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The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
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The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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From bestselling author Chelsea Sedoti comes a comedic young adult mystery with "one of the most relatable characters in recent young adult literature" (Book Page), perfect for fans of John Green and Jandy Nelson. Hawthorn Creely's not one to get involved in other people's business. But a missing person's investigation? That's another matter…

Hawthorn wasn't trying to insert herself into a missing person's investigation. Or maybe she was. But that's only because Lizzie Lovett's disappearance is the one fascinating mystery their sleepy town has ever had. Bad things don't happen to popular girls like Lizzie Lovett, and Hawthorn is convinced she'll turn up at any moment—which means the time for speculation is now.

So Hawthorn comes up with her own theory for Lizzie's disappearance. A theory way too absurd to take seriously…at first. The more Hawthorn talks, the more she believes. And what better way to collect evidence than to immerse herself in Lizzie's life? Like getting a job at the diner where Lizzie worked and hanging out with Lizzie's boyfriend. After all, it's not as if he killed her—or did he?

Told with a unique voice that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching, Hawthorn's quest for proof may uncover the greatest truth is within herself.

Perfect for buyers looking for:

  • funny books for teens
  • character-driven coming-of-age stories
  • the young adult books best sellers 2017

Also by Chelsea Sedoti:

It Came from the Sky

As You Wish

Praise for The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett:

"A dark, comedic mystery about a girl's quest for proof that ultimately helps her discover some truths about herself. We officially love Hawthorn. [O]ffbeat, smart and awesome."—Justine Magazine

"Sedoti's debut offers an enlightening look at the dangers of relying on outward appearances to judge someone's character, and Hawthorn's first-person narrative, filled with obsessive thoughts and, eventually, meaningful reflection, is a lively, engaging vehicle for the story… Fans of character-driven novels will appreciate this."—Booklist

"Hawthorn and Lizzie both emerge as surprising, intricate characters whose stories are resonant and memorable."—Publishers Weekly

"Hawthorn is an engaging young woman with a vivid imagination...With an interesting and diverse supporting cast, this novel is full of topics that are relevant to teens: bullying, self-esteem, family dynamics, and suicide. Highly recommended."—Shelf Awarenes

LanguageEnglish
PublisherSourcebooks
Release dateJan 3, 2017
ISBN9781492636090
Author

Chelsea Sedoti

Chelsea Sedoti fell in love with writing at a young age after discovering that making up stories was more fun than doing her schoolwork. (Her teachers didn’t always appreciate this.) She now focuses that passion by writing about flawed teenagers who are also afraid of growing up, like in her novels, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett and As You Wish. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she avoids casinos but loves roaming the Mojave Desert. Visit her at chelseasedoti.com.

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Reviews for The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

