Books like 'Balm'
Readers who enjoyed Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical military, war & conflict historical-fiction civil-war magical-realism paranormal witches-wizards literary-fiction slavery poc-mc
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The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAn enchanting novel about fate, second chances, and hope, lost and found, by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls.Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal 20th-century adult audiobook -
![Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine]()
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction poc-mc slavery action-adventure audiobook book -
![The Last Long Night by Ginny Dye]()
The Last Long Night by Ginny Dye
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCan they survive the Last, Long Night of the Civil War?The power of the Union army brings the South to its knees in surrender, but not until a year of intense pain and violence creates a chasm that may be impossible for the country to bridge. Carrie struggles to hold on to hope as the world caves in around her, hanging on to the promise she’s been given... -
![Dark Chaos by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye]()
Dark Chaos by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDark Chaos is the 4th book in the Bregden Chronicles - the sweeping historical saga of America, beginning in 1860. As the 3rd year of the American Civil War begins, Carrie Cromwell, her heart filled with joy, marries the man of her dreams, the handsome Lieutenant Robert Borden. But a cloud threatens to wipe out the bride's new happiness... -
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![Spring Will Come by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye]()
Spring Will Come by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSpring Will Come is the third book in the Bregdan Chronicles historical fiction series. As of today, there are 10 books in the series. Make sure you start reading with # 1 – Storm Clouds Rolling In. It's readers like you who have turned the series into a world-wide best-seller... -
![Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom]()
Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA novel of family and long-buried secrets along the treacherous Underground Railroad. The author of the New York Times bestseller and beloved book club favorite The Kitchen House continues the story of Jamie Pyke, son of both a slave and master of Tall Oakes, whose deadly secret compels him to take a treacherous journey through the Underground Railroad...Categorized as:
civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction slavery action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Family by J. California Cooper]()
Family by J. California Cooper
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this wise, beguiling, beautiful novel set in the era of the Civil War, an award-winning playwright and author paints a haunting portrait of a woman named Always, born a slave, and four generations of her African-American family... -
![Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vásquez]()
Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn epic yet intimate novel about a Colombian man caught up in the sweep of global historical and ideological revolutions. The Colombian film director, Sergio Cabrera, is in Barcelona for a retrospective of his work...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc fiction historical communism politics war -
![Jubilee by Margaret Walker]()
Jubilee by Margaret Walker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA 50th anniversary edition of Margaret Walker's best-selling classic with a foreword by Nikki Giovanni Jubilee tells the true story of Vyry, the child of a white plantation owner and one of his black slaves. Vyry bears witness to the South’s antebellum opulence and to its brutality, its wartime ruin, and the promises of Reconstruction...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc slavery 20th-century adult -
![The Frozen Heart by Almudena Grandes]()
The Frozen Heart by Almudena Grandes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a small town on the outskirts of Madrid, a funeral is taking place. Julio Carrion Gonzalez, a man of tremendous wealth and influence in Madrid, has come home to be buried. But as the family stand by the graveside, his son Alvaro notices the arrival of an attractive stranger—no one appears to know who she is, or why she is there... -
![Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan]()
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn this searing novel, a courageous young woman tries to protect her dream of becoming a doctor as civil war devastates Sri Lanka.Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home, and her dream spins off course as she sees her four beloved brothers and their friend K swept up in the mounting violence...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction civil-war poc-mc fiction historical war audiobook -
![Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim]()
Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe bestselling author of Yellow Crocus returns with a haunting and tender story of three women returning to the plantation they once called home.Oberlin, Ohio, 1868. Lisbeth Johnson was born into privilege in the antebellum South. Jordan Freedman was born a slave to Mattie, Lisbeth’s beloved nurse. The women have an unlikely bond deeper than friendship...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc slavery action-adventure adult -
![Wild, Beautiful, and Free by Sophfronia Scott]()
Wild, Beautiful, and Free by Sophfronia Scott
