American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood

Book Description

In her father’s Peruvian family, Marie Arana was taught to be a proper lady, yet in her mother’s American family she learned to shoot a gun, break a horse, and snap a chicken’s neck for dinner. Arana shuttled easily between these deeply separate cultures for years. But only when she immigrated with her family to the United States did she come to understand that she was a hybrid American whose cultural identity was split in half. Coming to terms with this split is at the heart of this graceful, beautifully realized portrait of a child who “was a north-south collision, a New World fusion. An American Chica.”

Here are two vastly different landscapes: Peru—earthquake-prone, charged with ghosts of history and mythology—and the sprawling prairie lands of Wyoming. In these rich terrains resides a colorful cast of family members who bring Arana’s historia to life...her proud grandfather who one day simply stopped coming down the stairs; her dazzling grandmother, “clicking through the house as if she were making her way onstage.” But most important are Arana’s parents: he a brilliant engineer, she a gifted musician. For more than half a century these two passionate, strong-willed people struggled to overcome the bicultural tensions in their marriage and, finally, to prevail.

Customer Reviews:

A beautifully written memoir of cultural dissonance and marital politics.......2007-01-31

What a generous offering from a talented writer with a keen eye for the nuances of family life! Yes, she writes her own story, but she also writes her mother's and father's stories. And her siblings, though more sparingly drawn, also command her careful observation.

She and her immediate family are described as they came up against the cultural norms, first in Peru in the 1950s, where the family spent 12 years, and then in the United States in the 1960s. Arana is a descendant of Peru's upper class, and while the story is one of growing up with economic 'privilege', we also see how that same class privilege imposes social restraints.

One of my favorite passages describes Arana's observation that it is mothers who lovingly mold their sons into "machos", the archetype of the Latin male.

A beautifully written book.......2006-06-17

This is a heartfelt book; I can't think of another book that spells out the bicultural life so clearly. Arana has cut a new path here. This is not so much about being Hispanic American as being a new and different kind of American: split, with differing loyalties, and with all kinds of doubts along the way.
I've just read the galleys of her new book, "Cellophane," which make me think that she's building something something new in her opus. This is a strong American writer with a great deal to say about what it means to be a person of the hemisphere. There is much inclusiveness here. I am struck by the largeness of her world.

Spanish deserves as much respect as English.......2006-06-10

As a native Spanish speaker and ESL/bilingual education
teacher I was surprised to find so many
Spanish mistakes in "American Chica." Given Ms.
Arana's claims of bilingualism, I don't understand how
this could have happened. A Spanish speaker, for
example, knows that the word for an indigenous person,
regardless of gender, is always indígena. Also, no
fluent Spanish speaker would omit 'te' from "Te tengo
a ti..." Nor write "proprio," "creatura," or
"estranjera." And the problems with written accents
throughout the book are serious! This is not
nit-picking. As students and speakers of Spanish
know, an accent's presence or absence can completely
change the meaning of a word.

While these mistakes were probably corrected in the
paperback edition, I find it somewhat disrespectful
that Ms. Arana took such a cavalier attitude with
Spanish, particularly in a memoir about biculturalism.
This sloppiness, as well as the author's rigid,
outdated observations about Latin America vs. North
America and all that made-for-gringos exoticism was
very irritating to this particular American chica.

A Pretentious Family Memoir.......2006-06-04

My wife grew up in Ecuador and moved to the United States 8 years ago, at age 31. I am always interested in better understanding her cross-cultural transition and that's why I picked up "American Chica". But actually this book is more of a family memoir, describing the difficult marriage of Arana's parents. The majority of the book is about her early childhood years growing up in Peru with her father's aristocratic family. The last couple of chapters do recount her family's move to New Jersey. But, while her father was miserable living the "gringo" lifestyle, Marie and her siblings appeared to make the transition quite easily - as children often do - despite facing racism as the only latino kids in their school system.

I prefer my non-fiction to be straightforward, with clear and concise writing. But Arana tends toward artsy pretentiousness, with descriptions and details that I found to be flowery and overly wordy. Obviously, many folks like her style of writing, as demonstrated by the numerous positive reviews. But, for me, it just didn't work.

Lyrical Indeed.......2005-12-27

I looked forward every night to reading Arana's way with words. Not only was the subject matter a great story -- duality on many levels, and she explored all the layers -- but she told her story with excellent prose.

Having studied Latin America for years I've always been envious of my follow classmates & friends who have multiple identities...this book opened my eyes to the deeper challenges of multicultural identity, beyond the obvious racism/segregation to the more internal challenges; Arana's description of how she developed not just her gringa identity, or her Peruvian identity but her "faking it" identity fascinated me.

