Books like 'The Runner'
Readers who enjoyed The Runner by Cynthia Voigt also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical military, war & conflict action / adventure realistic historical-fiction sports family classics coming-of-age war
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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsLibrarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereIt is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow... -
![The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron]()
The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe extraordinary story of Stefania Podgorska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII -- from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron.One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make..Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Tuổi Thơ Dữ Dội by Phùng Quán]()
Tuổi Thơ Dữ Dội by Phùng Quán
Rated: 4.69 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Tuổi thơ dữ dội" là một tác phẩm truyện dài bảy phần của nhà văn Phùng Quán. Truyện được khởi thảo bên bờ Hồ Tây năm 1968 và hoàn thành trong lều cỏ giữa hồ Tịnh Tâm năm 1986. Cuốn truyện xoay quanh cuộc sống chiến đấu và sự hy sinh của những thiếu niên 13, 14 tuổi trong hàng ngũ Đội thiếu niên trinh sát của trung đoàn Trần Cao Vân...Categorized as:
children classics historical-fiction war action-adventure book children-books fiction -
![Rashed, My Friend by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal]()
Rashed, My Friend by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratings1971 was a turning point in the sub-continent's history: it was when everything changed and Bangladesh came into existence. For nine months from March to December, the people of the country sacrificed their lives and all else that they had for their freedom in a way never before seen in the history of the world...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age historical-fiction war action-adventure book children-books -
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![The Violinist of Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood]()
The Violinist of Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the depths of hell, can hope rise? And can love triumph over hatred?In Auschwitz, every day is a fight for survival. Alma is inmate 50381, the number tattooed on her skin in pale blue ink. She is cooped up with thousands of others, torn from loved ones, trapped in a maze of barbed wire. Every day people disappear, never to be seen again...Categorized as:
historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Then by Morris Gleitzman]()
Then by Morris Gleitzman
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFelix and Zelda have escaped the train to the death camp, but where do they go now? They're two runaway kids in Nazi-occupied Poland. Danger lies at every turn of the road. With the help of a woman named Genia and their active imaginations, Felix and Zelda find a new home and begin to heal, forming a new family together...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![After by Morris Gleitzman]()
After by Morris Gleitzman
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA Holocaust survival story that combines hopeful melancholy with gentle humourFollowing a heartbreaking struggle to survive as a Jewish child in Germany, Felix faces perhaps his greatest challenge—to find hope when he's lost almost everything.As Europe goes through the final agonizing stages of the war, Felix struggles to reconcile hatred and healing...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Soon by Morris Gleitzman]()
Soon by Morris Gleitzman
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAfter the Nazis took my parents I was scared. After they killed my best friend I was angry. After I joined the partisans and helped defeat the Nazis I was hopeful. Soon, I said, we'll be safe. I was wrong.Soon continues the incredibly moving story of Felix, a Jewish boy still struggling to survive in the wake of the liberation of Poland after the end of World War Two...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson]()
Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsReturn to the American Revolution in the conclusion to the Seeds of America trilogy.As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge--but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic survival war action-adventure audiobook -
![Longbow by Wayne Grant]()
Longbow by Wayne Grant
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis is an alternate cover edition for B00OHZGQQG Roland Inness is a peasant boy with an unusual talent—and a secret. He has learned the art of making a longbow and the skill to use it with deadly accuracy. Why must this be kept secret? The Normans rule England with their armored knights and a well-aimed longbow can pierce that armor...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age historical-fiction realistic war action-adventure assassins audiobook -
![The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris]()
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis edition is edited and updated for younger readers (12 and older), and also contains extra materials, including classroom discussion points, additional photos, maps and documents and other educational resources. I tattooed a number on her arm. She tattooed her name on my heart. In 1942, Lale Sokolov arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau...Categorized as:
historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century action-adventure book fiction -
![I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis]()
I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis installment in the New York Times bestselling I Survived series from Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the Normandy landings, just in time for the 75th anniversary of D-Day!A battle that would change the course of World War II...Eleven-year-old Paul's French village has been under Nazi control for years. His Jewish best friend has disappeared. Food is scarce...Categorized as:
