Paul O’Leary: Trouble on the Farm by Michael Mardel

January 30, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Paul O’Leary: Trouble on the Farm by Michael Mardel
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (89 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Meet up with Paul as he has two moves, from the city to a farm. Join him in his one room school and his extra chores on the farm, mowing lots of grass and training his dog, Lassie, not to chase the sheep. He has a few dream adventures, including being a fireman as a real bushfire approaches. Will he be able to cope with the blaze?

It’s a great big place where Paul ends up with his dog and his parents. Lassie has to be corralled or there’s double trouble and the rest if she gets out and chases the sheep. His Grandad is one of the trouble shooters and is not averse to protecting his sheep. Maybe he’ll take Lassie on as a real sheep dog. He found out that the sheep go into a huddle when they’re threatened and not because the dog rounds them up.

Paul rode his bike to his one room school and he read from his Kindle when he had finished his work. He once went to a school mate’s place but all he wanted to do was play games.

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The last bit of trouble in paradise was a bushfire which are very extreme and some people leave their homes as they can’t defend them. Paul and his family decide to defend their two homes as Grandad had all the firefighting equipment.

There’s never a shortage of work to do when you live on a farm.

Paul was such a hard worker. He’d learned a lot about what it takes to keep a farm running from his dad, and he wasn’t afraid to pitch in to help make sure all of the chores were done every day. I liked this part of his personality quite a bit. His willingness to do whatever it took to help keep everything running smoothly made him seem like such a mature kid in a good way! What a great role model he was for his audience.

There were some pacing issues with the plot. Sometimes it moved so slowly that I had trouble staying interested, while in other scenes it had so much going on that it was hard to keep up. It would have been helpful for me as a reader if the pacing had been spread out more evenly so I always had something to keep my attention.

What a kind and loving family Paul had! While his parents and grandparents could be very protective of him sometimes, they were always acting in his best interests. It was nice to read about a character who was having such a happy childhood. This isn’t something I’ve seen being done very often in this genre these days, so it always stands out to me as something special when it does happen.

This is the second book in a series, but it can be read as a standalone work.

I’d recommend Paul O’Leary: Trouble on the Farm to anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to live on a farm.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Apidae by Lisa Borne Graves

January 29, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Apidae by Lisa Borne Graves
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (152 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What happens if bees go extinct?
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In the not so distant future, scientifically modified Emlyn and Ace find themselves thrown into the role of saviors on a perilous mission where their tenuous relationship could save or destroy mankind. As the war between rebels and the corrupt government reaches a fever pitch, Ace is bent on self-sacrifice and revenge, while Emlyn must choose between her heart and the future of mankind.

If humans want to survive, they’ll need to find a way to save the bees.

The premise of this book grabbed my attention immediately. I appreciated the fact that the author spent so much time coming up with logical ways in which human society would change, and even start to disintegrate, once the bees began dying off and food supplies ran dangerously low. She went into the perfect amount of detail about how crucial pollinators like these are for the ecosystem and how devastating it would be to lose or nearly lose them.

While I wanted the two characters who developed feelings for each other to end up together, their potential relationship felt out of place in this story. There were so many other things going on in it, many of which were time-sensitive and incredibly dangerous, that I was confused by the inclusion of the romantic subplot. It didn’t seem like something that either of the participants should have had much energy to think about when their lives were in danger and humanity itself could be going extinct. It would have been really helpful for there to have been more scenes establishing why these characters decided to pursue their feelings so quickly and how they found the time to do so in the middle of what was basically a war.

Emlyn felt like a real person to me, flaws and all. There were times when she said or did things that annoyed me, but then there would be other scenes where her quick thinking and bravery made me cheer. I loved the many nuances of her personality, especially the fact that a few of her weaknesses were things that actually affected the course of the plot. She was perfectly imperfect, and that’s exactly what I want to see in a main character.

Apidae was one of the most creative dystopias I’ve read recently, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys that genre.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Bernard Beagle Kicks Off by Daniel Murphy

January 28, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Bernard Beagle Kicks Off by Daniel Murphy
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (165 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Bernard Beagle dreams of playing soccer for his school team. There is just one problem – he is terrible at sports.

