appeal of kids books is to see kid protagonists take on situations adults think they can't handle and come out on top. That's the basis of middle grade as a demographic signifier regardless of genre. Adults can and do help, of course, depending on the goal of the novel. Even so, the kids are supposed to be the primary force pushing the story along.
Concealed doesn't work that way. Instead of reading about the kids ducking and dodging evil minions or scrounging their last two cents together to buy a meal or using clues to find out what the next location is, the two are carted around by the handler the whole time. He makes sure they're safe and taken care of the majority of the adventure. He is in complete control of all the logistics. After the initial escape from the guys who kidnap her mother the kids only have to get by on their own wits in the final quarter. At that point it was too late to salvage since that left over a hundred pages in the middle where they were sitting pretty.
The big mystery was interesting enough. I guessed the gist of it fairly quickly though I can't be sure if it was due to it being obvious or if it's because I'm an adult. Your mileage may vary in regards to this plot point.
I usually don't advocate for multiple books since I feel lots of books are series for no good reason, but this was definitely a time when two or more was warranted. There was this random addition
Spoiler
Turns out Katrina has a twin sister her parents thought died in a horrible accident. In reality, she was hidden away by the evil businessman behind everythingI also found the characterization to be unbelievable. Based on the background of this character there is no way they wouldn't be brainwashed to an insane degree. And even if they weren't like I said before there isn't enough time to fully explore why they aren't or what clued them into their circumstances. I'm supposed to believe this person has no qualms whatsoever throwing over everything they've ever known at the first opportunity which is painfully unrealistic. Adults struggle to disentangle themselves emotionally from their abusive parents even knowing how bad the situation was. This character is a child. I can't buy at all that they'd be able to do it so easily - for strangers no less.
My pet peeve in books is parents lying to kids for no good reason and the entire premise rests on that trope. I understand why it's done. I'm not opposed to its usage. It's a simple yet effective way to create tension when executed well. Either way, it drives me bonkers. If you talk to your kids about x,y,z young then it will be normalized as they age. You won't get as much or possibly any pushback when they're older if they're well informed about the full scope of the situation as they grow. It's a pet peeve and not a serious grievance.
Therefore, I was annoyed with her parents from the beginning mostly her father who seemed to (and proved to be over time) the catalyst for the events that followed due to his subterfuge. What drove me to hate him was the overly controlling snit he threw every time she interacted with Parker - a foster kid who clearly had a rough home life. I get being worried about the potential influence of a kid on yours, especially when you're running for your life but the level of contempt he had towards this twelve year old kid was staggering. He viewed him purely as opposition to his ability to have total control over his daughter. Obviously they need to be wary due to the whole running for their lives thing, but the whole point in settling where they did at the time was for Katrina to make friends. Then when she does so he turns into an overbearing jerk. Growing pains from your kid outgrowing your perception of them is normal. Getting jealous and snippy is not.
In the midst of an argument about him Katrina lies and says that Parker was moved from his previous homes due to abuse. Her father doesn't even bat an eye. Sure, as the readers we know it's not actually true, but in that moment he had absolutely no way of knowing that and he still hates him - a child he believes was abused . He never apologizes to Parker for being so nasty to him either. He disappears for a solid chunk in the middle then once he reappears we've moved onto other things so it no longer is supposed to matter. But, his whole character was irreparably soured for me from that moment on.
It totally ruined the forgiveness tip they had Katrina on later because I absolutely could not fathom forgiving a man or pushing a readership of children to forgive such a man so quickly especially under the harmful reasoning that 'he was still her father'. His actions should have had deeper consequences which further supports my opinion that this needed to be a duology at the very least.
The way they get around the whole issue of needing to run forever is ludicrous. It was randomly suggested in the eleventh hour for one and to me didn't seem to solve the problem long-term only provide a stop gap. Then again, given recent events I have 0% faith in the American government so maybe I'm just biased.
Spoiler
Katrina and her twin leak their existence to the media so that the American populace will basically become their bodyguards since if they were to disappear America would demand why. They basically are now permanent live bloggers stuck vlogging their daily lives as a safety measure.One, as we've seen with the Jeffrey Epstein case, the American populace will move on very quickly even when given damning, irrefutable evidence of heinous wrongdoing. Two, as we've seen with the disgusting repeal of Roe v Wade the American government does not care about the majority of the populace being upset at them. Three, children have no business being full time Internet stars anyways. Obviously kids are going to aspire to it which is fine because hopefully they have parents or a support system who will take the time to ensure they're safe and aware of the dangers, but to casually present these kids now complete dependence on the dangerous, volatile nature of the Internet with not a hint at all as to how they're the exception not the rule was majorly off-putting.
I just can't see how this could possibly be a 100% happy ending. The situation has potential manipulation and grooming written all over it. Not to mention the psychological damage from no one ever knowing who you are to suddenly being broadcast to millions everyday. Think about those disgusting countdown clocks people do waiting for a female celebrity to turn 18. Imagine going through what the twins have been through in this book and stumbling upon that mess.
I don't think a kid will care, of course. They'll probably think it's cool. However, I think as an adult Christina Diaz Gonzalez shouldn't have made the outcome seem like such a foolproof solution when there are serious drawbacks. Outside of the broader implications, it's still a weak, abrupt ending.
The writing is solid. The story is decently paced. I liked the build up to the mystery. Despite my criticisms I was still interested in seeing it through because I was genuinely invested, not just desperate to be done already. That said, I would not recommend it for the age group it's slated for on the SSYRA list. I think this is better suited for 3 to 5 rather than 6 to 8 and that did impact my reading experience. If it was 3 to 5, I honestly might have given it 3 stars.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
5.0
This book was such a fun book to read with my lunch book club. There were so many twists and turns that it gave us a lot to discuss and predict. The revelations were quite mind-blowing, too; many we did not see coming! This is a book so many middle grade readers are not going to be able to put down!
matchamelon's review
4.0
I was honestly very surprised with this book. I had gotten it at one of those "take one! Free!" Stacks at a local bookstore and wasn't expecting much. Instead I found a very enjoyable modern sci-fi story. It was an easy and quick read that kept me on my toes since I (and the main character, our narrator) didn't know who to trust. I will say the social media bit did seem kind of out of place at first but thinking from a more modern perspective, I think it makes a lot of sense.
Side note: my partner does have his PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and works in genomics and he said that CRISPR doesn't exactly work like that but it's still an interesting plot device!
Side note: my partner does have his PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and works in genomics and he said that CRISPR doesn't exactly work like that but it's still an interesting plot device!
thenextgenlibrarian's review
4.0
Greetings From Witness Protection meets Stranger Things in Concealed.
laurareadsthrillers's review
3.0
Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Read this if you liked the book The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
Read this if you liked the book The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
librariandest's review
3.0
This was mostly fast-paced and exciting, but it had a few too many cliches in it (for me--young readers are usually less bothered by that kind of thing).