Penguin Loves YA Book Club discussion

From October 26-31, we will be discussing Part Four and the Epilogue of CONVERSION in this thread!

What overcame Ann Putnam? Why did she eventually give in to the deception and ultimately condemn the most people?

At the end of the book, Ann repeats something Tittibe had said during her testimony years earlier: “I’m blind. I cannot see. I cannot see what’s real”. Why do you think she said this, and how was it relevant for Tittibe 10 years before? How does this quote relate to the themes in the book?

Do you believe the Mysterious Illness was really caused by Emma, as Colleen did, or was it really just conversion?

What did you think about how the author wove the narratives of Ann and Colleen? Was it a strong parallel?

I enjoyed reading the different point of views. What happened in the past repeats itself in the future. So it is nice to see that it doesn't matter what the time period is.

I think the mystery illness was a combination of Emma, Conversion and faking, depending upon the victim. I say Emma could have a hand in the affliction because at the time the level of toxicity in her mood and feelings was high. Others will pick-up on those vibes and it can alter their feelings.

Overall I found sticking with the flow of Ann's story hard, such little snippets between large sections of Colleen's story. I actually will be going back and rereading Ann's story parts as one to meld it more into a continuous story for myself.

I am amazed at how widespead Conversion can be, I would think only a very small number of the population would react to the stresses of life in such away. Which is why I suspect some would fake the illness if they felt something could be gained from it. Not that people don't have breakdowns and such, just the clustering as in the school mentioned in the prologue, seems not as likely to me. Definitely a shame our lives have become so stressful! We all do manifest our stress in different ways, so it is possible to be true that all diagnosed as such did truly have it.