Rating: 3.384615481318682 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an impulse borrow. I went to my local library's website to check on some holds I had placed (true fact: a watched hold never comes in) and saw this book being spotlighted as Overdrive's latest Big Library Read. I thought the cover was pretty, so I borrowed it.That ... is not the best way to pick a book, I admit. And halfway through this one I was thinking that it served me right, because it turns out this is Sedoti's debut novel, a YA offering whose narrator is Hawthorn, high-school senior and daughter of a hippie mom and a history professor dad who for those reasons and more has only one true friend and gets picked on constantly at school. Are your eyes rolling yet? Mine were rolling, because while I have the utmost sympathy for anyone's high-school nightmare scenarios (I had one of those myself) I am no longer at a life stage where I find such tales to be particularly interesting. And Hawthorn is written (to me) as a rather young 17-year-old. I would have bought the angst and such much more readily if she had been, say, 13 or 14 instead. And yet ...The plot revolves around the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett, a young woman who graduated from Hawthorn's high school several years earlier, and who was the epitome of everything Hawthorn hates about school. She was pretty, she was outgoing, everyone liked her, she had her whole life together. So when she disappears while on a camping trip with her boyfriend, Hawthorn becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened. She is convinced that Lizzie is a werewolf, who shape-shifted into her natural self and bounded away. And she really believes it, and goes looking for evidence to prove it. (Perhaps you can see why I had trouble buying that she was a senior in high school. She sounds like a seventh grader, doesn't she?)But then the book takes a turn, very much for the better. The Lizzie mystery is solved, but what it leaves behind is a young woman struggling to cope with the truth. This last third or so of the book is quite good, with some really thoughtful discussions and depictions of depression and guilt and the quest for life's true meaning, and in general the sort of complex feelings that late adolescents spend most of their time obsessing about. It felt very natural and real, and pretty much redeemed the rest of the book for me.Now, whether you want to wade through the first two-thirds of teen angst to get there, I can't say. But it was a refreshing twist to have a book end on a high note instead of the other way around.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    First off, I’m way too old to be the intended audience of this book, so as I complain about it remember that fact. It’s a unique book with protagonist being a high school junior, Hawthorn. She’s misfit and as she tries to find the cause of an older girl’s death it becomes more and more obvious. It’s a unique look at the toll suicide takes on the living. I loved how Hawthorn’s relationship with her brother got stronger as the story ends. I kept wanting to holler at Hawthorn’s mother to pay attention to what she was doing. It was an interesting take on hippies and I enjoyed how Hawthorn turned to the hippies living in the backyard of her family’s home when she needed to talk. I am so glad I grew up in the 1960’s and didn’t have to face the mean girls of high school. I’m giving the book a high rating because any book that stays in my mind as long as this book has, is good writing about an important topic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    REVIEW: Brilliantly captures the incongruity of hating someone for who they are and wanting to be just like them. 17-year-old Hawthorn is irritated, amazed, intrigued and horrified by the story of a missing girl. Her fertile imagination bounces through countless scenarios before she is inexplicitly drawn into the life of Lizzie Lovett. She works in the same café, befriends Lizzie’s boyfriend and tries to follow in her footsteps. What she finds only adds to the mystery. The story sucks you in all the way to the last twist. This book is well worth the time to read. This is my voluntary review of the book checked out through Overdrive’s Big Library Read. DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Hawthorn wasn't trying to insert herself into a missing person's investigation. Or maybe she was. But that's only because Lizzie Lovett's disappearance is the one fascinating mystery their sleepy town has ever had. Bad things don't happen to popular girls like Lizzie Lovett, and Hawthorn is convinced she'll turn up at any moment-which means the time for speculation is now.So Hawthorn comes up with her own theory for Lizzie's disappearance. A theory way too absurd to take seriously...at first. The more Hawthorn talks, the more she believes. And what better way to collect evidence than to immerse herself in Lizzie's life? Like getting a job at the diner where Lizzie worked and hanging out with Lizzie's boyfriend. After all, it's not as if he killed her-or did he?Told with a unique voice that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching, Hawthorn's quest for proof may uncover the greatest truth is within herself.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So this book.It’s hard to write a review about this book. It was fresh and excellent, but sometimes I couldn’t keep up with the main character and just skipped pages.Hawthorn Creely is a seventeen years old student which thinks she is not the typical high school girl therefore is left alone. When one of her former schoolmates which happened to be a very popular girl is gone missing, Hawthorn starts a theory about what really happened to her. To prove her theory and to overcome her long lasting jealousy and somehow hate toward that girl she starts to work when she worked and know her boyfriend so maybe she see the world as she saw and feel what her amazing life would feel.Hawthorn is strong but at the same time so vulnerable. She can’t see what she has and how other people could be interested in her if only she let them. She only thinks about how perfect Lizzie is and even when somehow she recognize the opposite she doesn’t accept it again.*Generally I enjoyed this book and thanks NetGalley for providing me an e-copy.*
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hawthorn is aptly nicknamed Thorny by Connor, her brother's best friend. She's a difficult person. When Lizzie Lovett, a girl who was several years older and seemed from the outside to live a charmed beautiful life, goes missing. Hawthorn becomes obsessed with her story. She develops a werewolf theory, she gets Lizzie's old job at a dinner, and befriends her boyfriend, Enzo. All the while she's dealing with friendship drama, bullies at school, and hippies setting up a fall camp in her back yard. Hawthorn is trying to find her way. Hawthorn gains some wisdom, grows up, but she doesn't really get any less prickly or complicated - which is good, it is what makes her interesting and a little bit endearing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hawthorn Creely has never fit in or that is the way that she feels. When Lizzie Lovett disappears while camping with her boyfriend, Hawthorn jumps at the opportunity to solve the mystery. From bizarre theories to taking over Lizzie's job and becoming involved with Lizzie's grieving boyfriend, Hawthorn is forced to face life and her own place in it.Honestly, this was a very hard book for me to read. There was nothing wrong with the book but Chelsea Sedoti is so very good at describing those awkward and lonely teenage years. She did such a good job that I could relate to Hawthorn on so many levels and wished I could go into the book to let her know that she was ok and everything would be ok. This is a beautifully written coming of age story and it is one that I will be recommending and talking about for some time to come.I received a copy of this book from the publishers for free in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.Hawthorn is a teenager who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere, and who doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. So when popular Lizzie Lovett goes missing, Hawthorn sees it as an opportunity to finally live out a great adventure and solve a mystery Inserting herself in the life Lizzie has left behind, a life Hawthorn thought she so desperately wanted, she ends up learning about her own self on her quest for answers.What I Liked:First of all, the mystery is really intriguing. I wanted to know what happened to Lizzie right along with Hawthorn. Sedoti does an excellent job with the build up and resolution to the central puzzle.Sedoti also does a really good job of getting inside her characters' heads. No one comes across as a stereotype. From "mean girl" to "jock" to "loner", Sedoti makes each character three-dimensional and complex.I almost didn't get past the first few pages of this book, because I had a really hard time liking Hawthorn. But once I pushed past the initial chapter, and Hawthorn became much more of a complex character, I found myself beginning to get sucked in. Hawthorn did still irritate me at times, but she really grew on me as the story progressed.I would recommend this book. Just give it time, and don't get discouraged. To me, at least, it was well-worth the read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Hundred Lies of Lizzie LovettChelsea SedotiMy Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️PublisherSourcebook FirePublication Date January 3, 2017SUMMARYThe perfect blue-eyed blonde 21-year-old Lizzie Lovett has disappeared from a campsite during the night, leaving her boyfriend, Lorenzo behind. Lizzie had been the most popular and talented girl at Griffin Mills High School. Hawthorn Creely, a quirky, imaginative teen, was never a member of the Lizzie Lovett fan club. But despite not liking Lizzie, Hawthorn thought that Lizzie was perfect, Lizzie had everything, and Lizzie was everything. Hawthorn couldn't believe that something like this could happen to a girl like Lizzie. Things like this never ever happened in Griffin Mills. Hawthorn really needed to uncover the truth behind Lizzie's disappearance. She has her own crazy theory of what happened that night. Hawthorn applies for Lizzie's waitressing job at the Sunshine Cafe, and befriends Lizzie boyfriend when his comes into the diner. Hawthorn tries just about everything to figure out what happen to Lizzie. REVIEWLike Hawthorn, this book is very imaginative and yet a little quirky. The book is about Hawthorn, and yet the title, The 100 Lies of Lizzie Lovett might lead you to believe something else. Not until you step back after finishing the book do you really get the reason for the title. Many of the characters in the book are very unique. Hawthorn's dad was obsessed with Edward IV, and her vegan mom's name is Sparrow, a take-away from her hippie days at Kent State. Coincidently, Sparrow's gypsy friends show up one day, in a caravan led by an old purple school bus, and camped in Hawthorn's backyard for the duration of the book. Very quirky! Sundog, the gypsy leader, surprisingly becomes Hawthorn's most-trusted confidant. He is the only person who could make her feel good about herself. There's a huge cast of characters in the book, yet each of them is well-developed and memorable. The author, Chelsea Sedoti's writing is very easy to read and the dialogue is very natural. It's perfect for the characters in this book. The 100 Lies of Lizzie Lovett is funny and emotional, but Hawthorn's unrelenting insecurity is a little frustrating at times. This book contains so many stellar one liners! "The thing about high school is that you have to pretend you don't care what people think, even though that's all you care about." was one of my favorites. "Happiness is living in the moment and not thinking about the future at all." is another. However, "When something starts out perfect, it usually lets me down." fits Hawthorn's character perfectly. It's a good first book for Chelsea Sedoti. The ending of The 100 Lies of Lizzie Lovett makes this unique book worthwhile. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Fire for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the protagonist's voice in this novel-but had believability issues beyond the whole "Lizzie is a werewolf" thing (which seemed middle gradish to me.) For example, what decent parents (which is how these are portrayed) would let their 17-year-old daughter galivant around the woods with a 25-year-old murder suspect? Lots of subplots, some morals thrown in-easy light summer read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When teenage outcast Hawthorn Creely finds out Lizzie Lovett, a girl she didn't really know at all but spent years both envying and hating, went missing while camping with her boyfriend, she decides to look for her. She becomes obsessed with Lizzie. She comes up with a wacky idea about what happened and winds up working her old job and hanging out with her boyfriend in an attempt to find her.

