Books like 'Unlikely'
Readers who enjoyed Unlikely by Jeffrey Brown also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary coming-of-age historical-fiction
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Bad Habit by Alana S. Portero
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCombining the raw realism and vulnerability of Shuggie Bain and Detransition, Baby with the poignant sensibility of Pedro Almodóvar, a staggering coming-of-age novel deeply rooted in the class struggles of a trans woman growing up in Madrid in the last decades of the twentieth century."I saw a whole generation of boys fall like irredeemable angels... -
![The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner]()
The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNOW A #1 BESTSELLERWho says you can’t rewrite the stars?1962—Twelve years removed from the summer when she first gave her heart away, Dr. Elizabeth (Ellie) Spencer, Professor of Astronomy at Indiana University, receives a mysterious package that has her asking that very question.Inside the unmarked box is a novel written by Ellie’s first love, Jack Bennett...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age romance fiction mystery contemporary audiobook season-summer -
![Diferente by Eloy Moreno]()
Diferente by Eloy Moreno
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratings¿Y SI LO ÚNICO NORMAL ES SER DIFERENTE?Tras el éxito de Invisible y Tierra, Eloy Moreno regresa a las librerías con una de las novelas más esperadas por los lectores... -
![All My Mothers by Joanna Glen]()
All My Mothers by Joanna Glen
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the author of the Costa shortlisted debut, The Other Half of Augusta Hope, comes the story of one girl’s journey to find her birth mother, and her realisation that mothers – and family – can be discovered in the most unexpected of places…London, 1980s. Though she has a comfortable, privileged life, Eva Martínez-Green is deeply unhappy...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age fiction contemporary literary-fiction audiobook family parenthood -
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![Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah]()
Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA moving and deeply engaging debut novel about a young Native American man struggling to find strength in his familial identity, from a stellar new voice in literary fiction... -
![Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney]()
Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsI’m not yours and you’re not mine. That’s what I say to his dreaming face as I watch the shadows of his dark eyelashes dance by the light of a Tilley lamp.It’s not the first lie I’ve told myself. When I was sixteen, I wanted to fly...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age romance fiction contemporary literary-fiction mental-illness sad -
![Champagne Widows: First Woman of Champagne, Veuve Clicquot by Rebecca Rosenberg]()
Champagne Widows: First Woman of Champagne, Veuve Clicquot by Rebecca Rosenberg
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsChampagne, France, 1800. Twenty-year-old Barbe-Nicole inherited Le Nez (an uncanny sense of smell) from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker. She is determined to use Le Nez to make great champagne, but the Napoleon Code prohibits women from owning a business... -
![অপেক্ষা by Humayun Ahmed]()
অপেক্ষা by Humayun Ahmed
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsমানুষের জীবন কি চক্রের মত? চক্রের কোন শুরু নেই, শেষ নেই। মানব জীবনও কি তাই? রহস্যময় চক্রের ভেতর এই জীবন ঘুরপাক খেতে থাকে? শুরু নেই, শেষ নেই। চক্র ঘুরছে।এই চক্রের ভেতরে ঘুরপাক খেতে খেতে অপেক্ষা করে কেউ কেউ। কিংবা সকলেই কিসের... -
![Beatles by Lars Saabye Christensen]()
Beatles by Lars Saabye Christensen
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBeatles is the story of Kim Karlsen and his three buddies, Gunnar, Ola and Seb - and, yes, they occasionally like to think of themselves as the Fab Four. They were born in 1951, and the story starts with the first wave of Beatlemania in Norway, in the spring of 1965...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction 20th-century audiobook bildungsroman book classics contemporary -
![The Simple Soul of Susan by Noel Branham]()
The Simple Soul of Susan by Noel Branham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLove hopes for the simple things to last forever, even though life itself does not.When Susan Combs discovers a heart-breaking truth from the boy she has loved her entire life, she must make a life-altering choice...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction book christian contemporary fiction north-america spirituality -
![All The Colours In Between by Eva Jordan]()
