The Mountain of Dempsey Molehill by Julie Stroebel Barichello

November 4, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Mountain of Dempsey Molehill by Julie Stroebel Barichello
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Molehill starts with M. Mischief starts with Molehills. Dempsey Molehill and his siblings – practically-a-grownup Brom, responsible Tilly, pesky little brother Penn, and wild child Bandi – don’t mean to cause mischief. But somehow, they always find themselves smack dab in the middle of it. When Dempsey’s dad decides to run for mayor of Pickettstown, the five Molehill kids try to be on their best behavior. Unfortunately for Dempsey and his siblings, their “best behavior” includes luring bullies in muddy mayhem, casting Halloween curses, exploding appliances, and terrorizing classmates with Scrap the one-eared cat. Will their antics cost their dad the election? Or can the family band together to put the best Molehill foot forward? The Mountain of Dempsey Molehill is a humorous middle grade novel about life in rural Illinois, small-town politics, and growing up in a big, wild family.

There’s never a dull moment in a big family.

I liked the realistic approach to handling bullies and dealing with small town politics. Dempsey had been dealing with his bully for years, and he was just old enough to realize the sometimes more subtle ways adults can bully each other, too. Ms. Stroebel Barichello trusted her audience to make these connections and come up with our own conclusions about the downsides of living in a small town where some families are considered to be more important than other ones. That’s a complex topic that middle grade readers should have a chance to explore, and this is a great place to start.

There were a few times when I wished that Dempsey, his friends and his siblings had faced stricter consequences for their actions. While most of their hijinks were silly and harmless, there was an incident involving gunpowder being ignited that made me raise an eyebrow. This is something I’m saying as a reader who otherwise loved this tale, but that scene is a topic I’d want to have a frank discussion about with the elementary-school-aged kids in my life so that they’d know why the characters’ choices weren’t good ones.

There was a playful sense of humor in this book that made it just about impossible to put down. I couldn’t wait to see what sorts of mischief the Molehill children would get into next. From digging a pit in their backyard in the hopes of trapping any stray elephants that may be wandering around rural Illinois to kidnapping a pet rabbit, these kids were never short on wacky ideas to keep life interesting.

The Mountain of Dempsey Molehill was a wild ride.

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

Lani’s Adoption Day by Susan Coryell

September 30, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Lani’s Adoption Day by Susan Coryell
Publisher: Golden Bridges Publishing/Little Sister Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Five-year-old Lani, adopted in infancy from Japan, lives with her Hawaii mixed-race family. Though festive, her adoption day celebration brings Lani’s focus to an ongoing concern: Has my mother in Japan forgotten me? Lani seeks reassurance that her birth mom remembers-both her and her special day. Realizing the depth of Lani’s perturbation, knowing it can affect their relationship both now and in the future, her family finds ways to put to rest her worries, while emphasizing Lani’s importance to their family. Using a book she has received as an adoption-day gift, Mommy, Daddy and sister Vivi help Lani learn about her Japanese heritage, pointing out that her adoptive Hawaiian family is mixed-race, a positive example of modern-day diversity. With her worries soothed, Lani dreams that night of the meeting/melding of Japanese and Hawaiian-American cultures.

Adoption has many faces.

Lani’s curiosity about her past as she grew old enough to ask some deeper questions about her birth mother was completely understandable. I loved the compassionate and open-hearted way her adoptive parents responded to her and tried to keep her connected to her culture through food, books, language lessons, and more. It made me wonder what other tools they’d use as she grew older to encourage her to spend even more time learning about Japan.

One of the things I appreciated the most about this picture book was how open-ended it was. Not every family knows all of the details about why their child or children were placed for adoption or how the birth family is currently doing for a wide variety of reasons. Living in that grey area whether temporarily or permanently isn’t always easy, but it is a reality that many kids grow up in. There was plenty of space here to imagine a variety of possibilities for her life which makes this a good read for anyone who is in a similar situation.

The sibling relationship between the main character and Vivi was also delightful. They had a warm and close relationship that showed up in all sorts of subtle and wonderful ways as they enjoyed Lani’s beach party to celebrate the anniversary of her adoption. It made me wish I could read a sequel that followed them as they grew a little older and were able to have more complex conversations about their relationship. I always enjoy seeing siblings get along well in picture books.

Lani’s Adoption Day was heartwarming.