I hope to see more of her work.

American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood (Signed)

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American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood (Signed)

Manufacturer: The Dial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HJN7TK

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American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood. (Signed)

Manufacturer: The Dial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HJJH08

Book Description

The pressure is on.

At Nearmont High School, football stars are treated like royalty, and Matt Rydek has just ascended to the throne. As co-captain of the Raiders, he's got it all, or so it seems: hot girls, all the right friends, plenty of juice to make him strong, and a winning team poised to go all the way. If he can keep his eye on the ball now, his future will be set, with a full ride to a Division One school, a shot at the pros, and—most important—his dad off his back. But when the team turns on one of its own, should Matt play by Raiders rules, or should he go long alone?

Robert Lipsyte, an award-winning journalist, in consultation with Dr. Michael J. Miletic, a leading sports psychiatrist, takes a hard-hitting look at the world of competitive high school sports in a novel straight from today's headlines.

Customer Reviews:

A gripping tale so well-written.......2007-07-10

What's most amazing about this book, to me, is that it has all of the insight and vivid detail you'd expect from a prolific writer like Lipsyte, but he's captured the tone and pacing you'd expect to encounter in a high school. He truly immersed himself in the culture of high school and high-level high school sports, and he places the reader right there in the locker room and in conversations in a way you'd swear you were listening to two 17-year-olds talk.

The book is also an incredible tool in the fights against cruel hazing and doping. Without beating you over the head with the message, Lipsyte shows everything that is wrong with the darkest sides of sports. A must-read for every high school athlete.

A gripping inside look at the world of competitive high school sports.......2007-02-10

The Nearmont High School football season looks promising. The entire town expects great things from them --- Division, even State Championships --- and the team is on track for just such a season when they take off for preseason camp: two-a-day practices, morning wakeup calls, and Raider Pride Night, the traditional freshman initiation. Unfortunately, the ritual goes places it never should in ways that might compromise their entire season and ruin any chances they might have in college football and the pros.

"The biggest enemy of best is good. If you're satisfied with what's good, you'll never be the best."

Those words atop the Jerry Rice poster over Matt Rydeck's bed tell him everything he needs to know about football and life. He has to be willing to do what it takes, no matter what --- even if that involves staying loyal to his drug-using friends and even if that means using illegal steroids and Vicodin himself. They're supposed to take away the pain and help him heal faster. In the midst of all that, Matt would love to have a girl he could actually talk to, not just the typical girls who will follow any star receiver home after a party. He wants something more, someone with whom he can share his problems.

What would Matt's life be like without all the stress? Without having to hide what really happened that night at camp? Without the responsibility that comes with being team captain? Without the baggage of former one-night flings? With Dad in his face loading on the pressure to succeed, Matt needs a way out of his slowly suffocating world, and breaking a few rules and hearts seems like the only way out of town, to a life with a little more freedom.

In RAIDERS NIGHT, Robert Lipsyte has taken the experiences of "world-class athlete and sports psychiatrist" Michael J. Miletic, M.D. and re-molded them into a gripping story that's as fictional as it is real. The insider knowledge offers a glimpse into the competitive world of high school football players who are doing everything they can to make it to college and the pros, while at the same time navigate the complex webwork of their lives.

--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

The Biggest Enemy of Best is Good........2006-08-23

Richie's Picks: RAIDERS NIGHT.......2006-08-02

(Since writing this review, I have now read the book a second and a third time. This is definitely one of the best YA books of 2006 and unquestionably one of the best YA books relating to high school sports that I have ever read.)

"Richie! Richie! Richie!"

Imagine walking into a middle school classroom and finding the desks occupied by the likes of Joey Pigza, Sahara Special, Ruby Oliver, the Ally Sheedy character from The Breakfast Club, Cookie Monster, Roadrunner, Byron's friend Buphead, Jordan Catalano, and various other scholastically, socially, and/or hormonally challenged characters.

This was what it sometimes seemed like when I was standing in front of my wife's third period English class this past school year. The class was made up of a select, especially wonderful assemblage of students whom it was decided might benefit from being gathered together into a smaller class. And it was just as much fun for me to be in there as it might sound. (Of course, as Shari would immediately point out, Richie the middle aged adolescent guy didn't have to control the class; he could just be entertaining and be entertained, in turn, by them.)

