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Honor
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
Bestselling author Thrity Umrigar tells the moving story of two Indian women and the courage they inspire in each other. When Indian American journalist Smita returns to India to cover the story of Meena, she sees a culture where the marriage of a Hindu woman to a Muslim man is a source of family shame, a culture where being a woman is often shaped by violence. While Meena's fate hangs in the balance, Smita tries in every way she can to right the scales. But she must also finally reckon with the privilege that becoming an American has given her, as well as face the trauma that led to her own family leaving India.While on assignment, Smita also finds herself increasingly drawn to a man she meets. Yet the dual love stories of Honor are as different as the cultures from which they emanate; Smita enters into a casual affair knowing that she can decide, later, how much it means to her. At what point will she reckon with what her American privilege has afforded her? And what does she owe the women of her homeland?Fans of Etaf Rum's A Woman Is No Man will be gripped by the heartbreaking and perceptive story of Meena and Smita, two women trying to navigate how to live in a country where reprehensible things continue to happen, a country that they want, more than anything, to love and claim as their own.
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Cathyloves2read
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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If you‘re one who struggles to believe that theres good in all,regardless of race, religion, etc, read this book.I‘m self admittedly one of those people,especially lately with world events.This book gave me a glimpse into the other side of things,and really got me thinking.It takes a good story to do that!I rloved this book,but it was a tough read.It‘s unbelievable what happens to people in other countries.I highly recommend this book!

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ItsAnotherJen
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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"Maybe, in the end, that‘s all that love was—doing the hard thing. Not roses and valentines and walks on the beach, but simply being present, day after ordinary day. The extraordinary romanticism of ordinary life."
⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Centique
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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I think this would be a great book club pick as there‘s a lot to think about in terms of feminism and religious/cultural divides. Umrigar handles the topics sensitively and brings out all the threads for examination. I didnt love the writing style in the beginning - setting up the journalist characters and drawing Smita, the protagonist, into the main plot, felt laboured - but once the plot gets underway it was fine. A solid 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Cinfhen I loved this book! Audio narration was PERFECT 🤩 Hi friend x hope all‘s well 6mo
Centique @Cinfhen i bet good audio would have given it so much emotion 😨 All good here! Hope your busy days of celebrations are going well. 💕 6mo
65 likes2 comments
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DaniJ
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Not only does this book scrutinize the treatment of women in rural India, but it modernizes centuries-old women‘s issues set in Mumbai. It is also the story of an American woman returning to her roots (begrudgingly) and exploring her own power as a woman.

This is one of the best books I‘ve read this year. May be a new favourite. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it.

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suvata
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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• Kindle ebook • Chirp audiobook • 5 Stars

I‘ve never read an Umrigar novel that I didn‘t really enjoy. This one explores the themes of honor killing, caste, religion, gender, violence, and identity in India through the perspectives of two women. Smita is an Indian-American journalist, and Meena, a Hindu woman who married a Muslim man and faced a brutal attack by her brothers.

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Cinfhen
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Five stars! DEFINITELY an AUTOBUY author for me. A story to remind us how hate will destroy us and how love will save us. A gorgeous but heartbreaking story. I don‘t understand how people can justify their actions in the name of religious beliefs. I wish this story wasn‘t relevant today but sadly it is. OUTSTANDING audio.

Megabooks I enjoyed this too and got this one afterwards but haven‘t read it yet. 11mo
Cinfhen I‘ve read several books by this author @Megabooks and I‘ve loved them all. I saw a bunch of titles are available on #Hoopla so I plan on listening to them in the coming months. 11mo
Megabooks Awesome! You know I always forget to check hoopla! 😂 11mo
Amiable I love Umrigar —I‘ve read everything she‘s written! Definitely an autobuy for me as well. 11mo
Cinfhen I‘m looking forward to reading more from her @Amiable 11mo
84 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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Cinfhen
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Thanks to my sudden OBSESSION with all things India( thanks to Indian Matchmaker on Netflix) I‘m LOVING this book. It‘s difficult to read at times but SO GOOD. I love this author & narration is FANTASTIC !!!