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Kai’vier Roars Into Preschool by Desiree Dusablon

September 24, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Kai’vier Roars Into Preschool by Desiree Dusablon
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Kai’vier’s tummy is doing flips. It’s his first day of preschool—and he’s not so sure he’s ready.
What if no one wants to play? What if he misses home too much?

But with his favorite stuffed lion by his side, Kai’vier learns something powerful:
Bravery doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means you try anyway.

From tearful goodbyes to roaring new hellos, Kai’vier Roars into Preschool turns first-day fears into fearless fun. Packed with imagination, heart, and gentle encouragement, this joyful story helps children walk into school feeling seen, supported, and strong.

Growing up isn’t as easy as it sounds sometimes, but there are good things to look forward to with every change.

This picture book included some fantastic descriptions of what anxiety physically and emotionally feels like for preschoolers. They might not always know what that word means at first, but worrying about whether the other kids will want to play with you or having a nervous stomach can be very relatable. It was nice to have multiple examples of what anxiety can be like as well as some ideas for coping for it.

I would have liked to see a scene included that showed more information about how Kai’vier’s mom said goodbye to him when she dropped him off at preschool. This can be a scary transition for little ones, so I was surprised by the fact that he was suddenly meeting his teacher and classmates without his mom saying goodbye or telling him when she’d be back.

It was fun to see the wide variety of activities the main character and his new friends did on the first day of preschool. It covered everything from playing outside to sitting in a circle to hear a story. Not every kid will necessarily be a big fan of every option, of course, but when there are so many different ways to learn and have fun there’s bound to be something for everyone eventually. That’s an important idea to share with little ones who wonder what they’ll do all day and if their favorite hobby might be on the schedule.

Kai’vier Roars Into Preschool was a cute read.

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Hotel Spacious by J.S. Frankel

September 2, 2025 By 2 Comments


Hotel Spacious by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

An asteroid in a distant galaxy, a secret recipe, and an animal that has a certain magical quality to it. For Vern Nilsson, working as a bellhop at a hotel on that asteroid is one thing. Risking his life to find that recipe is another story altogether.

Vern Nilsson needs a summer job, and he finds one on Hotel Spacious, a hotel on a manmade asteroid in a distant galaxy. Built by the Borne, a benevolent race, Hotel Spacious offers a place for aliens of all sorts to relax.

Except Vern, who’s on call as a bellhop, dishwasher, and all-around gofer twenty-four-seven. The only saving grace from his job is meeting Dinarra—nicknamed Dee—a tiger-woman who has the same job that he has. Never mind that her parents are against it. Interspecies relationships rock.

Relationships aside, murder rears its ugly head. It seems that the murderer is after a secret recipe and a rare animal. If the animal is prepared correctly, it can confer God-like powers upon the eater.

Vern and Dee begin their own investigation, but by the time they discover the truth, it may be too late.

Not every summer job is as exciting as this one.

There were exactly enough details shared about the setting to keep my interest levels high. I especially appreciated how the author trusted his audience to fill in the smaller details about what it was like to visit, stay, or work at this hotel filled with aliens of all shapes and sizes. It made it easier for me to daydream about this topic during reading breaks because not all of my questions were answered. When done with care, ambiguity is a wonderful invitation for a reader to help create their own unique version of the author’s world and characters.

I enjoyed the fact that so many different genres were included in this book. The plot was romantic in some scenes only to switch to the fantasy, young adult, or mystery genres in others. This kept me on my toes as I was reading as I was never quite sure which direction it would meander into next. It takes courage and skill to play around with writing styles and reader’s expectations like that, and it’s one of the many reasons why Mr. Frankel is on my list of authors whose stories I automatically request every time he submits something new to Long and Short Reviews. A storyteller has to be quite knowledgeable about the genres they write in order to pull this off successfully, after all.

If I had to make a guess about Mr. Frankel’s personal life, I’d say that he has probably worked in the service industry at some point. Vern’s wide variety of experiences with the hotel guests and employees made me smile and nod my head as I read because of how true to life these scenes were. Some guests were perfectly sweet and gentle while others could be rather challenging at times…or worse! The main character never knew how he would be treated from one moment to the next or what hijinks might be happening just out of his view, and this made it tricky to find good stopping points while I was reading. It was engrossing from beginning to end.

Hotel Spacious had something spectacular for many different types of readers in his tale.

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

Haunting Melody by M. Flagg

August 21, 2025 By 1 Comment


Haunting Melody by M. Flagg
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Melody Marie sees ghosts. Just her luck that they see her as well.

