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Cruel Beautiful World
Cruel Beautiful World: A Novel | Caroline Leavitt
Caroline Leavitt is at her mesmerizing best in this haunting, nuanced portrait of love, sisters, and the impossible legacy of family. Its 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucys default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlottes youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucys dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare. Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when youre responsible for things you cannot fix.
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JoScho
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It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into nightmare.
#cruelsummer #songsofsummer

OriginalCyn620 😎📚🎶 5y
mcipher I really liked this one! 5y
JoScho @mcipher I haven‘t read it yet but I thought it sounded good! 5y
73 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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BittersweetBooks
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Maybe all you got in life was that one little sliver of brilliance, and the light from that happiness had to shine across your whole life 🌾✨

21 likes2 stack adds
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Lyn-Mara
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Everything about this book was gorgeous!

mcipher It was great and different than I️ expected. 6y
Lyn-Mara @mcipher Right?!?! It was so many stories in one and more intensely shocking than I would have assumed. I'm so glad I picked this one up. It helped that the book jacket looked like a dreamy album cover. 😍 6y
valeriegeary Loved this one too! And those cookies look amazing! 6y
mcipher Yes, it‘s a great cover! 6y
14 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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auntie_jenn
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Pickpick

zipped through this story of two sisters. a little creepy with a happy ending.

valeriegeary I'm halfway through this one and loving it 6y
22 likes1 comment
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valeriegeary
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I'm starting a book club with friends. I've never been in a book club before (gasp!) & I'm feeling both excited & nervous. This is the book I picked for us to read first and I'm delighted to find myself swept away by the story & characters. We're meeting to talk about it soon & to pick our next book. Any book club Littens have tips for a successful group? How do you choose what to read next? #bookclub #currentread

CocoReads We just have a rotating list so every month someone different picks the book (and the meeting place-usually a restaurant or a coffee house). My sister keeps us organized on whose turn it is and keeps a running master list of what we've already read. 6y
Susanita I‘m in a book club that started a few years ago. After fumbling around with randomly chosen books, we have a system now where anyone who wants to can submit suggestions at the end of the year for the next year‘s slate. It helps that we take the summer months off and that gives folks a chance to read ahead if they want. 6y
CoffeeK8 Encourage people to come even if they don‘t read the book. I‘m in a bookclub now and at least one person never finishes the book, but they still come anyway and we end up discussing themes in the book that we relate to other books. 6y
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Kimzey We take turns hosting and let the host pick the book. I sign the hosts up a few months in advance and send notices by email and write a brief recap of the discussion after for those who missed. We have snacks and wine for the first hour and discuss the book second hour. For our Holiday meeting we do a gift wrapped book exchange. 🍷📕 We‘ve been at this since 1994, so the formula works for us! 6y
valeriegeary @CocoReads A master list! Great idea! I hadn't thought of that yet but I'm going to make one right now. 😄 6y
valeriegeary @Susanita That's an interesting way to do it! I hadn't thought of planning so far in advance, but it sounds like it's great for people who want to read ahead, or catch up as needed. 6y
valeriegeary @CoffeeK8 Yes! I definitely want people to come even if they didn't finish it. 6y
valeriegeary @Kimzey Oh that's a neat way to do it! And I love the idea of a holiday book exchange!! Congrats by the way on such a long lasting book club! 😄😄👏👏 6y
auntie_jenn my group didn't usually meet in December bc it's such a busy month, so we picked a chunker for January since you have longer to read it. 6y
75 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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Bluzygrl
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I went to get something to drink and Tonks took my reading spot. She is sleeping next to my copy of Cruel Beautiful World, it seems fitting.

MrBook 😻😻😻😻 6y
10 likes1 comment
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valeriegeary
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And as always happens when I visit a bookstore...I bought books I didn't need but really want. Also this is Rosie, my sister's dog. Clearly she approves of my choices. #bookaddict #copperfields #tbr #cantstopwontstop

KarenUK Rosie is beautiful! 7y
valeriegeary @KarenUK she's such a sweetheart too, a big ol' softie. 7y
66 likes2 comments
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mcipher
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Visiting with my sister's pets. Here's Mao/Grey Kitty, who no one calls Anastasia even though I guess that's her real name.