All The Colours In Between by Eva Jordan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEva Jordan's much-anticipated follow up to the bestselling 183 Times a Year It's not a life, it's an adventure! Lizzie is fast approaching 50. Her once angst ridden teenage daughters, now grown and in their twenties, have flown the nest, Cassie to London and Maisy to Australia... -
![天橋上的魔術師 by Wu Ming-Yi, 吳明益]()
天橋上的魔術師 by Wu Ming-Yi, 吳明益
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratings...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction fiction young-adult magic family contemporary children -
![Committed by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott]()
Committed by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA LOST IN OBLIVION Outtake - Simon & Margo With the crash and burn of Simon Kagan's singing career, things have been a little off between him and Margo Reece. The passion is there--it's always there--but he wants to make sure she knows just how invested and committed he is to making her happy. Even if that means breaking out a ring and convincing her to wear one... -
![Heathers the Musical by Laurence O'Keefe, Kevin Murphy]()
Heathers the Musical by Laurence O'Keefe, Kevin Murphy
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHeathers The Musical is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid J.D...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age romance drama fiction dark contemporary mental-illness -
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![My Struggle: Book Three by Karl Ove Knausgård]()
My Struggle: Book Three by Karl Ove Knausgård
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA family of four--mother, father and two boys--move to the South Coast of Norway to a new house on a newly developed site. It is the early 1970s and the family's trajectory, upwardly mobile: the future seems limitless...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction 21st-century adult anthologies audiobook classics contemporary -
![Grown Women by Sarai Johnson]()
Grown Women by Sarai Johnson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this stunning debut novel, four generations of complex Black women contend with motherhood and daughterhood, generational trauma and the deeply ingrained tensions and wounds that divide them as they redefine happiness and healing for themselves. Erudite Evelyn, her cynical daughter Charlotte, and Charlotte’s optimistic daughter Corinna see the world very differently... -
![Spud: Exit, Pursued by a Bear by John van de Ruit]()
Spud: Exit, Pursued by a Bear by John van de Ruit
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter an unexpected and diabolical farewell breakfast conversation with his father, Spud Milton returns to boarding school for his 1993 Matric year, his last as a schoolboy. Armed with a prefects’ tie and a raging libido, Spud soon discovers that being a large(ish) fish in a small pond has its fair share of challenges...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction boarding-school book children comedy contemporary drama -
![The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah]()
The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA heartfelt novel of shedding secrets, facing the past, and embracing the magic of love and family by the Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars.After the untimely deaths of her aunt and mother, young Riley Mays moved from Chicago to her cousins’ Wisconsin farm... -
![Frankie by Graham Norton]()
Frankie by Graham Norton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrankie Howe has lived a long life, her small flat is crammed full of art, furniture - and memories. Damian, her young carer, listens as she gradually tells him parts of her story - a story that takes us into a progressive, daring world of New York artists on the brink of fame, aspiring writers and larger-than-life characters... -
![Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly]()
Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsAn accessible, character-driven story set in 2003 New York City about a genderqueer book conservator who feels trapped by her gender presentation, her ill-fitting relationship, and her artistic block, as she discovers a decades-old hidden queer love letter and becomes obsessed with tracking down its author. It’s 2003, and artist Dawn Levit is stuck... -
![TENSE - The Complete Two-Part Novel Duet (The TENSE Series) by Deborah Bladon]()
TENSE - The Complete Two-Part Novel Duet (The TENSE Series) by Deborah Bladon
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Deborah Bladon, TENSE - The Complete Two-Part Novel Duet. Volume One He's as beautiful as he is brilliant. Nicholas Wolf's mind is a dangerously dark place. He dreams up tales of murder, intrigue, and passion so intense that his detective novels have enthralled readers worldwide... -
![EMBER - The Complete Series: Part One, Part Two & Part Three by Deborah Bladon]()