Cinfhen Thanks so much for sharing @Deblovestoread 🤩 11mo
Cathythoughts 👍🏻❤️stacked 11mo
Cinfhen I‘m sure you‘re gonna love it too @Cathythoughts 🥰 11mo
See All 12 Comments
DGRachel What is it about Indian Matchmaker that is so addictive? I binged Season 3 over 2 evenings, staying up way too late. 11mo
Cinfhen I know @DGRachel !!! LOVE Sima Aunty 11mo
Deblovestoread Glad you are liking it. And now I need to check out Indian Matchmaker 😊 11mo
Cinfhen BEWARE @Deblovestoread it‘s ADDICTIVE!!!! 11mo
TheKidUpstairs Oh my gosh, I love Indian Matchmaker! Can't stop watching. 11mo
Cinfhen I‘m SOOOOOO invested @TheKidUpstairs it‘s not normal how much I want to see Nadia find her guy 🤪 11mo
BarbaraBB I love those sudden obsessions! Maybe Salman Rushdie can add a bit too 😉 11mo
CoffeeAndABook Ha!!! What a relief!!!! I‘m soooooo into Indian Matchmaker and don‘t know anyone else who is!!! 🫣 I‘m hooked! Nadia just had her 💔 and I‘m feeling it. And I‘m so rooting for Vyasar to find a good gal 🤞🏼🤞🏼✌🏼 10mo
Cinfhen I love Nadia @CoffeeAndABook and Vyasar too! I‘ve even grown fond of Aparna and of course Sima Aunty is my favorite! I need season 4 already!!!!!!!!! 10mo
78 likes2 stack adds12 comments
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Deblovestoread
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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I wasn‘t sure I was going to like this book in the beginning. The 4 characters introduced in book one were kind of prickly and I wasn‘t sure I wanted to know them better but a little further in and I couldn‘t put it down. And Meena will not be forgotten. Thanks for the awesome recommendation @Amiable #AuldLangSpine @monalyisha #TBRTarot Done @CBee #Pantone #LoveBird @Clwojick

monalyisha Love when a book wins you over! 11mo
CBee Awesome! 😊 11mo
Amiable I‘m so glad you liked it! Have you read anything else by Umrigar? I‘d recommend all of her works. 11mo
Deblovestoread @amiable I read The Space Between Us years ago but will definitely be reading from her backlist in the future starting with this one already on my shelf 11mo
56 likes4 comments
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Deblovestoread
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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#TBRTarot Hope Honor works for May‘s prompt with the little pic of fruit on the spine. I have been trying to get to this book since January but kept bumping it. I‘ve just started but so far so good.

CBee Yes, it absolutely works! 😊 11mo
43 likes1 comment
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Abailliekaras
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Mehso-so

Didn‘t love. Topical & a realistic view of India & the ambiguity of loving & struggling with it at the same time. But it felt like an ‘issue‘ book re the treatment of women, honour killings & religious persecution. Smita is a whiny brat, her story doesn‘t ring true, the tone is pessimistic & the style overwrought for me. The ending is sentimental.

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Ubookquitous
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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I haven‘t read a bad book by Thrity yet, but this book is my favorite so far. Powerful, ultimately uplifting book that doesn‘t flinch at tough topics. An early contender for my favorite of the year… and I haven‘t even gotten to the end of January!

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hclaird
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Started this last night. Does anyone else take a PAINSTAKING amount of time trying to choose their next book? Even after combing through my TBR I ended up choosing this which wasn‘t even on my list. My final semester of grad school starts next week so I wanted something engaging before the guilt of reading for pleasure returns again. Commitment issues aside, it was the Cheryl Strayed endorsement that pushed me over the edge. I trust Sugar.

Ruthiella I just dive into the next three (or eight) books on the list. I have so many, I rarely take much time to deliberate! 😂 1y
12 likes1 stack add1 comment
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staci.reads
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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#12Booksin2022 I read a lot of great books in December, so it was hard to choose a favorite, but this one packed a punch, and I'll be thinking about it for a long time. @Andrew65

Andrew65 This looks a good read. Thanks for playing along, it has been a great way to review the Reading year. 1y
56 likes1 comment
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staci.reads
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Wow! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is powerful and heartbreaking. The topics and many scenes are difficult to read, sad and infuriating all at once. This will definitely end up on my "best of" list this year!