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom award-winning author Sophfronia Scott comes the story of one young woman’s bold journey to reclaim her birthright and carve out her own place in a world that tells her she doesn’t belong. Born the daughter of an enslaved woman and a Louisiana plantation owner, Jeannette Bébinn is raised alongside her white half sister―until her father suddenly dies... -
![The Woodcutter's Wife by David Johnson]()
The Woodcutter's Wife by David Johnson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSet against the backdrop of the Civil War comes a tale of love lost and found. Mary Thomson is no ordinary woman. She works alongside her husband William cutting firewood to sell in the city, earning the nickname “The Woodcutter’s Wife.” She kills a bear with her bare hands. And she prefers plowing a field to cooking a meal... -
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![The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow]()
The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe Saint of War spares the life of a servant girl so she can fulfill her destiny as the kingdom’s greatest warrior in this short story of love and loyalty by New York Times bestselling author Alix E. Harrow.Always mindful of the debt she owes, the girl finds her worth as a weapon in the hand of the Prince. Her victories make him a king, then an emperor...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic magical-realism literary-fiction paranormal romance fantasy fiction -
![In the Land of Armadillos: Stories by Helen Maryles Shankman]()
In the Land of Armadillos: Stories by Helen Maryles Shankman
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA debut collection of linked stories from a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, set in a German-occupied town in Poland, where tales of myth and folklore meet the real-life monsters of the Nazi invasion.1942. With the Nazi Party at the height of its power, the occupying army empties Poland’s towns and cities of their Jewish populations... -
![Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross]()
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe epic conclusion to the intensely romantic and beautifully written story that started in Divine Rivals.Two weeks have passed since Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, and the city of Oath continues to dwell in a state of disbelief and ignorance...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal magical-realism romance fantasy young-adult historical -
![Las tres bodas de Manolita by Almudena Grandes]()
Las tres bodas de Manolita by Almudena Grandes
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsManolita es una joven de 18 años que, en un Madrid devastado por la miseria, se ve en la complicada situación de mantener a su familia debido a que sus padres fueron encarcelados y su hermano vive oculto en la clandestinidad. A su cargo también tiene al resto de sus hermanos, que en total son cuatro criaturas más...Categorized as:
civil-war historical-fiction adult audiobook book fiction historical violent-conflict -
![Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr.]()
Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr.
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFreeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc slavery adult american-civil-war -
![Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee]()
Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSixteen-year-old Lorena Leland's dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena's banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter... -
![Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson]()
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSoonie's great-grandma was just seven years old when she was sold to a big plantation without her ma and pa, and with only some fabric and needles to call her own. She pieced together bright patches with names like North Star and Crossroads, patches with secret meanings made into quilts called Show Ways -- maps for slaves to follow to freedom... -
![The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris]()
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA profound debut about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever.In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction civil-war slavery poc-mc black-mc fiction historical -
![The Wake of the Wind by J. California Cooper]()
The Wake of the Wind by J. California Cooper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA dramatic and thought-provoking novel of one family's triumph in the face of the hardships and challenges of the post-Civil War South.The Wake of the Wind , J. California Cooper's third novel, is her most penetrating look yet at the challenges that generations of African Americans have had to overcome in order to carve out a home for themselves and their families... -
![A Radical Act of Free Magic by H.G. Parry]()
A Radical Act of Free Magic by H.G. Parry
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Radical Act of Free Magic is the conclusion to this genre-defying series of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world.The Concord has been broken, and a war of magic engulfs the world...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic magical-realism paranormal witches-wizards alternate-history book dragons -
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![Never Too Late by Michael R. Phillips]()
Never Too Late by Michael R. Phillips
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA tender romance is developing between Henry and Josepha, but when he learns that she hides a startling secret, will it tear them... -
![Stranger in Savannah by Eugenia Price]()
Stranger in Savannah by Eugenia Price
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSavannah, 1854. Throughout the city's elegant streets, stirrings of the Civil War are taking hold. For three families, the war has already begun within their hearts, drawing battle lines where once there was love... The Brownings: Mark Browning's unwavering faith in the Union sparks a battle of conscience that threatens all that he holds dear..Categorized as:
civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction adult book christian fiction historical -
![The Soldier's Lady by Michael R. Phillips]()
The Soldier's Lady by Michael R. Phillips
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe young women of Rosewood face new challenges--and old enemies--when a wounded black soldier rides into town. Micah Duff is an educated, spiritual man, and even though he and "scatterbrained" Emma are very different, the two soon fall in love. But an ambitious white man who can't afford any skeletons in his closet--or a black son--plans to get rid of Emma and her boy for good...Categorized as:
civil-war historical-fiction slavery american-civil-war book christian fiction historical -
![The Runaway by Melanie Dobson]()
The Runaway by Melanie Dobson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMelanie Dobson's bestselling novel--In a divided town during a dangerous era, who can be trusted? Liberty, Indiana, is home to a stop on the Underground Railroad operated by Anna Brent and her father, covert abolitionists who harbor runaway slaves traveling toward freedom... -
![The Philosopher's War by Tom Miller]()
The Philosopher's War by Tom Miller
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe second book in the thrilling series that began with The Philosopher’s Flight finds Robert Canderelli Weekes as a rookie Rescue and Evacuation flier on the front lines of World War I in France. He came to save lives, but has no idea how far he’ll have to go to win the war... -
![New Moon Rising by Eugenia Price]()
New Moon Rising by Eugenia Price
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSecond Novel in the St. Simons Trilogy.A rich and riveting tale of love, hardship, and the journey for happiness in the war-torn South.In New Moon Rising, Eugenia Price gives us a story of faith and courage that follows the struggle of James Gould's son Horace to find his own place in life. Reaching manhood in the tumultuous years before the Civil War, Horace returns to St... -
![Queen by Alex Haley, David Stevens]()
Queen by Alex Haley, David Stevens
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMultigenerational saga of Alex Haley's father's family through his grandmother, Queen, the proud daughter born of a slave and a white slave owner... -
![The Bride Found by Tracey Jane Jackson, Piper Davenport]()
The Bride Found by Tracey Jane Jackson, Piper Davenport
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings18+ for language and sexual situations… Is love timeless? Does only one true love exist for each person? Can the course of history be changed in order to save a future generation? Emma Wellington is dealing with the strange disappearance of her sister and brother-in-law, and no one is certain they’re even still alive... -
![Queen of Djinn by Helena Rookwood, Elm Vince]()
Queen of Djinn by Helena Rookwood, Elm Vince
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe unforgettable conclusion to the action-packed romantic fantasy series Desert Nights, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, and Emily R. King.A sultan sworn to bring down the mountains.Spirits seeking revenge... -
![One Wore Blue, And One Wore Gray, And One Road West by Heather Graham]()
One Wore Blue, And One Wore Gray, And One Road West by Heather Graham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom inside front flap: Here in this exclusive Rhapsody edition, are the three stirring novels of Heather Graham's Civil War Series. One Wore Blue: Kiernan Miller & Jesser Cameron. And One Wore Gray: Jesse's brother, Daniel Cameron & and the romance with Callie Michaelson. And One Road West introduces Christa, sister to Jessse and Daniel and her romance with Colonel Jeremy McCauley... -
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![The Cake Tree in the Ruins by Akiyuki Nosaka]()
The Cake Tree in the Ruins by Akiyuki Nosaka
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIntensely moving stories that tell of the absurd violence of war, and tenderly depict the animals and children caught in its vortex.In 1945, Akiyuki Nosaka watched the Allied firebombing of Kobe kill his adoptive parents, and then witnessed his sister starving to death...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism poc-mc 20th-century adult anthologies asian-mc -
![Yonder by Jabari Asim]()
Yonder by Jabari Asim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors’ tongues and their beliefs but they have a language and rituals all their own...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism poc-mc slavery adult -
![Tennessee Rose by Jane Kendall, Jane Kendall]()
Tennessee Rose by Jane Kendall, Jane Kendall
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAlabama, 1856. Tennessee Rose is a dark bay Tennessee Walking Horse with a rose-shaped marking on her forehead. She loves dashing around the plantation in the running walk that her breed is famous for, then coming back to her comfortable stall and her friend Levi, the slave boy who is her groom. But as the Civil War approaches, Rosie begins to question plantation life... -
![In the Valley: Stories and a Novella Based on Serena by Ron Rash]()
In the Valley: Stories and a Novella Based on Serena by Ron Rash
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn these ten stories, Ron Rash spins a haunting allegory of the times we live in--rampant capitalism, the severing of ties to the natural world in the relentless hunt for profit, the destruction of body and soul with pills meant to mute our pain--and yet within this world he illuminates acts of extraordinary decency and heroism...Categorized as:
civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction adult anthologies audiobook fiction gothic -
![Ever My Love by Gretchen Craig]()
Ever My Love by Gretchen Craig
