Books like 'Swing Time'
Readers who enjoyed Swing Time by Zadie Smith also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure literary-fiction friendship coming-of-age poc-mc historical-fiction family drama realistic
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So Long, Chester Wheeler by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsUnlikely road trip companions form an unexpected bond in an uplifting novel about the past—lost and found—by the New York Times and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author.Lewis Madigan is young, gay, out of work, and getting antsy when he’s roped into providing end-of-life care for his insufferable homophobic neighbor, Chester Wheeler. Lewis doesn’t need the aggravation, just the money... -
![Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado]()
Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLiving by their wits in the steamy slums of Bahia, a gang of orphans and runaways, led by fifteen-year-old "Bullet," spend their time stealing from Brazil's rich and privileged until public outcry demands their capture... -
![Islandborn by Junot Díaz]()
Islandborn by Junot Díaz
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery kid in Lola's school was from somewhere else. Hers was a school of faraway places. So when Lola's teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can't remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction journey poc-mc realistic social-commentary -
![Jabari salta by Gaia Cornwall]()
Jabari salta by Gaia Cornwall
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he's not scared at all. "Looks easy," says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back... -
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![Ban This Book by Alan Gratz]()
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratings-Readers, librarians, and all those books that have drawn a challenge have a brand new hero.... Stand up and cheer, book lovers. This one's for you...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary -
![Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsBea has barely been scraping by since her husband died. After falling for a telephone scam, she loses everything and is forced to abandon her trailer. With only two-thirds of a tank in her old van, she heads toward the Pacific Ocean with her cat—on a mission to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, even if it means making others pay for what she lost... -
![Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin]()
Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsViolette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues—gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest—visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences... -
![Sin Bin by Maureen Smith]()
Sin Bin by Maureen Smith
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsLogan “Bruiser” Brassard and Meadow Ryan are no strangers to heartache, loss, and trauma. When they met as foster children, they both bore deep scars from the horrors life had inflicted. Although their time together at the group home was brief, they never forgot each other. Fast forward fifteen years, and Meadow is an unemployed social worker down on her luck... -
![16 on the Block by Babygirl Daniels]()
16 on the Block by Babygirl Daniels
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA girl's sixteenth birthday is supposed to be sweet, but for Summer Flynt, it was the day that her life changed forever. Young, fly, and beautiful, Summer is under the wing of her older sister, Trish. But when Trish steals something that doesn't belong to her and gets involved in a lifestyle she can't handle, she pays with her life... -
![The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi, سعود السنعوسي]()
The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi, سعود السنعوسي
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsDaring and bold, The Bamboo Stalk takes an unflinching look at the universal struggles of identity, race, and class as they intersect between two disparate societies: Kuwait and the Philippines. Josephine comes to Kuwait from the Philippines to work as a maid, where she meets Rashid, a spoiled but kind-hearted only son...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]()
Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe emotional storms weathered by a mother and daughter yield a profound new understanding in a moving short story by the bestselling, award-winning author of Americanah and We Should All Be FeministsWhen Zikora, a DC lawyer from Nigeria, tells her equally high-powered lover that she's pregnant, he abandons her...Categorized as:
black-mc family female-mc journey literary-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary -
![Heartbeat: A Courageous Love Novel by Terreece M. Clarke]()
Heartbeat: A Courageous Love Novel by Terreece M. Clarke
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMaya Anderson only knows success: set a goal, create a plan, achieve. Everything she can control she does, down to her color-coordinated closet. Then someone tried to kill her. Now, she has a new goal: stay alive. New town. New identity. No men... -
![The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata]()
The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsPublished in Indonesia in 2005, "The Rainbow Troops," Andrea Hirata's closely autobiographical debut novel, sold more than five million copies, shattering records. Now it promises to captivate audiences around the globe.Ikal is a student at the poorest village school on the Indonesian island of Belitong, where graduating from sixth grade is considered a remarkable achievement...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family friendship historical-fiction journey literary-fiction -
![The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adjoa Andoh]()
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adjoa Andoh