    I really enjoyed the writing. The main character felt real to me. I almost don't want to admit how relatable I found her. At times the book did become long and drawn out especially towards the end. The thing I couldn't get over was how weird it was that Hawthorn and Lizzie's boyfriend were spending time together. But if that didn't happen we wouldn't have The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett, would we.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Pretty good young adult novel

    Just a girl trying to figure purveyors she is by wondering about a missing girl
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lizzie Lovett was out camping with her boyfriend when she went missing. Hawthorn Creeley, a misfit at school, becomes obsessed with finding out what could have happened to a popular girl like Lizzie. With a perfect life, why would Lizzie leave?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Hawthorn has had an interesting upbringing, with her formerly hippie mom and lost in history professor father. And while I think this works well as a piece about how it's ok to be yourself and have your own dreams. I didn't think it was successful because of how we got there. Hawthorn becomes obsessed with the disappearance of Lizzie, a girl she barely knew,that graduated from high school a few years ahead of her with her brothers class. Naturally, Lizzie's life looked picture perfect--cheering--boyfriends--looks--etc. But what Hawthorn discovers is that may have been just what Lizzie wanted them all to believe. Having her disappear while camping with her boyfriend was a great plot device, naturally everyone would suspect him. But when Hawthorn shows up at the diner where Lizzie worked and applies for her job, this is where things got muddied for me. It was weird having her insert herself into that life, on many levels.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lizzie Lovett has it all: good looks, popularity, and plenty of boys lining up for her. Hawthorn Creely believes Lizzie was born with good luck and her whole life has been handed to her. Hawthorn fixates on her resentment for Lizzie as she tries to survive high school. But when Lizzie Lovett goes camping with her boyfriend and doesn't come back, everything, and everyone, changes.The story is told from Hawthorn Creely's perspective and the reader becomes very intimate with her every thought. Hawthorn is guarded, insecure, self-centered, immature, and jealous. These attributes are generally unpleasant, however, in this YA it is perfection. As an adult, I can look back on my teenage years and realize that I had these attributes sometimes in high school. Negative attributes aside, she also has a thirst for knowledge, wild imagination, a fierce independence, and a naivete that often gets the best of her. When Lizzie Lovett goes missing, Hawthorn is initially dry and arrogant. However, her fixation changes from resenting her to wanting to become more like her. She finds ways to assimilate into Lizzie Lovett's life in limbo. What I liked most about this book is the authentic nature of Hawthorn's experience. It is realistically honest and raw. She is not the hero. Everything does not go according to plan. Friends do not stay the same. People are not always what they seem. Life is not always sunshine and fairy tales. Disappointment will come, even when you work hard and try your best. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has gone through high school. Those in high school and younger may not understand (or believe) that people often change drastically after high school. High school is a time to grow into who you will be and that process is different for everyone. To whom it may concern: there is some foul language, sexually suggestive scenarios, and suicidal themes.Please note: An electronic copy of this book was generously provided for free by the Publisher via Netgalley.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Hawthorn Creely, 17, feels like she is a high school misfit and is jealous of everyone else, especially Lizzie Lovett, a girl in her older brother Rush’s class who always seemed so popular and happy. As the story begins though, Lizzie has gone missing after a night camping with her boyfriend Enzo. Hawthorn becomes obsessed with Lizzie and finding her, convinced somehow that Lizzie is okay, and in fact more than okay - she has become a werewolf. Hawthorn wants to be Lizzie so much that she gets Lizzie’s former job as a waitress, and even takes up with Lizzie’s former boyfriend. When Lizzie is found, Hawthorn has to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about the world.Discussion: Hawthorn is self-centered, self-absorbed, immature, and jealous of anyone who has what she wants, even though, as most of the other characters point out, she never tries to do anything to change her life. In fact, she almost perfectly fits the profile of ISIS terrorist recruits, except that her thoughts of revenge are more suitable to junior high kid rather than an ISIS recruit, not to mention a 17-year-old. For example, she fantasizes about a mean girl: ““I wished Mychelle’s hair would get tangled in her homecoming queen tiara. I wished she would always weigh two pounds more than she wanted to.”Her obsession with Lizzie and devotion to the werewolf theory is beyond ridiculous, again, as everyone tries to tell her. Most of all, though, they try to shake her out of her self-absorption:Rush to Hawthorn: “When have you ever wanted to known about [my life]? I can’t say anything without getting insulted by you.”Emily to Hawthorn: “You want me to help you on your missions and listen to your thoughts, never stopping to think that maybe I have my own.”Enzo to Hawthorn: “Hawthorn, you’ve got it in your head that I’m supposed to, I don’t know, be the hero of your story. But I’m not. Life doesn’t work like that, OK? You need to let people be who they are, not who you want them to be.”One would have hoped that there could at least have been some sort of epiphany at the end, but there wasn’t much of one. This lack didn’t do much to solve the mystery of why anyone had anything to do with such a brat, much less care as much about her as did her brother, his best friend, and Hawthorn’s best friend.Evaluation: Overall, I found this to be a bizarre and unsatisfying story with a very unlikeable main character.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've never identified with a character more than I did with Hawthorn Creely.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Narrated by a tiresome protagonist and unnecessarily long, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is hard to get into. There's hardly any plot to speak of; most of the drama happens at the beginning and the end of the novel, and yet the story drags on for 300 pages in the meantime.