It was a great opportunity to test whether those "high interest" YAs really are as "high interest" as I've always claimed them to be. And so we read aloud and discussed Rodman Philbrick's THE LAST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE, Todd Strasser's CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE, and Alex Flinn's FADE TO BLACK. Shari's hope was to work our way up to SPEAK, which she teaches to her other eighth grade English classes. But, alas, the introspective, sarcastic voice of Melinda Sordino was way over too many of their heads, and so SPEAK was abandoned after a week in favor of in-your-face Zach Wahhsted from Terry Trueman's INSIDE OUT.

In addition to their enthusiasm (They really would sometimes chant "Richie! Richie!" when I'd get up there to read aloud), it was heartening to see their willingness to take steps toward more scholarly behavior such as showing up close to the time when the bell rang, reluctantly but amicably forgoing mid-class snack times, and becoming attentive, in some cases, for significantly long periods of time.

And, yes, I'd say that the "high interest" YAs proved themselves to be just that.
During the time they were studying FADE TO BLACK, Shari and I had the opportunity to collaborate on a complementary research unit focused on HIV and AIDS. I was able to document the collaboration process along with the students' results and assessments as the final project for my Instructional Strategies class, and we all agreed -- adolescents and adults -- that we'd learned a lot from the search process and from the actual information that was gathered, evaluated, discussed, and compiled.

In chatting with friends about the success of the HIV/AIDS unit, I'd note that such exceptional work was being accomplished by a class of which three-quarters of the students were not being permitted to "walk" with their classmates; they were receiving "social promotions" to high school but, because of their accumulated lack of scholastic achievement, they weren't allowed to participate in the graduation exercises.

When, at one point, I spoke of this with a psychiatrist friend, he became quite emphatic in his opposition to such a policy. He told me that there are so few real rites of passage for most kids these days. He said it was a significant mistake on the part of the District to not permit those kids to participate in the ritual after spending three years in the school.

"Matt floated into the party a step behind Brody, who opened holes in the crowd with his smile. Brody reached out for guys to tap fists and girls to feel up. Ever since he was in PeeWee, All-Brody had acted like he was walking on a red carpet, but nobody seemed to mind. He could say anything to anybody. Guys trusted him in the huddle and girls couldn't keep their hands off him. He had left the football in the car. He was looking to score tonight.
"The beer and Vic buzz carried Matt over the upturned faces. 'Yo, Matt...Lookin' good, my man...Where's Amanda...Ready for hell, hoss?' He felt the words more than heard them, like hundreds of fingers plucking at him. Good thing Brody's driving tonight. Matt grinned back at people, winked, tapped a few fists, squeezed a few soft arms that came out of the crowd to encircle him like snakes then fell away brushing the length of his body. He smelled perfume and armpits. He waved back at Pete, in a corner with Lisa. They talked about everything. Pathetic, Matt thought, then wondered what it would be like to have someone you could really talk to.
" 'Start the party,' Ramp bellowed. 'Captains are here.' His shoulders cleared a path and he was suddenly beside Matt, throwing a heavy arm around his neck, thrusting a can of beer in his hand. In this kind of crowd, Ramp always acted like they were buds. Otherwise, he made wiseass remarks and kept his distance. Been like that since PeeWee, teammates but never friends.
" 'Wassup?' Can't just blow Ramp off with everybody watching.
" 'Hear about the transfer from Bergan Central?' said Ramp.
" Bergan Central was in another conference. He didn't know any of their players. 'What about?'
" 'Sophomore tight end. Thinks he's just gonna show up and play.' Ramp sounded angry. Ramp was a great linebacker, but only a so-so tight end. He didn't want any competition."

After staying up until 3 AM the night before last, totally caught up in reading Robert Lipsyte's RAIDERS NIGHT, I slept a few hours and then sat down at the laptop. My first inclination was to find more about anabolic steroids and Vicodin, the two drugs being used regularly by Matt Rydeck, the Nearmont high school senior around whom the story revolves. I then proceeded to dig up some information about California's recently enacted rules on training coaches who work in high school athletic programs -- rules enacted as the result of widespread use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances by high school athletes.

But where my information gathering ultimately led me was to an exploration of hazing and ritual and the necessity of devising bonding rituals that really create community.

Central to the plot of RAIDERS NIGHT, and to what the title refers, is the final night of Nearmont High's football training camp and the "bonding" ritual inflicted each year by the senior players upon the new guys. The ritual portrayed in the story is homophobic in nature. Sadly, so I've been told, this is not an unusual attitude or occurrence in the real world.

What is unusual is that the ritual in Lipsyte's story gets out of hand when Ramp, the team Neanderthal and co-captain, graphically abuses the young transfer hotshot whose substantial talent threatens to significantly reduce Ramp's own playing time during the coming season.