EMBER - The Complete Series: Part One, Part Two & Part Three by Deborah Bladon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe complete EMBER series, now available in one bundle! EMBER, a three-part series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Deborah Bladon. EMBER - Part One Being rescued in the middle of a blind date by a gorgeous fireman is the last thing that Bridget Grant expects. When he throws all caution aside to defend her honor, she sees something that she has been craving for years... -
![Simon Says Mommy by Kay Stockham]()
Simon Says Mommy by Kay Stockham
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDr. Ethan Tulane is juggling more than even his type A personality can handle. Between his new job as chief of surgery and learning to be a dad to Simon, his adopted son, Ethan is desperate. Enter Megan Rose, the temporary nanny. Simon bonds instantly with her, which makes Ethan heave a sigh of relief--even as he notices she's very good-looking... -
![Les Enfants du silence by Gong Jiyoung]()
Les Enfants du silence by Gong Jiyoung
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIl faut avant tout savoir que les événements racontés dans ce roman sont vrais. Ils ont réellement eu lieu.Lorsque Inho arrive dans cette petite ville coréenne noyée dans le brouillard, il a un mauvais pressentiment. Il vient d’être nommé professeur dans une école privée et rien ne le destinait au combat qu’il va devoir y mener pour faire éclater la vérité... -
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![Two Like Me and You by Chad Alan Gibbs]()
Two Like Me and You by Chad Alan Gibbs
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEdwin Green's ex-girlfriend is famous. We're talking cover-of-every-tabloid-in-the-grocery-store-line famous. She dumped Edwin one year ago on what he refers to as Black Saturday, and in hopes of winning her back, he's spent the last twelve months trying to become famous himself. It hasn't gone well...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction action-adventure book contemporary fiction humor realistic -
![Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer]()
Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThirteen-year-old Apron Bramhall begins a summer job at her new friend Mike and his boyfriend Chad's flower shop, but she soon learns a secret about Chad that threatens to turn her peaceful world upside down...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age young-adult fiction contemporary realistic drama middle-grade -
![Aloha, Kanani by Lisa Yee]()
Aloha, Kanani by Lisa Yee
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsKanani loves helping out in her family's store and sharing the wonders of Hawaii with visitors. When her chic cousin Rachel from Manhattan comes to stay for a month, Kanani can't wait to get to know her cousin and help Rachel feel at home. But a clash of cultures ensures, and Kanani feels ignored. She tries to extend hospitality but everything she does seems to make Rachel unhappy... -
![Cómplices by Taibo]()
Cómplices by Taibo
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJulián ha luchado contra el aburrimiento de todas las maneras posibles. Desde que le diagnosticaron hepatitis, ha recreado en su cabeza conversaciones imaginarias entre ostras que no tienen nada que hacer, ha buscado formas fantasiosas en las manchas de la pared, ha lanzado mocos al aire. Pero es feliz porque no tiene que ir a la escuela... -
![K by Bernardo Kucinski]()
K by Bernardo Kucinski
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsK is the story of a father who searches desperately for his daughter, ‘disappeared’ during the military dictatorship in Brazil. The father is himself a refugee from Poland in the 1930s. He is racked by feelings of guilt—that because he was immersed in his Yiddish writing and scholarship, he did not really know his daughter or the danger that threatened her... -
![Pioneer Summer: A Novel by Elena Malisova, Katerina Silvanova]()
Pioneer Summer: A Novel by Elena Malisova, Katerina Silvanova
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis star-crossed gay romance is a #1 bestselling TikTok sensation that took listeners by storm, made international news, and catalyzed one of Russia’s largest-ever crackdowns on LGBTQ representation The year is 1986, and Yurka Konev, 16, has been sent off for another summer at Pioneer Camp...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age romance lgbtq fiction young-adult contemporary audiobook -
![A Colorful Life: Drawn in Broken Crayon by Melissa Storm]()
A Colorful Life: Drawn in Broken Crayon by Melissa Storm
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA handsome stranger.A whirlwind trip to India.A life forever changed. For Daly English, life is a series of one disappointment after another. Rather than dealing with the fall-out, she locks herself in her studio and works tirelessly toward completing her art school portfolio. Unfortunately, fate isn't done with Daly quite yet...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction adult audiobook book contemporary female-mc fiction -