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrom Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Orange Prize-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, come twelve dazzling stories in which she turns her penetrating eye on the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Nigeria and the West... -
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![The Coordinates of Loss by Amanda Prowse]()
The Coordinates of Loss by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom bestselling author Amanda Prowse comes a tale of a blissful life, a happy marriage, a beloved son…and a tragedy that destroys it all. When Rachel Croft wakes up on her family’s boat in Bermuda, it’s to sunshine and yet another perfect day…until she goes to wake her seven-year-old son, Oscar. Because the worst thing imaginable has happened. He isn’t there... -
![Best Laid Plans by Brenda Jackson]()
Best Laid Plans by Brenda Jackson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLove wasn’t supposed to be a part of the deal…Even a famed matchmaker like Nolan Madaris’s great-grandmother can’t get it right every time. Nolan, the notorious fun-loving ladies’ man, could never connect with someone as straitlaced as tech whiz Ivy Chapman. Yet the scheme Ivy proposes is tempting—they can pretend to be a couple, just long enough to satisfy their families... -
![A Better Man: A Small Town Surprise Pregnancy Romance by Carrie Elks]()
A Better Man: A Small Town Surprise Pregnancy Romance by Carrie Elks
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe’s his addiction. He’s her escape.Logan Hartson is gorgeous, successful, and has a smile that’ll knock a woman off her feet. And from the moment Courtney Roberts meets him on a dirt road, the chemistry sizzles between them.Everything about them is wrong. He’s city, she’s country.He owns expensive restaurants. She runs a small farm... -
![The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman, Carlotta Brentan]()
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman, Carlotta Brentan
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratings13 hours, 15 minutesA trio of second-born daughters set out to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside by New York Times bestseller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction journey literary-fiction -
![Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper]()
Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMelody faces her fears to follow her passion in this stunning sequel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling middle grade novel Out of My Mind.Melody, the huge-hearted heroine of Out of My Mind, is now a year older and a year braver. But not as brave as she wants to be, as she’s terrified of horses. Even though she loves horses—loves loves loves them—from afar... -
![One Last Summer by Victoria Connelly]()
One Last Summer by Victoria Connelly
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThey have the whole summer ahead of them. Is it enough to rekindle the friendship they once shared? Harriet Greenleaf dreams of spending the summer in a beautiful ancient priory on the Somerset coast with her two best friends—but her dream is bittersweet... -
![Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó]()
Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Ettie's husband dies, her daughter Iza insists that her mother give up the family house in the countryside and move to Budapest. Displaced from her community and her home, Ettie tries to find her place in this new life, but can't seem to get it right...Categorized as:
classics family female-mc historical-fiction journey literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
![Chasing the Stars by Virginie Grimaldi]()
Chasing the Stars by Virginie Grimaldi
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis journey could change everything...Maybe if she hadn't lost her job, Anna would never have dreamed of being so impulsive. Or perhaps if Chloe wasn't always having her heart broken, or if Lily was happy at school. But when Anna realises that her family is falling apart, only a grand, spontaneous gesture will do... -
![Beach Cove Home by Nellie Brooks]()
Beach Cove Home by Nellie Brooks
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJoin the women of Beach Cove as they grow friendship into sisterhood.Maisie has avoided Beach Cove for a decade. Now in her early fifties, a desperate search brings her back to her old beach house, new neighbors, and the friends she’d left behind.Ellie's fish market is in trouble, and she feels alone and isolated... -
![Brides and Bouquets At Cedarwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin]()
Brides and Bouquets At Cedarwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsChristmas has come to Cedarwood Lodge in the second part of the feel-good romance serial from best selling author, Rebecca Raisin! Dreaming of a happily ever after at Cedarwood Lodge is Clio Winters’ current focus, especially with a winter wonderland wedding expo planned... -
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![The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen]()
The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsShortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award‘A therapeutic dose of high-strength emotion’ GUARDIAN Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in.At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship literary-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Truce by Mario Benedetti]()
The Truce by Mario Benedetti
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratings'Perhaps that moment had been exceptional, but still, I felt alive. That pressure on my chest means being alive.' Forty-nine, with a kind face, no serious ailments (apart from varicose veins on his ankles), a good salary, and three moody children, widowed accountant Martín Santomé is about to retire. He assumes he'll take up gardening, or the guitar, or whatever retired people generally do...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama journey literary-fiction poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Havoc of Choice by Wanjiru Koinange]()