Matt Rydeck is the other co-captain and the real story here involves Captain Matt's relationships and behavior in regard to his chemical intake, his teammates, his girlfriends, his parents, his developmentally disabled older brother and, of course, his abused teammate.

In SPEAK, the Michael Printz Honor book with the vital message about looking out for the welfare of all the members of one's school community, readers at first don't know what has happened to Melinda to make her call the cops, but gradually they come to learn the facts when she finally begins to let herself remember. In RAIDERS NIGHT, we see what happens to Chris (the transfer student) but don't have any idea about Chris's subsequent thoughts and behavior during the extended period of time when Matt is too confused and too caught up in the rest of his drug, girl, and parent-crazed life to do or say anything about what has befallen the kid whom he, as co-captain, should have been protecting from the Neanderthal.

As a reader of RAIDERS NIGHT, one might be tempted to blame Matt's behavior on his father's being such an a-hole -- which he truly is. But, hey, I'm sure that I'm not the only one who could spend an hour or two spewing about how so many of my own bad habits are the result of my father's misparenting or setting a bad example. The bottom line, as Matt eventually figures out, is that you are dealt what you are dealt, and the measure of a young man is who he decides he is going to be and what he decides he is going to stand for, irrespective of the influence exerted by parents (or peers).

We do need to be talking about behavior and attitudes of adults is in terms of the rituals in the lives of adolescents. We don't want to do away with rituals. What is needed instead is for adults to ensure that bonding rituals and rites of passage are positive and inclusive to the benefit of the entire group, team, or community.

RAIDERS NIGHT is one hell of a story. I'd never before read any of Robert Lipsyte's YA fiction, but am now feeling lots of admiration for the members of the Margaret Edwards Award committee who were responsible for voting Lipsyte that honor a few years ago. You can bet I'll be reading more of his books. And, no doubt, people will be hearing me speak more about RAIDERS NIGHT, both in upcoming presentations, and when the time rolls around to debate the best books of 2006.

Average customer rating:

Very mediocre book, poorly written, much good info
Kick Arse
Amazing

The NIGHT RAIDERS
Samuel M. Katz
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671002341

Customer Reviews:

Very mediocre book, poorly written, much good info.......2006-08-15

This is one of those books that could have stood a much better editor. The author's a journalist, but apparently he lacks the skills to edit his own work, and the result is a lot of information which is very poorly presented.

Israel's Navy started out basically as a bunch of frogmen working to slow down first the British blockade of Israel itself, as refugees tried to enter the country; afterwards, the Israelis started out the fighting against the Arab nations by sinking the Egyptian Navy's flagship with limpet mines used by frogmen. From then on, apparently, they spent much of the time trying to raid and move around behind enemy lines along the coastline.

There's a lot of good information here, but as I said, the author apparently can't write competently without an editor, and the publisher apparently decided not to employ one. As a result, faux pas that should never appear in a book are repeated endlessly. Paragraphs a page or more in length, restating facts and re-explaining circumstances, aren't uncommon, and often the pronoun doesn't match the subject or object its referring to. So a singular is them and we becomes a singular, that sort of thing. It's just annoying and very poorly done. The whole book is of course very pro-Israeli, of course. I'm not particularly pro-Arab, but the book makes no pretense of objectivity. I wouldn't recommend this book except to someone very interested in the subject, or who's willing to overlook the bad writing.

Kick Arse.......2000-07-27

A very comprehensive history of the IDF's Navy SEAL equivalent. I especially like the way Katz tries to biograph the lives of two of Flotilla 13 and IDF/Navy commnders, Ze'ev Almog and Ami Ayalon, both of whom have gone on to bigger things.

Amazing.......1999-11-28

The Shayetot (naval recon. commandos) are amazing. They are the best naval special force operators in the world. The Navy Seals and the SBS never come close to the Shayetot's optempo and DAILY combat experiences. Sure, it was extremely hurt to remember the debacle of the batmen's ambush in South Lebanon in 1997. But the debacle had to do with the faculty and compromised intelligences. Otherwise, the Israeli commandos, Mossad and the IAF are the biggest nightmare to the Hizbollah terrorists. The terrorists should better watch their back, because one would never know when they would be permanently custodied by the biblical justice.

Night raider of the Atlantic: The saga of the U-99 (Ace double-size books)

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Night raider of the Atlantic: The saga of the U-99 (Ace double-size books)
Terence Robertson
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Night Raiders Along the Cape (Mysteries in Time.)