    Former star of Griffin Mills High School Lizzie Lovett has gone missing. Seventeen-year-old Hawthorn Creely (narrator of the story) is bored but also intrigued. She makes tactless jokes about Lizzie's disappearance, shrugs off others' concern, and yet proceeds to investigate Lizzie's life, long after everyone else in her community has gotten over Lizzie's disappearance. Hawthorn starts working at Lizzie's old job. She becomes friends with Lizzie's boyfriend, the mysterious Enzo rumored to have killed her. Convinced that Lizzie became a werewolf, Hawthorn manages to alienate nearly everyone around her — her best friend, Emily; her brother, Rush — and faces increasing ostracism at her school, where her strange theories don't help endear her to the reigning bully, Mychelle Adler.

    Once I got through the first third of the book, Hawthorn became less grating. The plotless plot grew more interesting, now that I had gotten to know the characters, quirks and all. Eventually some romantic subplots emerged to keep the story moving. But, really, I'm not sure what the buzz is about. The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett didn't blow me over with its story, its writing, its characters. I grew to like Hawthorn and her messy life by the end of the novel, but the novel did not live up to the hype.

    Some notes (quotes may not reflect final version):
    —Did the novel really need to offer tacit approval of a relationship between a 17-year-old girl and a 25-year-old man?
    —I enjoyed the assorted werewolf lore Hawthorn scattered throughout
    —A few great lines, like "embarrassingly optimistic high heels"
    —Enzo: "[Lizzie] doesn't overthink anything [....]" Hawthorn: "It doesn't sound awesome. It sounds like being in a relationship with a robot."

    Note: I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    **spoliers**

    This book was an ok read. It was quick and deep. The mystery of what happen to Lizzie kept me going. I needed to find out what had actually happened.

    Hawthorn sometimes as a character annoyed me.. but I think that's because I am a adult and sometime the petty teen just drives me nuts. But she was also finding her way and realizing that many things in life that you believe is important as a teenager does not matter when you are an adult and out of high school. Also that just because someone seems happy and has the perfect life doesn't mean they truly are. (Her obsession with Lizzie )

    Her relationship with Enzo was all the feels, kinda in a bad way. It was weird and frustrating but her understood. For me the whole time I was voting for Conner! I wanted Hawthron to realize him way sooner than she has but a little clipet at then end made me happy! All in all it was a quick good book to read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti is a unique young adult novel with an intriguing mystery and a flawed but likable main protagonist.

    Hawthorn Creely is initially indifferent to the shocking news that former cheerleader Lizzie Lovett vanished during on a camping trip with her boyfriend, Lorenzo Calvetti. When the numerous searches for Lizzie turn up no new information, Hawthorn becomes obsessed with finding the missing young woman. With an outrageous theory about the possible reason for Lizzie's disappearance, she begins waitressing at the diner where Lizzie worked and she quickly befriends Lorenzo. With surprising ease, Hawthorn convinces Lorenzo to help her look for clues and evidence that will back up her theory about what happened to Lizzie and hopefully find the missing young woman.

    Hawthorn is initially a difficult character to like. She is rather self-absorbed, tactless and immature. Her insecurities are endearing and as someone who is always on the outside looking in, she is often a target of her mean-spirited classmates. Hawthorn had a passing acquaintance with Lizzie years earlier that ended in disappointment and she is surprised by her obsession with the seemingly perfect woman's disappearance. Her quest for proof that her speculation about what happened to Lizzie is correct leads to a startling friendship and romance that provides Hawthorn with unexpected insight about herself and her classmates.

    The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti is a surprising journey of self-discovery for Hawthorn as she tries to uncover the truth about Lizzie's disappearance. The storyline is rather unusual and although Hawthorn's theory about the reason Lizzie vanished is a tad far-fetched, it is quite fun watching her try to find the missing woman. Her friendship with Lorenzo is enjoyable but their relationship does venture into somewhat uncomfortable territory considering their ages. Hawthorn grows and matures as the story progresses and she soon turns into a character that is easy to like and root for. An enjoyable, insightful young adult novel that I recommend to readers of all ages.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The narration of this book was /amazing/.

    The book has a depth that, for me, was part charming, and part frustratingly YA. I'm the last person who can fault even a fictional character for over-reacting to things. That being said, Hawthorn is a bit difficult to like, even for me. The secondary characters were more appealing than the protagonist - although that might not have been the case if I had read this as a teenager :)

    Overall, I really did enjoy this one. I definitely want to read more from this author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    * ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *

    In the beginning, I didn't really like Hawthorn. I thought she was really annoying, self-centered, and behaved really immaturely for someone who is a senior in high school. As the story progressed, my opinion changed. Hawthorn continued to make silly comments and acted in an immature way but it was tempered with growing self-awareness of the way others perceive her. She stopped victimizing herself and became so much stronger. This whole story isn't really about Lizzie so if you are looking for some kind of thriller, you will be grossly disappointed. This novel is a coming-of-age story about a misfit who finally learns to love herself and appreciate her uniqueness. And for that reason, I loved the story. I could empathize with Hawthorn; I know what it's like to never fit in and deal with bullying on an everyday basis. I know what it's like to want to be loved and to have someone "get" you when no one else does. The author did a fantastic job showing how her desperation for these things leads to questionable decisions, and how she bounces back when things go south. The writing style also made this story an enjoyable read. With every word, I felt compelled to keep going, keep reading about Hawthorn and her family, and all the ways in which people are affected by tragedy. Overall, this is a great teen fiction story, and I can't wait to read more by this author!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A special thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

    Hawthorn, an awkward teenager, becomes obsessed with solving the disappearance of Lizzie Lovett, a girl who mysteriously vanished while on a camping trip with her boyfriend. Her overactive imagination invents a crazy theory about what happened to Lizzie and in order to prove it, Hawthorn inserts into Lizzie's life, including taking Lizzie's job and boyfriend.