Jas16 When I was little I had a cat named Anastasia! 7y
68 likes1 comment
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Suelizbeth
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Pickpick

This book started out as one story but ended up as another. It's a weird mixture of evil/creepy/stalkerish romance novel, obsessive/guilt-ridden murder mystery, everyone and their step-sister coming of age story, amidst a background of Charles Manson murder trial, hippies, Nixon, the Vietnam War protests and chickens and I really, really liked it. Caroline Leavitt weaves everything together in an easy to read style. 📚❤️

heikemarie She squeezed a lot in there! 7y
Suelizbeth @inwhichHeikereadsharder But it honestly doesn't feel that crowded. 7y
Yeah_I_Read This is the first book that I read by her and I really enjoyed it! 7y
Suelizbeth @Yeah_I_Read 📚❤️ 7y
Darth_Kaders Wow this sounds great!!!! 7y
68 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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Erinreadsthebooks
Pickpick

Y'all, this book! My words are failing me and I can't quite articulate how much I loved this book. Every aspect of the book was spot-on: the characters, the choices they make, the setting, the writing, the underlying layer of suspense. I'm going to be pushing this book on all of my friends, but they're going to have to find their own copy because I'm not sharing mine. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ehbooklover I felt the same way. 7y
21 likes1 comment
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Erinreadsthebooks
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Whatever the opposite of a reading slump is, that's where I am! I thought maybe I'd need a break before jumping into the second book in the Natchez Burning trilogy. I was right. This one is excellent so far!

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DebinHawaii
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#24in48 Last minute, early morning spine poetry:
Cruel Beautiful World
Everything we left behind,
the buried giant, voracious
in a dark, dark wood.
And the mountains echoed all the truth that's in me, the quiet child.💜

monkeygirlsmama Beautiful 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess Beautiful!👍🏻❤️😍 7y
87 likes2 comments
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Carolineleavitt
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The gorgeous Books are Magic in Brooklyn! I am interviewing one of my fave writers Bill Roorbach and hoping that for the love of God, chocolate, anxiety meds that everyone will preorder Cruel Beautifil World coming in paperback August 8!

Yeah_I_Read I really liked this book 😊 7y
7 likes1 comment
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JenniferJR
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Have you read this? Tell me what you think! I am going to start it tonight!

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Carolineleavitt
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Yo bookclubs and book groups. The paperback of Cruel Beautiful World is coming August 8 and I want to Skype or visit with you! I have special treats! I have bookplates! I have funny stories! Email me at my biz address carleavitt@hotmail.com

Readingrobin Based on seeing you at Point Street Reading Series, I can attest that these visits will be fun! 7y
11 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Ehbooklover
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I think that the author liked my review. 😂

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Ehbooklover
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Pickpick

This book was a customer recommendation. In short: It was amazing. I absolutely loved it and could not put it down (except when I had to thanks to a horrible migraine). The characters, the story, the writing...just EVERYTHING. It will definitely make an appearance on my “Best of 2017” list. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

katelizabee Oh, I really want to read that one! 7y
15 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Carolineleavitt
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Live twitter chat with me cbwchat #booksparks. At 8 eastern. Please come!

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Carolineleavitt
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Please come so I do not get my computer soggy with tears! Tonight in Twitter #cbwchat #booksparksbookclub at 8 eastern time cone and ask me anything!!!

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Carolineleavitt
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Zounds! Booksparks is starting a bookclub and I am their first pick💜💚💙

lynneamch Wanted you to know I found this because of Litsy and thought it was a fascinating read. I just finished it yesterday as news broke that the 50-yr-old Tennessee teacher had been apprehended in CA and the young woman who was his student would soon be home. Thankfully. 7y
7 likes2 comments
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Carolineleavitt
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I can love the airport when I see this! Thank you Hudson Booksellers!!