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Learn More About John F. Waters, the author

Night Raiders Along the Cape (Mysteries in Time.)

Manufacturer: Silver Moon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

Customer Reviews:

Learn More About John F. Waters, the author.......2000-11-16

If you want to learn more about John F. Waters, the author of Night Raiders Along the Cape and the more than thirty other children's books, essays, and Cape Cod Mysteries he has written go to his new website "acapecodwriter.com".

Leopards in the Night (man-eaters and cattle raiders in Nyasaland)

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Leopards in the Night (man-eaters and cattle raiders in Nyasaland)

Manufacturer: Appleton-Century-Crofts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000E328B2

Product Description

The adventures of a former game officer in Nyasaland (now Malawi)Africa. His experiences as a big game hunter and leader of safaris throughout Africa in the late 1940's.

Mystery of the Night Raiders (Monster Hunter, Book 1)

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Mystery of the Night Raiders (Monster Hunter, Book 1)
Nancy Garden
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Night Raider
Hogan; Ray
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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KG9D0C

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Manufacturer: J. Curley
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Night raider (Lone wolf)
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Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Product Description

Burt Wulff has gone beyond fear, beyond love, even beyond hate. He's simply beyond giving the slightest damn whether he lives or dies, so long as he can kill the killers - thousands of them, all over American and all over the world. He is the lone wolf.

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The Night Raider and Other Stories
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Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (Juv)
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Book Description

Our smartest and funniest progressive writers, cartoonists and satirists have increasingly turned their attention to the right-wing zealots who clutter up our media—television, radio, books, magazines—with hysterical, bullying, personal attacks on liberals, democrats, minorities, workers, women, gays, anti-war activists and ordinary citizens who dare to object to the right’s radical agenda for our country. This reader exposes the lies and distortions of these morons and bullies—who routinely rely on made-up statistics and scare tactics to push their policies and so-called values, revealing these liars for what they are—intellectually shallow and emotionally crippled demagogues who are more interested in their personal power than in America’s future. Featuring a wonderful compilation of attacks by Michael Moore, Molly Ivins and Jim Hightower; profiles of Ann Coulter and Peggy Noonan; transcripts from debates and interviews that humiliate Savage and O’Reilly; quizzes by Paul Slansky; commentary by stand-up comedians; satire from The Onion and other websites; works by Greg Palast and Chris Floyd; and much, much more. The I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity Reader is a piece of sweet revenge for the harm these mean-spirited demagogues are doing to our country and our world.

Customer Reviews:

So the Truth comes out.......2007-08-03

So the Truth comes out snotty Jonathan Alterman is a hater and can scribble dreck to prove that he is.

Terrific expose of right-wing liars.......2007-07-06

This is a must read for all political people. The right-wingers attacked in this book are all media senations who have been getting away with dissembling for too much of their careers. No more. The various contributors cut their weak arguments to shreds. This was well worth reading- I only wish the book was longer. Thank you, Mr.Willis.

They do it.......2007-06-21

Coulter, O'Reilly, Limbaugh and the rest of the right-wing whackos. . .they spew HATE and Bigotry and Racism.

If they (or their ditto-heads) can't stand the fire, they can get out of the kitchen.

Here's another one for you to chew on: right wing lunitics hate American Freedoms. They hate progression. They hate critical thinking. They should be exposed for the liars they really are: books like this simply highlight a need for counter-balance.

Let the guard go down: this is war.

Time to shut up these morons for good.

We Have to Protect the Country From the Right Wing.......2007-04-19

If it against the right wing nuts who brainwash American fools to act against their own best interests, it must be good.

About the book's title . . . The 'I Hate' Reader.......2007-01-02

IF FOX ZOMBIES can leave one-star reviews, having never read the book, then I can counter them while making an honest observation. I, too, grimace at the way hate is thrown around casually. But looking at the cover of this book, the way the graphics emphasize certain words, it would appear the title of the book might rightly read, "The 'I Hate' Reader," with a list of those hatemongers critiqued in the volume. Thus the word hate in the title rightly reflects on the mean-spirited, rightwing pundits critiqued within, and not on their sincere critics. Or is that obvious?

I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Peggy Noonan Reader: The Hideous Truth about America's Ugliest Conservatives

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who cares!!!

I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Peggy Noonan Reader: The Hideous Truth about America's Ugliest Conservatives

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK4MIW

Customer Reviews:

who cares!!!.......2007-08-18

Essays from a closed-minded person who does not fully understand the U.S. Constitution or the fact that
we are a nation that is now being fed revisionist history. The truth seems to irk some people who have a
different political agenda.

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