    Sedoti walks a fine line with such an unreliable narrator in Hawthorn. This coming-of-age story could come off as campy, but she pulls it off by giving Hawthorn some redeeming qualities that flesh out as the story progresses. It would be easy for the reader to assume that she is immature for her age, but in fact, it is simply lack of life experience given that she only has one friend and is therefore stunted when it comes to forming relationships.

    Without giving away the ending, the writing is raw and encapsulates what it is like to be a misfit teenager, or anyone really who is trying to find their place in the world. Sedoti captures Hawthorn's angst and emotion through her solid writing. Her character is multi-faceted from her sarcastic wit to her vulnerable interior and this is why the story can move on from Hawthorn's juvenile theory into a moving story.

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The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett - Chelsea Sedoti

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Copyright © 2017 by Chelsea Sedoti

Cover and internal design © 2017 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

Cover photography by Tiffany Lausen

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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Published by Sourcebooks Fire, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Names: Sedoti, Chelsea, author.

Title: The hundred lies of Lizzie Lovett / Chelsea Sedoti.

Description: Naperville, IL : Sourcebooks Fire, [2017] | Summary: When popular Lizzie Lovett goes missing, seventeen-year-old Hawthorne, a lonely misfit, finds herself becoming obsessed with solving the mystery.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016016725 | (13 : alk. paper)

Subjects: | CYAC: Self-perception--Fiction. | Loneliness--Fiction. | Missing persons--Fiction. | High schools--Fiction. | Schools--Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S3385 Hu 2017 | DDC [Fic]--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016016725

Contents

Front Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter 1: The First Thing

Chapter 2: Day One

Chapter 3: Freshman Year

Chapter 4: The New Lizzie

Chapter 5: The Hundred Deaths of Lizzie Lovett

Chapter 6: Under the Light of the Moon

Chapter 7: The Wolf Girl

Chapter 8: A Brief History of Griffin Mills

Chapter 9: Lorenzo Calvetti

Chapter 10: Day Seventeen

Chapter 11: In the Woods

Chapter 12: Sundog and the Caravan

Chapter 13: Anima and Animus

Chapter 14: The Hunt Begins

Chapter 15: Special

Chapter 16: The Painting

Chapter 17: In Lizzie’s World

Chapter 18: Full Moon

Chapter 19: Perspective

Chapter 20: Day Thirty-Seven

Chapter 21: Welcome, October

Chapter 22: On the Threshold of Everything

Chapter 23: Shedding Skin

Chapter 24: The Almost Moment

Chapter 25: Homecoming Dance

Chapter 26: Howl

Chapter 27: Trick or Treat

Chapter 28: Terrible Everything

Chapter 29: A Strange New Place

Chapter 30: Day Seventy-Nine

Chapter 31: The Lost Girl

Chapter 32: Another Good-bye

Chapter 33: Hanged

Chapter 34: Weak, Selfish, Broken

Chapter 35: In the Woods, Again

Chapter 36: And Life Went On

Chapter 37: The Last Thing

Acknowledgments

A Sneak Peek at As You Wish

Chapter 1: Welcome to Madison

Chapter 2: Countdown: 25 Days

Chapter 3: Countdown: 24 Days

About the Author

Back Cover

For Joanna Bruzzese

Chapter 1

The First Thing

The first thing that happened was Lizzie Lovett disappeared, and everyone was all, How can someone like Lizzie be missing? and I was like, Who cares? A few days later, there was talk about Lizzie maybe being dead, and it was still kinda boring, but not totally boring, because I’d never known a dead person before.

After that, I started to get fascinated by the whole situation, mostly because I noticed a bunch of weird stuff. Which was how I figured out Lizzie Lovett’s secret.

But I’m probably doing that thing again where I get ahead of myself and skip all over the place, which I’m trying to stop doing.

So the beginning, or the beginning for me at least, was when I found out Lizzie Lovett was missing. It happened like this:

It was Monday morning, and I needed an excuse to stay home. I was dreading school even more than usual, because the Welcome Back dance had been on Saturday, and I was probably the only senior at Griffin Mills High School who hadn’t gone, and everyone would be talking about it while I sat there thinking, Wow, I’m a loser.

I figured I could pretend to be sick and stay home, and by Tuesday, all the dance story swapping would’ve died down. Then no one would ask why I hadn’t gone, and I wouldn’t have to roll my eyes and say, High school events are so stupid and pointless. And no one would have to nod like they believed me, even though we all knew it was really because I hadn’t been asked.

But maybe I wouldn’t have to pretend to be sick, because my breakfast seemed more like silly putty than oatmeal and was quite possibly going to make me throw up.

I don’t think I can digest this, I said, using my spoon to make peaks and valleys.

My mom was washing dishes on the other side of the kitchen and didn’t bother to look up.

I tried again. What’s wrong with pancakes? You could make them organic or vegan or whatever.

I’m not having this discussion right now, Hawthorn.

Or even better, we could drop being vegan completely, since it’s clearly never going to stick.