The Havoc of Choice by Wanjiru Koinange
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings2007, KenyaLong held captive by her father’s shadow of corruption, Kavata has spent her life suffocated by political machinations. When her husband decides to run in the next election, these shadows threaten to consume her home. Unable to bear this darkness,Kavata plots to escape. As her family falls apart, so too does her country...Categorized as:
historical-fiction journey literary-fiction family female-mc fiction politics contemporary -
![Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson]()
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this striking new novel by the critically acclaimed author of Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming, Tiffany D. Jackson tells the story of three Brooklyn teens who plot to turn their murdered friend into a major rap star by pretending he's still alive. Brooklyn, 1998. Biggie Smalls was right: Things done changed... -
![The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson]()
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA triumphant and touching debut about the unlikeliest superstar you’ll ever meet.Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman and his best friend, Jax, are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a plan to take their act all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe. But when Jax dies, Norman decides the only fitting tribute is to perform at the festival himself. The problem is, Norman’s not the funny one. Jax was...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship journey family literary-fiction female-mc fiction contemporary -
![Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri]()
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsFrom the internationally best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author, a superbly crafted new work of fiction: eight stories—longer and more emotionally complex than any she has yet written—that take us from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand as they enter the lives of sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, friends and lovers...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction poc-mc -
![A Taste of Peace (Malibu #1) by J.J. Sorel]()
A Taste of Peace (Malibu #1) by J.J. Sorel
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen reformed bad boy Lachlan Peace starts running his dying father’s billion-dollar empire, he inherits shady investment schemes that threaten to tarnish his reputation and destroy the Peace empire. Lachlan Peace’s true passion in life is music and surfing. He also can’t take his eyes off his new admin assistant, Miranda Flowers... -
![Everything Is Just Beginning by Erin Bartels]()
Everything Is Just Beginning by Erin Bartels
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn Immersive Story of Music, Struggle, and Starting Over from an Award-Winning AuthorMichael Sullivan is a talented lyricist and a decent guitarist, but since he was kicked out of his band (and his apartment), he's not sure he'll ever get a record deal. Living with his loser uncle in a beat-up trailer and working a dead-end job, Michael has little reason to hope for a better future...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age friendship family drama female-mc literary-fiction romance -
![Pieces of Me by Peyton Banks]()
Pieces of Me by Peyton Banks
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe had built her career singing the most memorable love songs that had graced the airwaves. She was Nina Hunt. Singer. Songwriter. Music Royalty--and she suffered from a broken heart. Returning from her latest world tour, Nina became a recluse. The only way she knew how to get over her very public breakup with her movie star ex-boyfriend, was to put her pen to pad... -
![The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll): A Picture Book by Winsome Bingham]()
The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll): A Picture Book by Winsome Bingham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom award-winning creators Winsome Bingham and E.B. Lewis, The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll) is a powerful, full-color picture book story celebrating a journey crucial to our the walk to vote—a perfect read aloud.My granny is taking me on THE WALK.“Because leaders are not born,” she says. “They’re made through molding and modeling.”“What’s the walk?” I ask.“You’ll see...Categorized as:
social-commentary family realistic poc-mc historical-fiction black-mc children-books fiction -
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![Midnight and Mistletoe At Cedarwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin]()
Midnight and Mistletoe At Cedarwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA brand new feel-good festive romantic serial from bestselling author Rebecca Raisin! Planning a New Years Eve Party might be the kind of event Clio Winters used to dream about organising, but when everything is feeling a bit up in the air, she has to hope that this New Years her wish really will come true... -
![Seaside Friends by Nellie Brooks]()
Seaside Friends by Nellie Brooks
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThirty years after her mother's sudden disappearance, Pamela returns to her old beach house in the small town of Bay Harbor, Maine, where old friends, new neighbors, and long-forgotten secrets are already waiting for her... -
![The Disoriented by Amin Maalouf]()
The Disoriented by Amin Maalouf
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAfter 25 years in exile, Adam travels from France to his homeland in the Middle East to bid farewell to his dying childhood friend.One night, a phone rings in Paris. Adam learns that Mourad, once his closest friend, is dying. He quickly throws some clothes in a suitcase and takes the first flight out, to the homeland he fled twenty-five years ago...Categorized as:
drama friendship historical-fiction journey literary-fiction action-adventure adult book -
![The Lost Girls of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary]()
The Lost Girls of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA heart-warming story about family secrets and one woman’s escape to dreamy Sandy Cove on the stunning west coast of Ireland.The picturesque beach of Wild Rose Bay is the last place Lydia Butler thought she’d be. But having just lost everything, the run-down cottage she inherited from her Great Aunt Nellie is the only place she can take her daughter, Sunny...Categorized as:
family female-mc friendship journey literary-fiction realistic action-adventure adult -
![The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda]()
The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family’s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America... -
![The Future's Not Ours To See by Jean Grainger]()
The Future's Not Ours To See by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCarmel is stuck. The future could be bright, but something is stopping her. Despite the promise of a bright future away from Ireland, Carmel Sheehan is drawn back to the miserable marriage she feels duty-bound to honour. But when she returns to her monosyllabic husband and his malicious sister, she begins to realize that she cannot endure them any longer... -
![Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts]()
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsTalk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction -
![The Dividing Line by Victoria H. Smith]()
The Dividing Line by Victoria H. Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new love and a new life.Drake left Chicago with little more than the clothes on his back to be with his girlfriend Lacey. Though he has no regrets, he sometimes wonders if his time spent in Paris has put his life on hold. He’s overworked and underpaid at his dead-end job, and his employer sees him as expendable...Categorized as:
black-mc female-mc literary-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure book contemporary -
![Turning the Page by Katrina Abbott]()
Turning the Page by Katrina Abbott
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCelia Thomas should be living a charmed life; as the niece of Hollywood's current it guy, whose whole family is on the payroll, she doesn't have to worry about money or future job prospects. Except maybe she doesn't want to go into the family business... -
![An Amish Cradle by Beth Wiseman]()
An Amish Cradle by Beth Wiseman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTiny fingers, Tiny toes, And lives that will never be the same. Journey with four families as their lives are about to change forever. "In His Father s Arms" by Beth Wiseman Ruth Anne has been dreaming about motherhood her entire life. Now she is doubly excited that she and her best friend are due with their children the same week... -
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![An Unlasting Home: A Novel by Mai Al-Nakib]()
An Unlasting Home: A Novel by Mai Al-Nakib
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"So fresh and unsettling that it will enchant you from the first page and linger for days after reading...Its epic family saga style echoes that of Hala Alyan’s Salt Houses and The Arsonists’ City , Ayad Akhtar’s Homeland Elegies , and Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction family poc-mc journey fiction contemporary audiobook -
![Because We're Worth It: Transformations, Temptations, and Triumphs in the Quest for Happiness by Pauline Lawless]()
Because We're Worth It: Transformations, Temptations, and Triumphs in the Quest for Happiness by Pauline Lawless
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the bustling backdrop of London, Kate finds herself adrift when her husband's high-profile contract and her youngest son's departure to boarding school leave her feeling surplus to requirements. Seeking a boost in self-esteem, the curvaceous Kate enlists in 'Slimforever'...Categorized as:
family female-mc epic literary-fiction friendship womens-fiction fiction contemporary -
![Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi]()
Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratings6 hrs. 10 min.Nigerian author Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi makes her American debut with this dazzling novel which explores her homeland's past, present, and possible future through the interconnected stories of four fearless globe-trotting women...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction friendship poc-mc family journey fiction contemporary -
![How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss]()
How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOur memories are what make us who we are. Some are real. Some are made up. But they are the stories that tell us who we are. Without them we are nobody.Hattie's summer isn't going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to 'find himself" and Kat is in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend... -
![Taking Flight by Adrian R. Magnuson]()
Taking Flight by Adrian R. Magnuson
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJeremy Walsh’s parents assume he’s been abducted by the elderly man he met on a cross-country flight, but it’s the other way around...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama friendship journey literary-fiction action-adventure book contemporary -
![The Risk Pool by Richard Russo]()
The Risk Pool by Richard Russo
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Risk Pool is a thirty-year journey through the lives of Sam Hall, a small-town gambling hellraiser, and his watchful, introspective son Ned...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama epic family literary-fiction realistic 20th-century action-adventure
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