historical-fiction children war survival realistic family europe western-central-europe -
![I Survived: The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 by Lauren Tarshis]()
I Survived: The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPlease Read Notes: Brand New, International Softcover Edition, Printed in black and white pages, minor self wear on the cover or pages, Sale restriction may be printed on the book, but Book name, contents, and author are exactly same as Hardcover Edition. Fast delivery through DHL/FedEx express...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century action-adventure -
![Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay]()
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsParis, July 1942: Ten-year-old Sarah is brutally arrested with her family in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, the most notorious act of French collaboration with the Nazis. but before the police come to take them, Sarah locks her younger brother, Michel, in their favorite hiding place, a cupboard in the family's apartment. She keeps the key, thinking that she will be back within a few hours... -
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![When The World Was Ours by Liz Kessler]()
When The World Was Ours by Liz Kessler
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA novel about three childhood friends living during the Second World War whose fates are closely intertwined, even when their lives take very different courses.Three friends. Two sides. One memory.Vienna. 1936... -
![Yankee Stranger by Elswyth Thane]()
Yankee Stranger by Elswyth Thane
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the eve of the Civil War, Eden Day encounters Cabot Murray on Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg. As they shelter together from a passing thunderstorm, they fall in love. The obstacles to their future are instantly obvious. Hers is a prominent Virginia family, and he is a Yankee newspaperman. Their country is about to split apart, and they will be on opposite sides...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction survival war action-adventure adult american-civil-war -
![Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy, Tavia Gilbert]()
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy, Tavia Gilbert
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratings“In 1945 the war ended. The Germans surrendered, and the ghetto was liberated. Out of over a quarter of a million people, about 800 walked out of the ghetto. Of those who survived, only twelve were children. I was one of the twelve.” For more than fifty years after the war, Syvia, like many Holocaust survivors, did not talk about her experiences in the Lodz ghetto in Poland...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Small Country by Gaël Faye]()
Small Country by Gaël Faye
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratings‘A luminous and poignant novel about childhood, war, exile and identity…this is literature at its most powerful’ Le Parisien Magazine Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century 21st-century -
![Maybe by Morris Gleitzman]()
Maybe by Morris Gleitzman
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings1946. Europe is in ruins. Millions dream of finding happiness somewhere else, and 14 year-old Felix is one of them. When he's offered a journey to somewhere far away, he seizes the opportunity. So does someone very dear to him, even though she wasn't actually invited. They have high hopes for their new land... -
![The Wall by Eve Bunting]()
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA young boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic war action-adventure book -
![Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen, آرزو قلیزاده]()
Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen, آرزو قلیزاده
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDanger is never far from Audra's family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossack soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian -- they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Jessica by Bryce Courtenay]()
Jessica by Bryce Courtenay
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratings'A superb storyteller ... it is impossible not to be impressed by Courtenay's talents' - The Times JESSICA is based on the real life of a remarkable young Australian woman who defied the conventions of her time. She had a stubborn streak and the courage to act out her convictions ... in spite of the consequences...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic war action-adventure adult -
![When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor]()
When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTheir motto was to be prepared, but nothing could prepare them for war. . .The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home sets her unforgettable new novel in China during WWII, inspired by true events surrounding the Japanese Army’s internment of teachers and children from a British-run missionary school.China, December 1941...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs]()
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBased on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican Revolution. "Wrenching debut about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on." ― Booklist , starred review "Blazes bright, gripping readers until the novel's last page." ― Publishers Weekly , starred review "Vital and perilous and hopeful... -
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![Unbroken by Carolynn Amara]()
Unbroken by Carolynn Amara
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Alex Ramirez returns home from Afghanistan, his wife is thrilled to have her husband back. But the man that returns isn't the same fresh-faced eager soldier that boarded the plane so many months ago. He may have left the war in another country but the one that brews inside follows him everywhere he goes... -