Cody Fisher, captain of the Bayview Primary Tidal Waves, is Bernard’s one-way ticket to the midfield.

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As Bernard pushes for qualification it becomes obvious – he’s going to need a lot more than Cody’s friendship to make the squad.

Do you have to be naturally athletic in order to be a good athlete?

The conflicts were handled nicely. Not only was there the perfect amount of it, each conflict was so different from the others that they played off of each other beautifully. This is something I’d be equally comfortable recommending to kids who love sports as I would to the ones who have no interest in that topic at all. There were so many other things going on in the storyline that I think this will appeal to all sorts of middle grade readers.

It would have been helpful to have more detailed descriptions of the characters and settings. I had a lot of trouble picturing what any of them looked like because of how few of these descriptions I had to work with. While I enjoyed the plot itself, I would have liked it even more if I could have formed mental images of these characters and the places where they spent their time.

The dialogue was well written. There wasn’t quite as much of it as I’d normally expect to see in a book of this length due to all of the time Bernard and his friends spent playing soccer, but that was a good thing. Of course they’d be too busy and possibly out of breath to talk during their practices and games! It only made sense, and I liked the fact that the author seemed to take this into account when he was writing those scenes. When characters did talk to each other, I enjoyed the fact that the voices of the adults and kids were so distinct. Just like in real life, the way a grown-up in this universe spoke generally wasn’t exactly the same as how the main character would say it.

Bernard Beagle Kicks Off should be read by sports fans of all ages.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Smoke & Mirrors by Eli Celata

January 21, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Smoke & Mirrors by Eli Celata
Publisher: Hidden Helm Press
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (246 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Death has come to Rochester. Saving the the lost children of Hamelin unleashes the most ruthless enemy Jon has ever faced. Blood saturates his nights, and demons stalk his every step. He might’ve gotten the children out of Shiloh’s void, but he put them in the cross-hairs of an old grudge.

When a trio of Daughters brings their kill list into the Grith, magic users turn against one another. Allies become enemies. Safety counterbalances freedom, and everyone wants a piece of Jon.

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Whether magic is used for good or evil depends on who is performing the spell.

Just like in earlier installments, I was blown away by the world building. Mr. Celata did an excellent job of creating a setting for his characters that feels every bit as real as our world. I could have sworn that I was seeing, hearing, and feeling the same things Jon was as he attempted to protect the children and keep his community from breaking out into war. There was so much attention to detail in these matters that I didn’t want to stop reading until I knew how it would all end for him.

At times I found it hard to keep track of the large cast of characters. It would have been quite helpful to either have a brief recap of who everyone was in the first chapter or to have a list of characters I could reference as I was reading. I’m saying this as someone who has really been enjoying this series so far. If not for my confusion about how everyone knew each other and who they were, I would have happily chosen a much higher rating for this tale. Everything else about it was fantastic.

One of the things I love about this universe is how complicated the rules of magic are in it. I still haven’t figured out all of them, but honestly I don’t think the audience is supposed to quite yet since many of the characters have had similar reactions to the complexity of them all. The author is playing the long game here, and I’m quite curious to see how it will all pan out in the end.

This is the third book in a series. I’d recommend finishing the first two installments, High Summons and Grimm Remains, before diving into this one.

Smoke & Mirrors should be read by anyone who loves wizards or the dark side of the urban fantasy genre.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Fury’s Island by Sue Perkins

January 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Fury’s Island by Sue Perkins
Fury Series Book 2
Publisher: Caishel Books
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (101 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

On holiday in Nelson, New Zealand, Fury meets Eion who offers to teach her to paddle board. Immediately attracted to him, she agrees. After basic instruction, he takes her out to Skull Island, a creepy looking rock some distance from the beach. No one has ever discovered a way up to the caves which look like eyes, but Fury finds a secret entrance and convinces Eion they should investigate. Their excitement rises as they discover tunnels and caves hidden beneath the ground, but neither is prepared for the arrival of ghostly pirates bringing their treasure chests to bury in one of the underground caves.