Not even Melody’s mother knows her secret. Already tagged aggressively anxious won’t help Melody at Pinedale High, either. She’s the overweight walking disaster who desperately wants to fit in. No chance of that.

Hammer and his biker buds tragically died on Pinedale’s campus in the 1970s. He is drawn to Melody’s compassion for him. When her friendship with classmate Justin deepens, Hammer’s menacing antics turn dangerous. Every school day becomes a nightmare, and Melody’s desire to fit in fizzles out.

Now, she encounters nonstop clashes with ghosts, her meddling mom, a nosey school counselor, and even the law because of Justin, a known troublemaker. Can she rise above everything going wrong to help Hammer or Justin…or find a way to help them both?

There’s more than one way to get an education in high school.

Melody’s personality captured the angst and drama of being a teenager nicely. She genuinely felt like a sixteen-year-old to me, from her rapidly shifting mood on certain days to the way she analyzed social situations for every possible morsel of information she could get out of them. It’s not easy to make the transition to adulthood, especially for someone like her who was not only grieving the loss of her father but also dealing with bullying, moving to a new town, and adjusting to a different school. That’s a lot of change and conflict for anyone to deal with!

It would have been helpful to have more development for the romantic subplot, especially given how often Melody was warned not to pursue this possibility. While her interest in him made sense due to her attraction to bad boys and her understandable resistance to well-meaning but unsolicited advice, I would have liked to know more about why she found him so appealing when there were hundreds of other guys to choose from at her new school.

I enjoyed the parallels the plot made between how certain characters were treated in modern times and how some of the ghosts were mistreated fifty years ago before they died. Human nature never really changes, and it doesn’t always lead people to being kind to those who don’t fit into the group in some way. There is definitely something to be said for keeping this in mind when reacting to someone one might not understand for whatever reason and withholding judgement until all of the facts have been revealed, so it was nice to see some examples of both how to do this and how not to do this here.

This is the fourth book in a series that doesn’t need to be read in order, although I sure am curious to go back and check out the earlier instalments now.

Haunting Melody was filled with supernatural secrets.

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

Peterkin and the First Dog by Simon King-Spooner

August 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Peterkin and the First Dog by Simon King-Spooner
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In an ancient world an orphan boy in sheep-farming country tames a wolf.

The two become outcasts, fleeing to a foreign country. Powerful figures determine their fortunes: a holy crone, a demonic bandit, a ruthless baron fleeing a paranoid king.

All travel down a great river till ill-luck blocks their journey.

Then tensions build to a violent climax.

Every journey should begin with a fresh loaf of bread.

This was some of the best world building I’ve read in a long time. Mr. King-Spooner created an intricate and immersive setting that made me feel as though I’d actually travelled to another time and place to learn about Peterkin’s life in a small, superstitious village where bread was the best part of any meal and the adventures he had with his pet wolf when such a staple food wasn’t always an option. It was especially interesting to see how someone who would still be considered to be a child in our version of Earth was treated in a society where adulthood began sooner and where teenagers were generally assumed to be capable of doing just about anything older folks could do. It was one of countless examples of both minor and major things that were radically different between his culture and my own, and it kept me guessing about what I might learn next.

As emotionally invested as I was in Peterkin’s story, I struggled with the slow pacing at times. There were vivid descriptions of where the protagonist travelled to and who he met in various places. While they were extremely important to the plot in the long term, I also found myself wishing for a little more action and conflict to keep my interest levels higher as I waited to discover where the characters might go next.

The themes surrounding death and the rituals and cultural beliefs surrounding it were handled nicely in this book. Obviously, a rural community that only had access to basic herbal remedies could not treat many diseases and injuries as easily as we would. While I don’t want to give away too many hints about how this affected the plot, I’m glad the author spent so much time thinking about how characters who live in such an era would think about things like mortality, grief, and what the gods expected of them. These scenes were well done and fascinating.

Peterkin and the First Dog made me wish for a sequel.

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

Secrets of Lakeluster House by Diane Scott Lewis

July 31, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Secrets of Lakeluster House by Diane Scott Lewis
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sage, at fourteen, grows up in turmoil in Nahant, Massachusetts. Her changing body, her parents’ rocky marriage. When her cousin Patrick visits for the summer, his parents’ divorce has given him a reckless anger. He insists they explore the creepy mansion in the woods. Nate, Sage’s younger brother, is reluctant to approach the manor where a beloved teacher was found hanged months earlier. The children’s great-great grandmother worked at Lakeluster House in a previous century and was under suspicion of shooting another servant.