![My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve]()
My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWinner of the Mildred L. Batchelder medal for most oustanding children's book in translation.Escaping Nazi Germany on the kindertransport changes one girl's life foreverAt the start of World War II, ten-year-old Franziska Mangold is torn from her family when she boards the kindertransport in Berlin, the train that secretly took nearly 10,000 children out of Nazi territory to safety in England...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood]()
Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“This page-turning true-life adventure is filled with rich and riveting details and a timeless understanding of the things that matter most.”—Dashka Slater, author of The 57 Bus “Brilliantly told in verse, readers will love Ken Sparks.” —Patricia Reilly Giff, two-time Newbery Honor winner “Lyrical, terrifying, and even at times funny...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century action-adventure -
![An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo]()
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWith Lizzie’s father fighting in World War II, her mother takes on the job of a zoo keeper to provide for her family. Lizzie, her mother, and her eight-year-old brother Karli have become especially attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow]()
The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSydney Taylor Award-winning novel Berlin Boxing Club is loosely inspired by the true story of boxer Max Schmeling's experiences following Kristallnacht. Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But the bullies at his school in Nazi-era Berlin, don't care that Karl has never been in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion... -
![Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf]()
Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn 1942, eleven-year-old Milada is taken from her home in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, along with other blond, blue-eyed children to a Lebensborn center in Poland. There she is trained to be a "proper German" for adoption by a German family, and all the while she struggles to remember her true identity... -
![Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North]()
Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe author recalls his carefree life in a small midwestern town at the close of World War I, and his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic war 20th-century -
![Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo]()
Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parent's yacht, the Peggy Sue, he struggles to survive on his own. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive... -
![Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi]()
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsUrsula Hegi draws parallels between groups of outsiders in this dramatic audiobook set in Germany. Trudi Montag, the town librarian, feels dissociated from society because she is a dwarf. In her role as librarian, Trudi meticulously archives secrets, stories, and history, all of which become her source of power when the townspeople allow Jews to be mistreated during World War II...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![Sebastian by Christoph Fischer]()
Sebastian by Christoph Fischer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSebastian is the story of a young man who has his leg amputated before World War I. When his father is drafted to the war it falls on to him to run the family grocery store in Vienna, to grow into his responsibilities, bear loss and uncertainty and hopefully find love...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction survival war 20th-century action-adventure book -
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![Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Alan Gratz]()
Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Alan Gratz
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz ( Refugee ; Ground Zero ; Two Degrees ) is a major publishing moment. A new World War II novel from Alan Gratz? That's even bigger! Get ready for an action-packed, inventive, and powerful take on the attack on Pearl Harbor, as only Alan Gratz can tell it. December 6, 1941: Best friends Frank and Stanley have it good... -
![Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson]()
Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSixteen-year-old Erik Brandt barely knows what Germany is fighting for when he is drafted into Hitler's army in 1944. Sent to the killing fields of the Eastern Front, he is surrounded by unimaginable sights, more horrific than he ever thought possible. It's kill or be killed, and it seems clear that Erik's days are numbered...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century action-adventure -
![The American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis]()
The American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe battlefield was soaked in blood. Screams of injured soldiers rang through the air. Eleven-year-old Nathaniel Knox knelt behind a rock, his gun clutched in his shaking hands. Nate had been heading to New York City to find his father. But now he was trapped in a terrible gunfight between American and British troops.This Revolutionary War had started as a thrilling fight for freedom... -
![Elephant Run by Roland Smith]()
Elephant Run by Roland Smith
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn 1941, bombs drop from the night skies of London, demolishing the apartment Nick Freestone lives in with his mother. Deciding the situation in England is too unstable, Nick's mother sends him to live with his father in Burma, hoping he will be safer living on the family's teak plantation. But as soon as Nick arrives, trouble erupts in this remote Burmese elephant village...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century -