![Three Steps to Heaven by Pam Howes]()
Three Steps to Heaven by Pam Howes
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's the 1960's and Eddie Mellor is unhappy in his shotgun marriage; hates his boring factory job and is not unduly bothered when he is sacked. His young son Jonny, and his dreams of becoming a famous rock drummer with The Raiders, a career he was forced to shelve when he married Angie, are the two things that keep him going. But Eddie's luck is about to change for the better.. -
![For the Summer by Camille Harte]()
For the Summer by Camille Harte
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's 1983 and eleven-year old Cat Rossi watches the launch ramp at her father's marina where dozens of trucks patiently wait to back their boats into the shallow water. They're out-of-towners, Paychecks, her brother likes to call them because they bring the money. But just for the summer...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age romance contemporary young-adult fiction season-summer small-town -
![The Orchard by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry]()
The Orchard by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFour teenagers grow inseparable in the last days of the Soviet Union—but not all of them will live to see the new world arrive in this powerful debut novel, loosely based on Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.Coming of age in the USSR in the 1980s, best friends Anya and Milka try to envision a free and joyful future for themselves... -
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![The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen]()
The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis Nordic Prize-winning novel, a truly gripping epic, relates the lives of four generations of a unique and strange family with touching intimacy and surreal comedy.Traces four generations of a family marked by the untimely birth of Fred, a misfit and boxer conceived during a devastating rape who forges an unusual friendship with his younger half-brother, Barnum...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction 21st-century adult book classics contemporary drama -
![Lessons by Ian McEwan]()
Lessons by Ian McEwan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has closed, eleven-year-old Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Two thousand miles from his mother's protective love, stranded at an unusual boarding school, his vulnerability attracts piano teacher Miss Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age fiction literary-fiction audiobook contemporary family book -
![Wpatrzeni w niebo by Anna Fryczkowska]()
Wpatrzeni w niebo by Anna Fryczkowska
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPiękna literacka podróż do skrawka Polski sprzed 200 lat. Fascynujące losy rodziny, która potrafiła ocalić miłość i godność.Anna Fryczkowska, zdobywczyni prestiżowych nagród literackich, powraca z epicką, ponadczasową i przepięknie napisaną opowieścią o tym, co w życiu najważniejsze... -
![Spud - The Madness Continues ... by John van de Ruit]()
Spud - The Madness Continues ... by John van de Ruit
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe year is 1991, and Spud Milton's long walk to manhood is still creeping along at an unnervingly slow pace. Approaching the ripe old age of fifteen and still with no signs of the much anticipated ball-drop, Spud is coming to terms with the fact that he may well be a freak of nature...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction boarding-school book comedy contemporary drama epistolary -
![Et au pire, on se mariera by Sophie Bienvenu]()
Et au pire, on se mariera by Sophie Bienvenu
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAvant de rencontrer Baz, Aïcha était tout le temps enragée. Elle traînait son enfance brisée en essayant d’éviter sa mère, les vieux puants et les seringues usées du parc. Maintenant qu’elle est amoureuse, elle voit les balançoires dans les parcs de Centre-Sud. Voilà pourquoi, pour Baz, Aïcha ferait tout, même le pire... -
![Meant to Be by Jude Deveraux]()
Meant to Be by Jude Deveraux
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux has crafted an inspiring family saga that spans generations as she tells the story of two headstrong sisters who are bound by tradition but long to forge their own path.It’s 1972 and times are changing. In the small farming community of Mason, Kansas, Vera and Kelly Exton are known for their ambitions... -
![Spud: Learning to Fly by John van de Ruit]()
Spud: Learning to Fly by John van de Ruit