Now an old lady and her butler have moved in and the kids bring a welcome cake. Invited inside, Sage encounters a strange little girl who shows her the manor’s dark secrets—sparking Sage’s curiosity. Will the butler—a man with his own mysteries—throw them out for snooping? Who is real and who is a ghost? Was her relative guilty? And what danger lingers in the attic? Sage must gather her courage, risking her life to find out.

Genealogy is a window to the past…but is every story about previous generations true?

I loved the way Ms. Lewis described the slow transition from being a kid to being a teenager. Old hobbies can fall to the side as a thirteen or fourteen-year-old suddenly realizes they are interested in things that never caught their attention before, but it can also happen so gradually that one hardly notices the change at the time. This can be a tricky life stage to capture in fiction due to how quickly moods and interests can shift then, so I must tip my cap to the author for portraying it so well. Bravo!

Sage, Nate, and Patrick were given the perfect balance of adult supervision and freedom to explore their town as they tried to figure out what was keeping the ghosts from moving on. Did they sometimes make rash choices and ignore the sensible advice of the adults in their lives? Yes, because that’s what everyone does at their ages, and the storyline needed a little jolt of courage to keep moving along. This isn’t something I read about in young adult novels quite as often as I’d like to, but teens getting into a little mischief is such an important part of the genre.

The exciting plot twists in this book kept me reading. There were exactly the right number of clues about what was coming, and in a few cases the big reveals were allowed to be complete surprises instead. I enjoyed guessing what may happen next and then comparing my assumptions with what I actually read. Paying close attention is key to getting the most out of Sage’s adventures.

Secrets of Lakeluster House thrilled me.

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

Beneath Far Skies by F.C. Filips

July 29, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Beneath Far Skies by F.C. Filips
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A bit to the south of nowhere, the village of Shtrossenhossen faces an unexpected calamity. The government’s response is swift—mainly because it consists of a single person—and a ragtag band of neighbors is quickly assembled to defend their idyllic home. Unfortunately, they are completely out of their depth.

Join them on a journey packed with hilarity, action, and adventure as they uncover just how laughably outmatched they are by their enemy. From ancient ruins soaring high above the earth to reality-bending machinery buried below it, their quest will peel back the layers of a world they only thought they knew. Along the way, meet characters so unforgettable, it’s hard to tell whether they’re delightfully eccentric or dangerously unhinged.

Will our woefully unprepared heroes survive the impossible odds stacked against them? Can they challenge a god and live to tell the tale? Or will they have to move to another village? But then again, will there even be another village left? Crack open this book and find out!

Every adventure begins the same way: with a single step forward.

This was a world I felt like I really had just visited! It was described with such vivid detail that I could imagine the forests, villages, ruins, and other settings clearly in my mind. Figuring out how this society functioned was also easy to do as the characters spent plenty of time describing their roles, what was expected of them, and what they thought of, say, goblins or other creatures that followed other rules.

The slow pacing made it difficult for my interest levels to remain high at times. While I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the places they visited, I would have liked to see more action or conflict during their adventures as there wasn’t always enough of these things to encourage me to read just one more page before bedtime.

There’s something to be said for dialogue that is well written and feels natural. Reading it made me feel like I was listening in on someone else’s conversation. The characters had smooth, casual speaking styles and didn’t always use full sentences to communicate their thoughts. This was a good choice for a book that was willing to play around with the English language a little in order to show how people – or sometimes folks who technically aren’t human but are as intelligent as humans – talk to each other when they have a lot to say and not much time to say it.

I also would have liked to see more attention paid to character development. Characters faded into and out of scenes regularly due to how many of them were included in this quest. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to know any of them well because of the large cast and the limited amount of time that was spent developing their personalities and backstories. This meant that I didn’t feel strong emotional connections to anyone and sometimes struggled to remember who was who.

One of the positive things I noticed about the characters was the way the women were written. That is to say, the author did an excellent job of allowing everyone equal opportunities to play whichever roles in the storyline they wanted to take on no matter their sex. This wasn’t always something that was common in the fantasy genre, especially in historical settings, so I was glad to see characters feel free to pursue their hobbies and interests without any restrictions. It’s nice to have these quiet moments of freedom and acceptance for everyone.

Beneath Far Skies made me smile.