Mom frowned, and I supposed I should shut up if I wanted to get out of school. So I sighed and shoveled a heaping spoonful of oatmeal putty into my mouth.

I immediately regretted it, because it was too much food and way too thick, and I wasn’t going to be able to swallow. Or maybe I would, but the food would get stuck on the way down, and I’d choke and die right there at the kitchen table. Which would be a super unpleasant way to go. Food I could barely identify would be my last meal, and at my funeral, my mom would cry and say, If only I’d made pancakes like Hawthorn wanted.

On the plus side, I wouldn’t have to go to school.

But then everyone would be like, Oh, poor Hawthorn, she was the only girl who wasn’t asked to the Welcome Back dance, and now she’s dead, and they’d think I was even more pathetic.

I forced myself to swallow. It was maybe, probably, the right thing to do. I glanced at my mom, but she hadn’t even noticed my near-death experience. She was looking dreamily out the window as if there was something fascinating outside and not just the same boring view of the woods.

It was almost time to leave, so I started preparing my speech about it not being in my best interest to attend school that day. But before I could begin, Rush shuffled awkwardly down the hallway toward the kitchen. This immediately got my attention, because usually I’m the awkward one in the family.

Even on mornings when Rush was hungover, he managed to come across as an energetic superjock. The pale face and unfocused eyes and lumbering around were completely abnormal for him. I took a moment to assess the situation. Maybe he was sick. He certainly looked like he had a cold or a virus.

Rush opened his mouth, but no words came out. He seemed unsteady on his feet. Suddenly, I had this thought that maybe the virus was deadly—or worse than deadly. Maybe my brother had been turned into a zombie.

I glanced at my mom to see how she was taking this new development, but she was still lost in whatever world she goes to when she’s ignoring me.

Rush hesitated in the doorway, giving me time to evaluate my options. Obviously, it was up to me to save both me and my mom, which I found slightly unfair. If I was smart, I’d leave her to fend for herself. But considering that she gave birth to me, it wouldn’t be very nice to run off and let her be devoured by her only son. On the other hand, if I tried to save us both, there was a good chance I’d get bitten in the process, and then I’d have roughly twenty-four hours before I became a zombie too. And from what I’ve read, the process of turning into a zombie is totally painful.

Before I could take any kind of action, like trying to chop off Rush’s head, he cleared his throat. I was taken aback. Generally, the undead aren’t big communicators. Or so I’ve heard.

My mom looked over, and I could tell she knew something was up. She put down the plate she was washing. Rush, what is it?

I opened my mouth to tell her to keep her distance, but Rush started talking. I could accept a zombie clearing his throat, but talking was entirely out of character. Which meant I’d jumped the gun, and Rush probably wasn’t undead after all.

What Rush said, while my mind was still filled with thoughts of zombieism, was, Lizzie Lovett is missing.

I was disappointed. My zombie fantasy was ripped away for Lizzie Lovett of all people. I’d never been a member of the Lizzie Lovett fan club and didn’t have much interest in her whereabouts. Not to mention, if my brother really had turned into a zombie, my boring life would’ve become way more exciting. Also, it would have probably gotten me out of school.

My mom said, She’s missing?

Rush looked like he might cry. I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. He sighed and slumped into the seat across from me. My mom left the sink and joined us at the table. We were almost like a normal family having a normal breakfast. Almost.

Are you really having an episode over a girl you haven’t talked to in years? I asked.

My mom gave me an unamused look, then turned to my brother with concern. What happened, Rush?

I could feel my chances of skipping school diminishing. But seriously, I was pretty sure Rush and Lizzie hadn’t seen each other since their graduation.

Whatever happened, I’m sure she’s fine, I said. This is Lizzie Lovett we’re talking about.

Rush ignored me. He pulled his phone from his pocket and read my mom the texts he’d gotten from one of the guys who’d been on the football team with him, Kyle something-or-other. Kyle something-or-other used to date Lizzie, which he figured was why Lizzie’s mom called him, even though they’d broken up three years ago, right after their senior year. But Kyle guessed Lizzie’s mom must be calling everyone she’d been close to, just in case. So she called and asked if he’d randomly heard from Lizzie, and of course, Kyle hadn’t, because that would be weird, and she said to let her know if he did, and Kyle said OK and blah, blah, blah.

And that’s how I found out Lizzie Lovett disappeared before it was even on the news.

"But missing from where, Rush?" my mom asked.

While Rush was taking eight million years to answer the question, my mind wandered back to zombies. I enjoyed the thought of my brother as a zombie. I quite frankly found it preferable to his actual personality. That probably meant something was very wrong with our sibling bond.

Rush was scrolling through his text messages and still hadn’t answered the question, which was kind of annoying, because I was actually a little curious, which was even more annoying. I kicked him under the table. Seriously. Are you going to tell us what happened or not?

Rush put his phone down and glared at me. I don’t know details, OK? Lizzie and her boyfriend were camping, and this morning, he woke up, and she was gone.

Silence descended on the kitchen. I decided to say what all of us were certainly thinking. "Probably the most incredible part of the story is that Lizzie Lovett went camping."

My mom and Rush looked at me like I’d just admitted to bombing a kindergarten, and I realized, possibly, we hadn’t all been thinking that same thing.

My mom reached across the table and took my hand. Hawthorn, I really wish you’d find more compassionate ways to express yourself.

I was going to explain that I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. I just didn’t believe anything bad could really happen to a girl like Lizzie. That’s not how her life worked.

But before I could respond, Rush asked, Shouldn’t you be in school?

Traitor.

About that. I smiled sweetly at my mom. I was thinking I should probably stay home today.

Were you?

Lizzie going missing had given me a much better excuse than just being sick. Yeah. To, you know, comfort Rush.

Hawthorn, go to school.

Seriously?

Mom’s expression told me she was quite serious. Like she might try to murder me if I made any attempt to resist. Which doesn’t mean I didn’t consider resisting, because I did. I knew it was pointless though.