![The Legacy of Beulah Land by Lonnie Coleman]()
The Legacy of Beulah Land by Lonnie Coleman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the ashes of war...fueled by lust, greed, and passion, they rose to splendorous new heights.... Three generationsn of men and women...the masters and slaves whose sacrifice and savagery made Beulah Land the pride of the Old South...the sons and daughters whose seething passions and fierce devotion made it the pride of the New.. -
![Casualties of War by Chris Lynch]()
Casualties of War by Chris Lynch
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"The best Vietnam War novels yet for this age range." - Kirkus ReviewsMorris, Rudi, Ivan, and Beck are best friends for life. So when one of the teens is drafted into the Vietnam War, the others sign up, too. Although they each serve in a different branch, they are fighting the war together -- and they promise to do all they can to come home together...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction realistic war action-adventure book children-books fiction -
![Abner & Me by Dan Gutman]()
Abner & Me by Dan Gutman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCannons are blasting! Bullets are flying! Wounded soldiers are everywhere!Stosh has time-traveled to 1863, right into the middle of the Civil War...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction sports war action-adventure book children-books civil-war -
![The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks]()
The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWolf Hollow meets The Thing About Jellyfish in Danielle Binks’s debut middle grade novel set in 1999, where a twelve-year-old girl grapples with the meaning of home and family amidst a refugee crisis that has divided her town. "Timeless and beautiful, and it deserves to be read by people of all ages...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family coming-of-age children realistic war middle-grade historical -
![Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen]()
Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey call Gabriela Tree Girl. Gabi climbs trees to be within reach of the eagles and watch the sun rise into an empty sky. She is at home among the outstretched branches of the Guatemalan forests.Then one day from the safety of a tree, Gabi witnesses the sights and sounds of an unspeakable massacre... -
![Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill]()
Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEvalina Cassano’s life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is everything it “should be” until she falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, the son of Japanese immigrants. Despite the scandal it would cause and that inter-racial marriage is illegal in California, Evalina and Taichi vow they will find a way to be together... -
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![Going Home by James D. Shipman]()
Going Home by James D. Shipman
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBrought to the New World from Ireland, young Joseph Forsyth is soon betrayed by his alcoholic father and separated from his beloved family. As he grows older, he finds his kind nature exploited by others—including an alluring young woman named Lucy—until he gets swept away by the conflict that divides a nation... -
![The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy]()
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA Newbery Honor Book - from the author of The White StagLife on the Hungarian plains is changing quickly for Jancsi and his cousin Kate. Father has given Jancsi permission to be in charge of his own herd, and Kate has begun to think about going to dances. Jancsi hardly even recognizes Kate when she appears at Peter and Mari's wedding wearing nearly as many petticoats as the older girls wear...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic war 20th-century -
![Daniel's Story by Carol Matas]()
Daniel's Story by Carol Matas
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDaniel barely remembers leading a normal life before the Nazis came to power in 1933. He can still picture once being happy and safe, but memories of those days are fading as he and his family face the dangers threatening Jews in Hitler's Germany in the late 1930's...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic survival war 20th-century action-adventure -
![Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier]()
Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWARSAW 1942On a cold, dark night in Warsaw in 1942, the Balicki children watch in horror as Nazi Storm Troopers arrest their mother. Now they are alone. With the war raging around them, food and shelter are hard to come by. They live in constant fear.Finally, they get word that their father is alive. He has made it to Switzerland... -
![Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard]()
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe classic, award-winning novel, made famous by Steven Spielberg's film, tells of a young boy's struggle to survive World War II in China.Jim is separated from his parents in a world at war. To survive, he must find a deep strength greater than all the events that surround him.Shanghai, 1941 — a city aflame from the fateful torch of Pearl Harbor...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction survival war 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Amazing Story Of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo]()
The Amazing Story Of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA stunning novel about friendship, war, and one girl's bravery which changes her life forever.It's 1943, and twelve-year-old Lily Tregenza lives on a farm in an idyllic seaside village in England. Apart from her father being away and the "townie" evacuees at school, her life is scarcely touched by the war . .Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic war 20th-century
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