BookishMarginalia 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 7y
8 likes1 comment
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Carolineleavitt

Yipes! Please ask me questions now on twitter #unboundbookchat. I am mortified no onr is there

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Carolineleavitt

Um so if you wanted to, you could vote for my novel to be a bookclub pick and then I would love you forever. Http://bit.ly/2kRv3x2

CherylDeFranceschi Done. And- you're way in the lead!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y
5 likes1 comment
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teresareads
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My current lunchtime book. Trying to read books at lunch instead of the internet.

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Carolineleavitt
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Thank you Hudson Booksellers at Penn Station NYC!

lynneamch Can't resist anything set in 1969! Looking forward to this one. 😊 7y
11 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Carolineleavitt

Zounds! nPR with Joe Donahue! I rasp about sisters and the 196os! Wamc.org/post/book-show-1487-caroline-leavitt

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Carolineleavitt
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Cruel beautiful world just won book of the year voted in by the 1000 bookclubs of the fabulous Pulpwood Queens! I love this award so much I want to marry it.

CherylDeFranceschi 👏👏👏👏👏Congrats! Well-deserved! 7y
8 likes1 comment
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AlexGeorge
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Pickpick

This was an enchanting, gripping read. Caroline Leavitt weaves her magic with the deftest of touches, pulling you in ever deeper into her characters' lives. It was just so good. I can't wait to talk with her about it at the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, MO on April 22!

Hobbinol A book festival is the best holiday of all! 7y
CherylDeFranceschi Love this book! And when I was lucky enough to sell books for her when she spoke one night, she was so warm and wonderful! You'll have an amazing evening! 7y
33 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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Belles
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But the cover art is a half-bubble off.

8 likes1 stack add
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Belles
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This one. Mm-hmmm. It's hitting the spot.

BookishMarginalia I enjoyed it! 7y
7 likes1 comment
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MMFinck
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Pickpick

This of the 62 I read this year, a personal record!!, remains a top fave!

MrBook Awesome 😊👏🏻! You and I read almost the same exact amount. #KindredSpirits 7y
MMFinck @MrBook A personal record for me. I expect it to stay at this level. Not increase. I bow at the feet of those higher. :) 7y
18 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Carolineleavitt
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I adore my local indie Little City Books. Just bought a bunch there!

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BookishMarginalia
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Pickpick

Summer 1969. One girl lives out the consequences of running away with her high school teacher, while her sister attempts to move on and succeed in college. Their adoptive mom struggles with an empty nest, a grieving heart, and old age. Told from their three perspectives, this novel explores the highs and lows of girlhood, motherhood, family, and first love, against the backdrop of Vietnam protests and the Manson Girls' trial. 🌟🌟🌟🌟#NetGalley

ApoptyGina69 Can't wait to start this. Just picked it up yesterday. 7y
Megabooks Sounds great!! 7y
shelf-improvement Loved this one!! 7y
AnnieReads I really liked this one. 7y
139 likes22 stack adds4 comments
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Carolineleavitt
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The white hart reading series from Oblong Books and Music with Goddess Suzannah Hermans!

ApoptyGina69 Yay! I just bought it today. Can't wait. 7y
13 likes1 comment
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BookishMarginalia
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One of the characters muses about the way she fell in love with the two orphaned children she took in. (Btw, I'm beta testing the new Litsy update and everything looks great --yey for ability to edit comments-- but I'm struggling with the photo editor... hence the uninspiring pic above 😕 -- UPDATED: I think I'm getting better at the beta editor!)

RanaElizabeth Comment editing!!! 7y
BookishMarginalia @RanaElizabeth I know! That rocks! (And the notifications are split, so you can access tags and comments to your posts much more easily!) 7y
BarbaraJean Oooh, I like the sound of these updates!! 7y
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KnjiskiZmaj Updates!! 😊😊🎉🎉🎉 7y
tpixie 🎉🎉🎉 7y
RanaElizabeth @BookishMarginalia Swoon! That new tagging system also sounds great! 7y
Smangela I'm hoping it'll take up less storage 🙏🏻 7y
119 likes7 comments
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CherylDeFranceschi
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@Carolineleavitt is as lovely and gracious as you could imagine. I felt very lucky to meet her this evening and here her speak.