I stood up but didn’t move toward the door. Rush was staring at his phone like he was willing it to ring. As dumb as it seemed to me, he was really worried.

I sort of felt like I should hug him. Maybe tell him I was only messing around, and I was sorry Lizzie was missing, and I was sorry it made him sad.

But then I imagined Rush rolling his eyes and pushing me away and me slinking off to school, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

So instead, I grabbed my backpack and left my mom and brother sitting at the kitchen table talking quietly. About poor Lizzie Lovett, no doubt.

Chapter 2

Day One

The thing is, Lizzie Lovett’s disappearance turned out to be a totally big deal, which I almost realized in my first period algebra II class but didn’t all the way realize like I should have.

What happened was, I waited in the second floor bathroom until the bell rang. I figured if I showed up late to class, I could avoid the dance talk. And it totally worked, except for Mr. Bennett being all, Is there a reason you’re late, Miss Creely? which was annoying but not as annoying as having to deal with my peers.

I hesitated, then decided to be honest. And by honest, I mean semihonest, since saying you were hiding in the bathroom to avoid ridicule is generally the kind of thing that opens you up to more ridicule.

Yeah, there’s a reason. Lizzie Lovett disappeared this morning, and my brother is totally freaked out about it, so I was trying to comfort him.

The classroom, which a second ago had been filled with normal classroom sounds, was suddenly completely silent. And everyone was staring at me like I’d run in screaming about the apocalypse.

I mentally reviewed what had come out of my mouth and was pretty sure I hadn’t accidentally said something absurd. I started getting nervous. I shifted from one foot to the other. Seriously, what was the deal?

Then I got it. No one else knew yet.

Lizzie Lovett? Mr. Bennett asked.

Uh, yeah. Lizzie. Disappeared.

From the front of the room, a painfully shrill voice asked, "Lizzie Lovett is missing?"

The voice belonged to Mychelle Adler, who I hated not just because of her nails-on-a-chalkboard voice, but also because she spelled her name with a y, though I guess that wasn’t really her fault. Also, I hated Mychelle because in our four years of high school, asking about Lizzie was possibly the nicest thing she’d ever said to me.

I shrugged. Yeah, I guess so.

Everyone kept staring, and I was getting more uncomfortable by the second. Sometimes at school—and by sometimes, I mean a lot of times—I feel as if I’ve turned invisible without realizing it. This makes me a bit panicky, and I get the urge to be outrageous—like jump on a table in the middle of the cafeteria and tap dance—just so people will look at me and prove I still exist. But that morning, being the complete focus of everyone’s attention, I started to think maybe being invisible wasn’t so bad after all.

What exactly happened? Mr. Bennett asked.

Um, I don’t really know. Something about Lizzie going camping, which if you ask me, sounds pretty far-fetched, but whatever. I guess she was with her boyfriend, and he woke up this morning, and Lizzie was gone.

Then everyone started talking and pulling out their phones to send texts, and there was this totally typical and boring moment where Mr. Bennett tried to regain control of the class. I took the opportunity to slip into my seat. Which was, unfortunately, right in front of Mychelle’s.

Mychelle leaned forward as soon as I sat down. I could smell her strawberry lip gloss and expensive coconut shampoo she always bragged about. Though I had to admit, she did have absurdly glossy hair, so maybe the stupid shampoo worked. What do you think happened to her, Hawthorn?

I shrugged and didn’t turn around. I don’t really care.

"Seriously?"

Seriously.

But she might be lost, Mychelle said.

She might be.

Or hurt.

"Or both," I said.

What if she’s dead?

That’s when I started to think bad thoughts. Like how I wished someone would replace Mychelle’s fancy shampoo with a drugstore brand. I wished she would suddenly forget the name of her five favorite songs. I wished every time she microwaved a frozen burrito, the center would stay cold.

"Hello? Hawthorn? Don’t you even care that a girl might be dead?"

I spun around in my seat and stared at Mychelle. "She’s not dead. And even if she was, you don’t care any more than I do. You’re just looking for an opportunity to be melodramatic. Leave me out of it."

The dumb jock who sits next to Mychelle and whose name I could never remember scowled at me. What’s your problem, Hawthorn?

Yeah, Mychelle echoed, what’s your problem?

This was a good question. What was my problem?

• • •

Likely, part of my bad attitude was due to the fact that I really hated Lizzie Lovett. I’d always hated Lizzie, and her vanishing didn’t change that.

But is it just because I hate Lizzie? I asked.

Emily Flynn, my best friend for the past million years, took a bite of her sandwich and got a serious look on her face—possibly because she was taking my situation super seriously, but probably because Emily looked serious most of the time.

It was lunch period, and we were sitting on the stairs that lead to the back entrance of the gym, which is where we always eat. Lunch is when social interaction happens. Since the back staircase isn’t really the place to be seen, no one goes there much. Exactly why Emily and I like it.

Emily still hadn’t commented, but I plowed on anyway. I mean, at first, I thought I was just in a bad mood because it’s Monday and I’m tired and I’m the only person in the school who didn’t go to the dance—

I didn’t go to the dance, Emily interrupted.

But it’s not just that, is it? I went on. "And it’s not just that I hate Lizzie. So why am I so bothered by this whole thing?"

Because you’re jealous.

For a second, I was too stunned to speak. "Because I’m what?"

Jealous. You’ve always been jealous of Lizzie, Emily said, as if it was the simplest, most reasonable explanation in the world.

Obviously, aliens must have abducted Emily and thought she was such a good specimen that they couldn’t bear to part with her, so they took her to their planet and put a pod person in her place.

I was wondering how I might contact the mother ship about returning my friend to her earthly body when a new thought occurred to me. I think what’s bothering me is that everyone is making such a big deal over nothing.

Emily tilted her head and looked at me strangely. "I don’t think a girl mysteriously disappearing is nothing."