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

Mad as Birds by M.C. Schmidt

July 24, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Mad as Birds by M.C. Schmidt
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Moving to an intentional community is supposed to be a fresh start for Milo. No Internet or television. Complete isolation from the outside world. He doesn’t love the idea of moving, but his brother has been in charge since their parents’ accident, and Milo knows better than to question him. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything to stay for, not after the recent incident that got him expelled from school and made him a social pariah.

Milo is intrigued when he learns their new home was once a retreat for famous artists. He’s a talented painter himself. So, when a spectral woman begins to show up whenever he’s at his easel, he initially takes her for a muse. Seduced by the quality of the work they’re making, he doesn’t notice the control she’s gaining over him. By the time he learns her true intentions, it might be too late for him to overpower her—but if he can’t find a way soon, she’s going to force him to slaughter every resident of the community.

The past can never be forgotten.

Milo was a wonderfully nuanced character. The incident that got him expelled from school was a serious one, and I was intrigued by the fact that so many different versions of that story were floating around. Other readers should decide for themselves which version of it they believe as they’re reading, of course, but I enjoyed the contradictions between them as I tried to figure out if the protagonist’s recollection of it was the full truth or maybe something else entirely.

It would have been helpful to have deeper plot development. I noticed a few plot holes related to how the residents of the intentional community ended up living in an old, abandoned mansion that I wished had been explained in greater detail as that aspect was quickly brushed over. There were so many excellent reasons why the average person would not want to live in such an isolated and run-down place where using a cellphone or laptop was forbidden that this reader needed some stronger counterarguments for why this was the best option for all of them. This is something I’m saying as someone who was otherwise excited to check this tale out and really wanted to give it a higher rating.

With that being said, I did enjoy the plot twists involving the paranormal elements of the storyline. They aren’t that commonly used in this genre these days from what I’ve observed, so I was curious to find out how they would play out in this universe as the same patterns played out over and over again as the characters attempted to break the cycle. This is the sort of theme I love reading about in this genre, and it makes me curious to check out more stories from the author in the future.

Mad as Birds was a wild ride.

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

Here, Now, and Forever by J.S. Frankel

June 25, 2025 By 2 Comments


Here, Now, and Forever by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Extasy Books
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A flight into danger. A portal to another world. Adventures, danger, a new beginning, and a romance that spans forever.

Carl Goodman, a Merchant Marine sailor during World War Two, is shipwrecked off the coast of China and a temporary visitor at an American airfield, finally scores a ride to India to ship out on another vessel. Accompanying him is Ruby Matthews, a black nurse with her own set of problems.

Bad weather forces their plane to crash on an escarpment high in the Himalayas. As the only survivors with minimal supplies, they take refuge inside a cave where they discover a portal that leads them into an almost Eden-like garden.

After starting at odds, Carl and Ruby come to an understanding, and romance builds over time. However, their peace is interrupted by the arrival of an alien called Norlok, who has an agenda of his own. Defeating him is only part of the problem.

When rescue finally arrives, they find that eighty-five years have passed, yet they’ve retained their youth—until they return to the US, where they begin to rapidly age. Getting back to their garden is of prime importance, but will they be in time?

Anything can happen during a war.

Mr. Frankel’s plot twists are one of the reasons why I have consistently requested his books over the years. He knows exactly how many hints to hide away in his stories to give his readers a taste of what is to come without making it too easy to figure out where he’s going next. This makes the reading and reviewing process effortless because I am always confident that he’s going to keep me on my toes and throw a few curve balls my way as the plot spins off in a new direction. As always, this was such a fun combination of genres, and I loved seeing how he used World War II to leap off into times and places I never would have otherwise associated with that era. Without giving away too many details, there is a peaceful garden in this book that I found especially surprising and relaxing.

I would have liked to see more time spent developing the military subplot. Their reaction to Carl and Ruby’s existence was intriguing at first but didn’t quite make sense to me later on. Having more information about why they responded the way that they did and how willing they were to go along with almost anything the protagonists wanted would have made this a stronger book in my opinion. It is a minor criticism of something I otherwise enjoyed reading quite a bit.

Some of the most memorable scenes for me were the ones that explored what it feels like to be part of a minority group, whether that’s related to race, gender, religion, or other factors. Not everyone who is part of one or more of these groups has the same experiences, of course, but there is overlap between them that I think is helpful for everyone to take note of. The more compassion we feel for each other as human beings, the better if you ask me! While I can’t go into details about exactly what these characters went through without sharing spoilers, it was well worth my time and is something I think readers from every background should explore.

Here, Now, and Forever was adventurous.

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