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There was a fabulous plot twist that I didn’t see coming in advance. It had to do with the ghosts that Fury and Eion met in the cave after they’d visited it multiple times. While I can’t go into details about this portion of the storyline, I gasped out loud when I realized that some of my assumptions about those entities had been totally wrong. Ms. Perkins did an excellent job of both keeping this surprise hidden and revealing it at exactly the right moment.

Fury’s unusual behavior made it tricky for me to choose an age recommendation for this tale. She was sixteen years old in this sequel, but she behaved like someone much younger than her chronological age.This was especially noticeable when it came to her sometimes odd interactions with others. For example, she had lots of trouble noticing when someone was flirting with her and she misinterpreted what her mother was saying to her on more than one occasion. I’m still not sure if she was specifically written to be a neurodivergent character or if she was simply a little quirky. If the author wanted the audience to think of her as someone who might have medical reasons for her troubles with social cues, I sure wish there had been more hints about that! I was fascinated by this part of her personality while also being confused as to whether I was actually supposed to be labelling her at all.

I loved the fact that it took a long time for anything paranormal to happen in this tale. There was so much else going on in Fury’s life that it made total sense for the spirits to stay out of sight until later on in the plot. This also gave me the opportunity to get to know her even better than I did the first time I met her. I relished the opportunity to see how she’d changed over time and how she’d react to spending her summer vacation in a place that she never would have chosen on her own.

This is the second book in a series. It can be read on its own or out of order.

Fury’s Island should be read by anyone who enjoys ghost stories.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Fury’s Ghost by Sue Perkins

January 16, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Fury’s Ghost by Sue Perkins
Publisher: Caishel Books
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (114 pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Fury’s family leave the city for a six month visit to rural New Zealand. They stay in an old house belonging to her mother’s family, but who is the ghostly figure in a hidden attic room and why is Fury the only one who can see her? She learns the ghost is the spirit of the original owner who has been trapped in the room for one hundred years.

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The afterlife isn’t always a peaceful place.

At first I wasn’t sure if this tale was meant to be set in the past or the present. Eventually, I did make up my mind about this question, but I liked the fact that the storyline focused on all of the timeless elements of being a twelve-year-old whose family has just moved into a haunted house. Fury could have just as easily lived several decades ago and it wouldn’t have changed much about her adventures at all. There’s definitely something to be said for characters and plots that aren’t tied down to one specific era. This could be a modern-day classic in the making!

I would have liked to see a little more attention paid to character development. Fury went through some pretty memorable and spooky experiences, so I was surprised by how quickly she adapted to the idea that ghosts exists and that there was one living in her house. If a bit more attention had been paid to how she made that mental leap, I would have given this book a five star rating. Everything else about it was well done.

The plot related to who the ghost was and how she died was handled nicely. While I obviously can’t go into a lot of detail about it without giving away spoilers, I liked the fact that Fury had barely any information at all about this character in the beginning. Her lack of knowledge only made me more curious to find out who the spirit had been in life and why they’d hung around for so long.

Anyone who enjoys paranormal fiction should give Fury’s Ghost a try.

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Gay Love and Other Fairy Tales by Dylan James

January 11, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Gay Love and Other Fairy Tales by Dylan James
Publisher: Deep Hearts YA
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (275 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jordan Ortiz decides he can no longer hide who he truly is. He’s gay. He comes out to his family, then he comes out to everyone, and it goes well. Like, way better than he thought possible. But that’s about where it ends. There aren’t enough out gay kids at school for him to build a queer social life or even consider the possibility of dating. For now, he’s happy to be the gay bestie for his BFF, Hannah.

Benjamin Cooper is the captain of the football team and has known Jordan for almost his whole life. And he has a secret. When they won an award at the science fair in grade nine, Jordan hugged him—and that’s when Ben realized he had feelings for Jordan. As he watches Jordan come out and flower into who he is, he can’t help but feel ashamed—ashamed at what a coward he is compared to Jordan.
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When a broken leg and fair-weather friends leave Ben feeling lonely on Christmas break, he spends New Year’s Eve with Jordan, just hanging out in his basement like they used to years ago. But as the countdown to midnight happens and the ball is about to drop, Ben has something else in mind. At the stroke of midnight, he kisses Jordan.