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the eve of Civil War, the daughter of Southern planters finds her loyalties tested in a magnificent saga of family pride and forbidden love...Brought up amid the luxury of plantation life, Marianne Johnston never questions her sheltered life until, driven by her conscience, she joins the Underground Railroad... -
![Always & Forever: A Saga of Slavery and Deliverance by Gretchen Craig]()
Always & Forever: A Saga of Slavery and Deliverance by Gretchen Craig
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSince they were children running barefoot about Toulouse Plantation, Josie and Cleo have been as close as sisters, forging an unbreakable bond that defies their roles as mistress and slave. Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak... -
![All Different Kinds of Free by Jessica McCann, Mia Bankston]()
All Different Kinds of Free by Jessica McCann, Mia Bankston
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA free woman of color in the 1830s, Margaret Morgan lived a life full of promise. One frigid night in Pennsylvania, that changed forever. They tore her family apart. They put her in chains. They never expected her to fight back. In 1837, Margaret Morgan was kidnapped from her home in Pennsylvania and sold into slavery...Categorized as:
historical-fiction civil-war slavery literary-fiction north-america usa pennsylvania maryland -
![Addy's Surprise: A Christmas Story by Connie Rose Porter]()
Addy's Surprise: A Christmas Story by Connie Rose Porter
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDuring the holiday season, Addy and Momma are generous with their meager savings and thrilled by a wonderful surprise.' to 'Addy Walker is a proud, courageous girl growing up in 1864, during the midst of the Civil War. Addy's stories tell of her daring escape with her mother from slavery, and the challenges they face afterward as they try to reunite their family...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction poc-mc slavery american-civil-war audiobook book -
![Cane River by Lalita Tademy]()
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsA New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick-the unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc slavery 21st-century adult -
![Dragon Slayer by Lauren Gilley]()
Dragon Slayer by Lauren Gilley
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn 1931, a golden-haired man in fine clothes appeared to a Siberian boy. An apparition in the snow.In 2018, he guided a pack of misfits to his prison. A man made of sharp smiles, and smoke, who they can hear, but can never touch...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magic paranormal slavery witches-wizards abuse action-adventure adult -
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![Shadows of Magnolia by Jerri Hines]()
Shadows of Magnolia by Jerri Hines
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSet against the backdrop of Antebellum Charleston with the martial clash of brother against brother looming on the horizon—here is an absorbing, tantalizing saga of life during one of our country's most turbulent times—Southern Legacy Series. Shadows of Magnolia, Book Two Somewhere between love and tomorrow is forever! Josephine Buchanan Wright is forced apart from the man she loves... -
![Carolina Rain by Nancy B. Brewer]()
Carolina Rain by Nancy B. Brewer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOpen the page of Carolina Rain and step on the streets of an era gone by. Carolina Rain is not just a read, but an experience. You will smell the magnolia trees, feel the sun on your face and taste the bittersweet tears of a beautiful young girl coming of age at the dawning of the Civil War. Theodosia Elizabeth Sanders, "Lizzie" was born October 6, 1842... -
![Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths]()
Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo Black sisters growing up in small-town New England fight to protect their home, their bodies, and their dreams as the Civil Rights Movement sweeps the nation in this "magical, magnificent novel" (Marlon James) from "a startlingly fresh voice" (Jacqueline Woodson)...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc civil-war black-mc fiction coming-of-age historical -
![Until the Sun Falls by Cecelia Holland]()
Until the Sun Falls by Cecelia Holland
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsIn the thirteenth century the Mongol hordes swept out of Mongolia to over-run half the world. This novel follows Psin, a Mongol general, through the military campaigns in Russia and Europe, among his own family and in his own heart...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc action-adventure adult book fiction historical -
![Shadows on Society Hill: An Addy Mystery by Evelyn Coleman]()
Shadows on Society Hill: An Addy Mystery by Evelyn Coleman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the winter of 1866, Addy's poppa gets a new job, and his employer, Mr. Radisson, offers the Walkers a home of their own on the grounds of his fine house in Society Hill. Addy's delight quickly evaporates as she realizes that Mr. Radisson's house holds frightening secrets--one of which leads straight back to the plantation where Addy's family was held in slavery only two years before...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction poc-mc book children children-books female-author -
![Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton]()
Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis astonishingly proficient and gripping first novel should be required reading for anyone who calls him or herself a responsible citizen. Not only is it masterfully written, with images as sharp as shards of broken glass, but it also carries a message so potent it burns into the conscience...
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