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staci.reads
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Christmas morning book haul. Then, like a weirdo, I went to the library yesterday and checked out 5 more books 😂

Mollyanna Not weird! Totally makes sense to me 😉 1y
59 likes1 comment
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BookNightOwl
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Honor by Thrity Umrigar is about a journalist who decides to go cover a story in India about a woman‘s husband who gets burn alive for being Muslim. This is told from the point of view of the reporter. The story is told about the ways of the Indian culture and what is and not acceptable. I found this fascinating but also heart breaking for not being able to love whoever you want to love.
Thanks Algonquin for providing this book for honest review!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Pretty photo 🧡 1y
BookNightOwl @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thank you my daughter took it for me when the book came in the mail. 1y
56 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Rhondareads
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Happy paperback publication week to Honor so well written emotional thought provoking a book that stays with you even after you finish the last page. @AlgonquinBooks

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jploves2read
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Honestly, I wasn‘t certain that I was emotionally ready to read this. I was looking for something light. This was not that book but I am so glad that I read it. It was everything I needed to read. I like to read International books to see the world from another perspective. This book will give you that and more. It is not an easy read but definitely a worthwhile read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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jploves2read
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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New book. Same beach. 🙂

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Megabooks
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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This look at Hindu/Muslim strife in India was a strong pick until it got super cheesy in the last chapters. It ended a low pick.

Smita thought she‘d never return to India after abruptly leaving with her family at 12. When a fellow journalist gets injured, she calls Smita to continue writing stories about Hindu brothers that burned their sister‘s Muslim husband to death. As Smita gets close to the victim, it brings up uncomfortable memories.

Megabooks This is my #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks !! 👍🏻👍🏻 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
Cinfhen Hmmm, I have it in my #Hoopla saved for later - I‘m not rushing to read it 2y
Megabooks @Cinfhen it would be a good #BorrowNotBuy 👍🏻 2y
87 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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MartinaLove
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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5/5 ⭐

A story that will broke your heart and that you won't soon forget.

Smita is ask to go to India; on false pretense that her friend Shannon needs her help. To her surprise, she is ask to cover the story of Meena. A woman who watched her husband being murdered by her brothers.

The story is a powerful and heartwretching but an important one to be read by all.

marleed A 5* read for me too! 2y
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MysticFaerie
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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5⭐/5⭐

marleed I agree! 2y
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Chab256
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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A powerful (and at times horrifying) story about cultural and religious identity in India and the meaning of strength and honor. My only criticism is the end was almost a too neat and sweet juxtaposition with the rest of the story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
#RWBookClub

Chab256 "...it seemed to Smita that the history of the world was written in female blood." 2y
Chab256 "As children, we were taught to be afraid of tigers and lions. Nobody taught us what I know today-the most dangerous animal in this world is a man with wounded pride." 2y
28 likes2 comments
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Chab256
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Happy International Women's Day! I'm currently and fittingly reading Thrity Umrigar's Honor.

#RWBookClub

marleed I read from the library but I think I need to own this book - it was so good! 2y
34 likes1 comment
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marleed
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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This grid was averaging well above a solid B rating, until the environmental misinformation in State of Fear convinced me to bail. But forget that, the tagged was so so good!

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

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marleed
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Wow, this is good. Often my human rights fiction reads are issues from a long ago historical context where I can tell myself the world knows (or should know) better now. But two distinct atrocities happen here - one in 1996 and the other present day. Gut wrenching. I‘m a strong believer in the separation of church and state. Books like this confirm my belief. ↓

marleed On a lighter note… I noticed here when families leave one apartment for another, they ‘shift‘ apartments. Of course, this was a google rabbit-hole hour for me. Apparently, such use of ‘shift‘ is common to India and also New Zealand. 2y
Amiable I just finished this over the weekend! It was so good. I love Umrigar's writing -- she hits a home run every time. 2y
marleed @Amiable This was my first book read by this author. I fell into it! 2y
Amiable @marleed I think I have read all of her books —every one is very good. 2y
78 likes6 stack adds4 comments
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thevagabondlawyer
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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An impressive achievement, Honor by Thrity Umrigar is canny in its moral intelligence and lyrical and flowing in prose. Reading Umrigar feels like you are being taken cared of and assured of a well thought of story. She is prolific and I am glad to have discovered her. On almost every page, you can smell and imagine 👇