"It’s nothing, because it’s Lizzie Lovett."

What are you talking about?

I opened a bag of potato chips, only briefly considering how disappointed my mom would be if she caught me consuming empty calories. She’d probably rather find me with drugs. It’s like this, Em. Nothing bad will ever happen to a girl like Lizzie. The world doesn’t work that way. The biggest problem she’ll ever have is, I don’t know, whether to match her shoes to her eyeshadow.

First of all, who matches their makeup to their outfit anymore? Emily asked, wrinkling her nose and brushing nonexistent crumbs off her blouse. "And second, you’re saying what exactly? Some people live charmed lives, and nothing tragic can happen to them?"

I guess so.

That’s really stupid.

I put another chip in my mouth and crunched loudly, knowing how much it bugged her. It’s true though. Some people are just lucky.

Let me guess. You think you’re one of the unlucky ones? A smile pulled at the corner of Emily’s mouth, which I instantly resented.

No. That’s not what I’m saying. This isn’t about me.

Emily raised her eyebrows.

It’s not, I insisted.

Emily shrugged. If you say so.

We ate in silence for a moment. Rather, I ate while Emily pulled strands of her hair in front of her eyes and examined the ends. As if she’d ever had a split end in her entire life.

Eventually, I had to ask. "What do you think happened to her?"

I thought you didn’t care where Lizzie was.

I didn’t. Mostly. I smiled sheepishly at Emily. Well, pretend for a minute I do.

Maybe she got in a fight with her boyfriend and left. That’s what most people think.

Poor guy, I said.

Can we stop talking about Lizzie for a minute?

I put down my bag of chips. I could tell when Emily had something important to say. Yeah, of course.

I got a letter about that music composition program. I’m a finalist.

I’m not one of those girls who squeals and hugs her friends all the time, but in certain cases, I make exceptions. Emily laughed and hugged me back.

This is so exciting! Why didn’t you tell me right away?

It’s not for sure yet. I’m only a finalist.

I rolled my eyes. You’re going to get accepted. I know it.

We’ll see. This is really big. It could help me get a jump start on the rest of my life.

I was glad one of us was thinking about the future.

This is awesome, Em. I’m really proud of you.

Emily smiled, and I could tell she was proud of herself too, even if she’d never in a million years admit it.

Do you want to come over after school? I asked. We can celebrate.

There’s nothing to celebrate yet.

Then we can watch the news reports about Lizzie and make up elaborate theories.

If Lizzie was even still missing by then.

I can’t. Piano lesson.

Oh, right. I was disappointed, even if the news probably wouldn’t have new information, and Emily wasn’t good at making up theories anyway.

You should come to the library with me after school tomorrow though. We have that report due on Friday.

The report on the Mills. I’d forgotten. Yeah, I guess I should.

Then the bell rang, and lunch was over, and Emily and I gathered up our things. I wanted to say more, maybe something about how I was super happy about her music program but a little sad that we might not have one last summer together. And how maybe I was a little jealous of Lizzie Lovett and that I appreciated Emily not judging me because of it. And probably something about how she was a really good friend. Instead, I told Emily I’d see her in fifth period and went to my English composition class.

• • •

The first day Lizzie was missing, everyone talked about the disappearance without actually knowing the facts. By the time the final bell rang, I’d heard more about Lizzie Lovett than I had since we were in school together. Which I guess worked out, because no one talked to me about the dance.

I walked home from school, because I hadn’t been able to find my car keys that morning. Also because my Volkswagen Rabbit was making huffing noises again. Someday, it’ll explode while I’m driving, and my mom will tell people, I told Hawthorn not to get that old car. I told her we’d buy her something nicer like we did for her brother, but she just never listens, and then the last thing people will ever think about me is that I’m stubborn and made stupid mistakes.

I could have taken the school bus home, but I consider that a last resort. Being in a cramped space with lots of people who all have something to talk about with each other while you’re sitting there alone is totally awkward. Also, there are no seat belts on the bus, which has never made sense to me.

Luckily, I don’t live far from Griffin Mills High School. In a place as small as the Mills, nothing is very far from anything else. Really, the town is just a bigger version of high school, which is just a bigger version of the bus. Lots of people packed together for their entire lives, all having things to do and people to talk to, and if you’re not a part of it, you feel totally broken.

My family should have lived in Pittsburgh. My dad drives forty-five minutes to get there five days a week. Wouldn’t it be better to live closer to the place he worked? My parents were pretty opposed to the idea though. My mom had all this stuff to say about a better quality of life and whatnot. A better quality of life for her, I guess. Not for me. If I’d grown up in a big city, everything could have been different.

Cities let you blend in. There are so many people that it doesn’t matter if you’re weird or if no one likes you, because there’s probably someone even worse off. And if you’re really lucky, you might even meet people who are weird in the exact same way you are and feel like you’ve finally found a place where you fit in.

There was no chance of that happening in Griffin Mills. I was convinced there was a secret factory somewhere in town, spitting out people from a mold. And I came out defective.

But I only had one more year, and then I could go far away from the Mills. Not that I’d actually made any plans yet.

The walk home mostly takes me through residential areas. The houses close to school are ancient—crumbling Victorians with wraparound porches and turrets that look out on the Ohio River. It used to be where the rich people lived, but that was a long time ago. The farther you go west, the newer the Mills gets. Then all of a sudden, the neighborhoods end, and there’s only dense woods and occasional farms.

My house is near the edge of town. It’s a typical 1950s house, two stories with white siding and dark-blue trim. The street it’s on, the street I’ve lived on for my entire life, dead-ends in a patch of woods. There are no fences in my neighborhood, just trees separating one house from another. It makes the area seem more isolated than it is but not as isolated as one of those old farmhouses. Which is a good thing. I know what sort of stuff can happen at a lonely farmhouse in the middle of the night. I read In Cold Blood for freshman English.

At home, I found my mom and Rush sitting in front of the TV, watching

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