Carolineleavitt Oh my God thank you!!!! Xxx 7y
85 likes1 comment
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CherylDeFranceschi
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Was today hard to get through? You bet your ass! Was it made better by hanging on Litsy? Hell yes! Continue the healing process and come listen to the amazing @Carolineleavitt talk about her beautiful and fierce book tomorrow evening at the Highland Park Public Library, 7pm.

88 likes1 stack add
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jessicarenee
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Slow start to a day off work. My heart is heavy but at least I have coffee, candles, and books. (It's a pumpkin pecan waffle scent. And yes, it smells as good as it sounds)

25 likes1 stack add
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Coleen
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Pickpick

High school girl runs away with her teacher, settling in rural Pennsylvania to avoid being found. Eventually things go awry & family must deal with the aftermath. Several different storylines going on here, each with its own intrigue.

Not gonna claim to have loved this one, but decent enough to rank as a "pick." Xe Sands isn't necessarily my favorite audio reader & I always have to get used to her voice.

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Bostonmomx2
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Panpan

See review in photo.

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CherylDeFranceschi
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Littens in the Chicago area- come to the Highland Park Public Library this coming Thursday night. The amazing @Carolineleavitt be there talking about her incredible book. I'll be there representing and I cannot wait to hear her! It will be a fabulous evening! #getindie

8little_paws Have to check the calendar. Might be tight...I fly out to NY for book riot live the next day 7y
angrylilasian I wish I could! I'm already "ditching" my husband and kids 2 days next week for bookish events. ? 7y
79 likes1 stack add3 comments
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shelf-improvement
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I keep seeing this compared to The Girls, so the dig at purple prose made me snicker. I know it has to be coincidental, but it does seem like a nice little clap back.

8 likes1 stack add
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Bostonmomx2
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Well the Indians don't seem to have game 7 win in them, so I'll just cozy up in bed and start this one.

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Lissa00
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Pickpick

This was a surprisingly suspenseful book with well developed characters and relationships. I'm kind of surprised that I haven't heard more buzz about it!

Coleen I'm starting on audio today! 7y
94 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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RebeccaRenner
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Pickpick

I finally solidified my thoughts on Cruel Beautiful World. You can read the rest on my blog here: https://beckyrenner.com/2016/10/31/review-of-cruel-beautiful-world-by-caroline-l... Leavitt's book was very thought-provoking, so it took me a while to collect my ideas. I hope it isn't gauche that I tagged her. 🤓

Lissa00 I'm currently 75% done with this book and really enjoying it. 7y
RebeccaRenner @Lissa00 Right on. 🤘🏻 Tag me if you post a review. I don't want to miss it. :) 7y
91 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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RebeccaRenner
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This book is turning out to be everything I wanted The Girls to be. I'm not done yet, but oh the feels. And the building suspense!

Lissa00 Good to hear! I just started it. 7y
RebeccaRenner @Lissa00 I'm not done. I have no idea what's going to happen! I can't remember the last time I said that about a book! 7y
Erynecki @Carolineleavitt thought you might like to see this @Litsy book love for your latest! 7y
See All 6 Comments
jessicarenee This is next on my list. I'm so excited! 7y
Cinfhen Another one for my TBR 7y
LaurenBusser Oh I am so glad to hear it is that awesome! I want to read it so badly 7y
98 likes17 stack adds6 comments
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Lissa00
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I haven't really read any reviews on this book but it is my next "physical book" read.

RebeccaRenner I just finished it. I'm going to write a review tomorrow. 🙃 7y
78 likes1 comment
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Carolineleavitt
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I glitterized a hole in my tights for little city books tonight!

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Carolineleavitt

Tonight oct 13 little city books hoboken 1st and bloomfield! Hear me talk abt 60s 70s mansons and for thecfirst time wearing something not black! Please come! Empty seats terrify me!!

5 likes1 stack add
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MMFinck
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Enter to win a copy of Cruel Beautiful World! Http://m.heyo.com/506e2d. I love-love-love this book!! (If the link doesn't work for some reason, you can also get to the giveaway on my page - facebook.com/mmfinck.) Good luck!! :)