thevagabondlawyer the heat, the dust, the colors, the humidity, the foods, the culture of India, or at least Mumbai. But this book also offers the most heartfelt love story I have ever read. Ms. Umrigar cunningly creates characters so full of human interest, so full of moral dilemma. She is an astute observer 👇 2y
thevagabondlawyer of a tradition gone mad. I didn‘t know Love Jihad until reading this book. But perhaps my greatest take away is giving the word HONOR a whole new meaning that transcends religion, culture and tradition, that Honor from the perspective and lens of being human. 📚👌
Ccto: @jasonfrostphotography
2y
45 likes2 comments
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JackieGreco
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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I adored this book about the intersection of three peoples lives in India. I found it really interesting to be in the perspective of a journalist covering a story in India about a woman who was nearly burned alive as well as reading her perspective and past. 5/5
This was a fun read novel and would definitely check out some of the authors other books

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Evita
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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5 out of 5

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Zuhkeeyah
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CW: death, misogyny, emotional abuse

This book was powerful. So many emotions happened at the same time. I wanted to hug women for their bravery. I wanted to kick the men who took out the hits to their fragile ego on women. I was mostly just horrified at how pervasive this idea of “honor” continues to be. This story takes place in India, but similar instances are occurring all over the world. ⬇️

Zuhkeeyah Smita was a wonderful narrator who was able to view India as her homeland and as a visitor. Her perspective placed the story of Meena on a larger scale. Great pick by Reese‘s book club. (edited) 2y
11 likes1 comment
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BookLineNSinker
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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I really enjoyed the audiobook! It was not something I would've chosen on my own but I'm really glad I read it. It is disturbing to think that in this day and age the things that happened to Meena are a reality for some women. Its very upsetting. An eye opener for sure! 4 🌟.

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KristiAhlers
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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#reesesbookclub has picked an amazing read for January! This story broke my heart while at the same time made me think. This isn‘t a light read by any means but one that is very much worth taking the time to pick up.

jenreads7 I‘ve got this one on hold at the library! 2y
KristiAhlers @jenniferajanes oh I hope you like it! I thought it was so good. It sickens me that honor killings are still something practiced. 2y
jenreads7 @KristiAhlers I hope so too. I‘m kind of on the fence about reading it because I know it will be hard. 😭 2y
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KristiAhlers @jenniferajanes to be honest it was the last book in the January book club books I selected to read. But while it was hard I loved the characters, loved how Smita dealt with her own cultural biases even though she was born in India but now lived in America. 2y
jenreads7 @KristiAhlers Thank you for sharing that with me. I think I‘m going to try it when my hold is available. 2y
KristiAhlers @jenniferajanes you‘re very welcome. Let me know what you thought after you‘ve read it 2y
jenreads7 @KristiAhlers Of course! 😊 2y
jenreads7 @KristiAhlers I just started this last night! 📚 2y
KristiAhlers @jenniferajanes I hope you enjoy it! 2y
jenreads7 @KristiAhlers I‘ll keep you updated. 😉 I haven‘t had much time to dig in. High hopes for the weekend! 2y
51 likes2 stack adds10 comments
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ReadingisMyPassion
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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This book grabbed me from the very beginning. The writing is superb, the story heartbreaking and haunting. If you loved Khalid Hosseini‘s “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, then you must read this book.

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TorieStorieS
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Wow! It may be early in 2022, but this is definitely a #Top2022Read for me! Smita returns to India to help a fellow reporter after an injury. When her friend asks her to leave Mumbai to cover the story of an interfaith marriage that ended in tragedy, Smita wishes she could refuse. Both her story and Meena‘s unfolds in an absolutely heart-wrenching manner. Exquisitely written, in depth characters- it‘s all amazing here! Thanks to @AlgonquinBooks !

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Lauren.Archer
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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This is ultimately the story of two very strong but different people and their relationships with the men they love. Nothing about this story is light and breezy, but is a thought provoking story about culture and life choices. This is a great read to start 2022.

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suvata
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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EvieBee I‘m the first on the hold list for the new Ruta Sepetys. Can‘t wait! 2y
suvata @EvieBee She‘s so good. I am anxiously awaiting that one. 2y
48 likes2 comments
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BookNAround
Honor | Thrity Umrigar
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Book mail is the best mail!

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