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs Spud Milton continues his diabolical stagger through adolescence, he learns one of life's most important lessons: when dealing with women and cretins, nothing is ever quite as it seems. In this third instalment, Spud, now 16 and growing up, takes on one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'... -
![Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah]()
Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, a powerful story of exile, migration, and betrayal.Salim has always known that his father does not want him. Living with his parents and his adored Uncle Amir in a house full of secrets, he is a bookish child, a dreamer haunted by night terrors. It is the 1970s and Zanzibar is changing... -
![Barndommens gate by Tove Ditlevsen]()
Barndommens gate by Tove Ditlevsen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRomanen handler om ungjenta Esters oppvekst i en arbeiderfamilie i København, om hennes forhold til familien, omgivelsene og en gryende seksualitet. Romanen er sterkt selvbiografisk... -
![Eddie's Bastard by William Kowalski]()
Eddie's Bastard by William Kowalski
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"Eddie's Bastard" is William Amos Mann IV, known as Billy -- the son of a heroic pilot killed in Vietnam and an unknown woman. The last in a line of proud, individualistic Irish-American men, Billy is discovered in a basket at the door of the dilapidated mansion where his bitter, hard-drinking grandfather, Thomas Mann, has exiled himself... -
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![How High the Moon by Sandra Kring]()
How High the Moon by Sandra Kring
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn this tender novel set in 1955 Mill Town, Wisconsin, Sandra Kring explores the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the pressure to conform, and the meaning of friendship and family. Ten-year-old Isabella “Teaspoon” Marlene has been a handful ever since her mother, Catty, dumped her with an old boyfriend and ran off to Hollywood...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction fiction womens-fiction young-adult family friendship contemporary -
![McKenna by Mary Casanova]()
McKenna by Mary Casanova
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTen-year-old McKenna has always been a good student-and great at gymnastics. So when her grades suddenly begin to fall, her teacher suggests a little extra help from a tutor. McKenna is horrified until she meets her tutor, Josie, a super-confident girl who also happens to be in a wheelchair. Josie encourages McKenna to focus on her strengths and work toward her goals one day at a time...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age middle-grade realistic fiction children-books contemporary sports -
![Red Dog: True Blue: Blue Dog Movie Tie-In Edition by Louis de Bernières, Daniel Lapaine]()
Red Dog: True Blue: Blue Dog Movie Tie-In Edition by Louis de Bernières, Daniel Lapaine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNow a major motion picture, the spellbinding story of a young boy and his dog adventuring through the outback.When a family tragedy means Mick is sent to the outback to live with his Granpa, it looks as if he has a lonely life ahead of him. The cattle station is a tough place for a child, where nature is brutal and the men must work hard in the heat and dust... -
![The Rise and Fall of Ava Arcana: A Novel by Jennifer Banash]()
The Rise and Fall of Ava Arcana: A Novel by Jennifer Banash
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn electrifying novel about a woman in thrall to the exhilarating rhythms of Manhattan, lost in the dizzying promise of youth, and fatally naive to the dark pressures of fame.When Rolling Stone journalist Kayla McCray is assigned a cover story on pop icon Lexi Mayhem, Kayla stumbles across a startling new angle to the exposé... -
![Postcards from Summer by Cynthia Platt]()
Postcards from Summer by Cynthia Platt
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Notebook meets Love & Gelato in this heart-wrenching novel about a teen girl who travels to her late mother’s majestic summertime home to learn of the romance—and the tragedy—that changed her life forever.Seventeen-year-old Lexi has always wanted to know more about the mother who passed away when she was only a child. But her dad will barely talk about her...Categorized as:
historical-fiction coming-of-age romance young-adult contemporary fiction mystery audiobook -
![Good Job, Kanani by Lisa Yee]()
Good Job, Kanani by Lisa Yee
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKanani enjoys working at her family's new shave ice stand to raise money to protect the Hawaiian monk seal. If only she hadn't promised her best friend Celina that she would take surfing lessons with her! When the girls' friendship starts to unravel, Kanani finds herself spending summer days alone--and loney...
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