What starts with a surprise kiss leads to a year of shared secrets, hidden love, relationship troubles, and broken hearts. Through it all, one fact holds true—Jordan loves Benjamin and Benjamin loves Jordan. But is that enough to carry them through when Ben wants to stay firmly in the closet, to the very point that this might destroy what hope they have of true love?

Falling in love isn’t always a simple process.

Bullying is a complicated subject, so I was glad to see the author take such a nuanced approach to why students bully each other, how bystanders affect this process, and what might persuade at least some the bullies to stop. Some of the most interesting scenes in this book were the ones that explored how this all works, especially when the adults aren’t paying attention and the bullies think they can get away with anything they’d like.

Jordan and Benjamin had very similar voices in this story. That is, when the point of view switched between them from one chapter to the next, I would have had some trouble telling who was narrating that part of the storyline if their sections hadn’t been marked. They had such similar personalities and speaking styles that it wasn’t always easy to tell who was who. If not for this, I would have chosen a much higher rating as I enjoyed everything else about the plot.

The romance between Jordan and Benjamin was nicely written. I liked the fact that they moved slowly at the beginning of it. Not only did that make sense for their personalities, it gave the audience plenty of time to come up with our own reasons why these two characters should end up together. I know that I started rooting for that ending very early on due to how well they got along and how much they had in common!

Gay Love and Other Fairy Tales should be read by anyone who loves the romance genre.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Corruption by Nick Wilford

January 7, 2019 By 1 Comment


Corruption by Nick Wilford
Publisher: Superstar Peanut Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, YA
Length: Full Length (182 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

Wellesbury Noon and Ezmerelda Dontible have found themselves in a position where they can make their native land somewhere that lives up to its name: Harmonia. However, they’re setting their sights further afield for their number one task: eradicating the disease that has plagued the neighbouring country of Loretania for generations and allowed the privileged Harmonians to live in a sterile environment.
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After dispatching a team of scientists to Loretania, armed with cratefuls of an antidote and vaccine and headed up by their friend, Dr George Tindleson, Welles, Ez, and Welles’s brother Mal – who grew up in that benighted nation – start to worry when they hear nothing back, despite what they had agreed. Commandeering a fishing boat to follow the science team over the sea, they soon find that, while the disease may be on the way out, a new kind of infection has set in – the corruption they thought they had stamped out in Harmonia.

Can they get to the root of the problem and eradicate it before even more damage is done to an innocent people?

This book is aptly titled Corruption. The people of Harmonia have found their white, sterile world is at the expense of Loretania who get all the nasty stuff that Harmonia syphons out of their country. Scientists from Harmonia travel to Loretania to help get rid of the disease and make their ecology grow and sustain the population. Good intentions are all very well, but human greed interferes.

I like that it’s the teenagers who follow up on this intention when their queries are met by silence. The corruption of the older generation shows that no matter how much people want to help those less fortunate than themselves, there are others who are only interested in themselves.

The story does allude to rape, the act is mentioned but no actual rape scene is described. This is a young adult book as the main characters are teenagers and the story is their story. Good book, interesting reading.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning

December 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, YA
Length: Full Length (279 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

A peculiar explorer and downtrodden acrobat span the globe on a building-sized hot air balloon, in search of a precious artifact and the murderous treasure hunter who seeks it.

WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – Summer 2018 – Best Adventure

Beatrix, a spirited but abused acrobat in a traveling circus, seeks more than her prison-like employment offers. More than anything, she wants to know her place in the world of the halcyon 19th century, a time when the last dark corners of the map were being sketched out and travel still possessed a kind of magic.

One night in Switzerland, the mysterious Colonel James Bacchus attends Beatrix’s show. This larger-than-life English gentleman, reputed to have a voracious appetite for female conquests, is most notable for traveling the world in a four-story hot air balloon called The Ox.
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Beatrix flees that night to join the Colonel, and the two of them make a narrow escape—Beatrix from her abusive ringleader, the Colonel from a freshly-made cuckold. Beatrix, feeling the Colonel may have the answers to her problems, pledges to help him catch the criminal he seeks in exchange for passage on his magnificent balloon.

The criminal seeks a precious figurine, The Blue Star Sphinx, but he’s not alone. The Sphinx’s immense value has also drawn the attention of the world’s most deadly treasure hunters. A murder in Antwerp begins a path of mystery that leads all the way to the most isolated island on Earth.

What dangers await the Colonel and the acrobat?

Beatrix is an orphan who works as a trapeze artist in the circus. She performs over bare ground to make it more dangerous. Her boss uses a whip to punish any employee that acts out or gets mouthy. She gets her fair share of correction because she talks back to him. But one night she sees an Englishman at the show and finds out he rides around in a hot air balloon. She likes the trapeze because it reminds her of flying. Imagine what it would be like to ride in a hot air balloon!

Beatrix begs to ride on the hot air balloon. She wants to escape the circus. The Colonel refuses but when she offers to help him find the criminal he’s hunting he finally decides he’ll take her. He doesn’t intend to keep her long.

It’s a four-story hot air balloon. He soon teaches her how to fly and manipulate the balloon. She’s not real good at it, but she learns to stay afloat. The only thing she doesn’t like about the Colonel is that he’s a womanizer. Every time they stop somewhere he’s out looking for a woman.

She meets the other members of his team and they all become friends. They’re looking for the mysterious Christopher and he’s hard to find. Bee doesn’t know but the Colonel has more secrets. It’s a good thing she had acrobat training. It’s the only thing that keeps her alive…

Mr. Canning writes a very good story. It starts with a fast pace and that lasts the whole story. There’s plenty of danger, lots of excitement, and two unlikely characters become a team. There’s not a boring part in this story. The story flows well and you almost think you’re losing a character or two but not to worry. It ends unusually but happily.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Dickensen Academy by Christine Grabowski

December 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Dickensen Academy by Christine Grabowski
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, YA
Length: Full Length (351 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.

Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs.

When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?

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Ms. Grabowski has come up with a thought-provoking premise. I don’t think I’ve come across anything quite like it in a young adult novel. Autumn and her fellow students have a unique ability, which I can’t reveal without spoiling the story. At first glance, this power sounds wonderful and amazing. However, the potential for misuse is huge and truly terrifying. Immediately, my mind was filled with questions. How will the students learn to control their abilities? If someone is misusing their power, how could it be proven? What sort of discipline would the staff use if misuse was proven? How do they ensure the secret of the academy is kept? I eagerly anticipated learning the answers.

Autumn is a sweet girl. She is very determined and much stronger than she thinks. Autumn blossoms on the campus of Dickensen Academy, and I get the feeling this change is a breath of fresh air she’s needed for a very long time. Autumn has great potential, but she’s been living in the shadow of her father, older brother, and best friend. It is clear all these people care about her, but Autumn needs some time away to prove she is capable of succeeding on her own terms. It was a pleasure to watch her grow and change.

While Autumn is intelligent, school work is not something that has ever come easily to her. She works hard to maintain her grades, and her new-found ability is no exception. Unfortunately, Autumn is unable to push her ability to the next step. Frustrated, Autumn can only watch as her classmates progress. While it is nice to read about a character who isn’t magically good at everything, I must admit that Autumn’s struggle seems a bit prolonged, and I feel that the pacing of the story suffers as a result.

Autumn’s relationship with Ben is sweet, but moves at a very leisurely pace. While a slower approach is understandable given that Autumn and Ben are young, under a lot of pressure at a new school, and learning to control their special abilities, I do feel that the pacing suffers here as well. Autumn and Ben clearly care for each other and spend a lot of time together. I feel they could have moved on to dating sooner.

Dickensen Academy has a satisfying ending, but I have a lot of unanswered questions concerning not only the students’ power, but also a source of conflict between Autumn and a girl named Caitlyn. There is a lot of tension between these two and the potential for harm is real given the abilities of these students. There are also several serious events that weren’t explained. I’m curious to see how this will play out in the future.

I enjoyed reading Dickensen Academy. I see a lot of potential in this series and look forward to the next installment.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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