3 4 5 S.R. Johannes: Thursday
Showing posts with label Thursday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thursday. Show all posts

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Bookanista: Reconstructing Amelia

I picked up this book at RWA in the spring. Didn't think anything about it until a friend starting talking about it and compared it to Gone Girl.

Sold.

This is a little different of a book - since it is technically adult - but it is about a teen's angst and partly from a teen POV so I decided to try it. 

This book was so good, I wanted to talk about it. I loved it! 

I will say there was one subplot that felt a little forced, but it didn't ruin the book for me. It is told in alternating view points of Kate (the mom's) present day investigation and Amelia's POV in past tense (the 15 year old) time leading up to the event of her death. It's also told using emails, text messages, and Facebook statuses so its very technology focused which is different and really worked.

Below I listed my top 10 things about this book! But first what it's about.

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

A stunning debut novel in which a single mother reconstructs her teenaged daughter's life, sifting through her emails, texts, and social media to piece together the shocking truth about the last days of her life.

Litigation lawyer and harried single mother Kate Baron is stunned when her daughter's exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, calls with disturbing news: her intelligent, high-achieving fifteen-year-old daughter, Amelia, has been caught cheating.

Kate can't believe that Amelia, an ambitious, levelheaded girl who's never been in trouble would do something like that. But by the time she arrives at Grace Hall, Kate's faced with far more devastating news. Amelia is dead. 

Seemingly unable to cope with what she'd done, a despondent Amelia has jumped from the school's roof in an act of "spontaneous" suicide. At least that's the story Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. And overwhelmed as she is by her own guilt and shattered by grief, it is the story that Kate believes until she gets the anonymous text: 

"She didn't jump."

Sifting through Amelia's emails, text messages, social media postings, and cell phone logs, Kate is determined to learn the heartbreaking truth about why Amelia was on Grace Hall's roof that day-and why she died.

Told in alternating voices, Reconstructing Amelia is a story of secrets and lies, of love and betrayal, of trusted friends and vicious bullies. It's about how well a parent ever really knows a child and how far one mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she could not save


Top 10 things:

1) I felt this mom's pain. It was heart wrenching. Find out out a teen is dead has to be horrible for any mom. Especially a single mom.
2) The bond between mom and daughter is special. This mom did everything right yet there was still a break down. I think this portrayed a real relationship.
3) It was very Gone Girl meets Pretty Little Liars. And I love both of those.
4) This book is a about how small secrets can grow into bigger problems. They can sneak up on you and fester slowly.
5) If i learned one thing it is : that quality is better than quantity. The quality is the emotional connection while the quantity is only physical.
6) It brings to light the issue of bullies. That they can be girls and they can be cruel. 
7) It touched me how a young beautiful smart girl who had everything going for her could still get pulled in the wrong direction
8) It was a page turner because I needed to know what happened - like Kate. The desperation bled off the pages into my heart.
9) It made me think about how important we think work is until something tragic happens and then it all doesn't seem worth it in the end.
10) The writing was beautiful. It was different

Pick this one up if you want a break from traditional YA books!

For other Bookanista books:

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bookanista Thursday

Here are some Bookanista Recs for this week :)

Shari Arnold marvels at THE MOON AND MORE by Saran Dessen

Tracy Banghart is thrilled by 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Christine Fonseca shivers over SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi

Carrie Harris and Elana Johnson reveal the cover of SALLY SLICK & THE STEEL SYNDICATE by Carrie Harris

Corrine Jackson is nuts for AU REVOIR, CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK by Joe Schreiber

Jessica Love joins the BY BLOOD by Tracy Banghart book blitz – with giveaway

Shannon Messenger  raves about JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta

Tracey Neithercott adores THE ARCHIVED by Victoria Schwab

Kimberly Sabatini is touched by OUT OF REACH by Carrie Arcos


Katy Upperman gushes over THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine Fonseca

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Bookanista: Cory Doctorow’s LITTLE BROTHER and HOMELAND

With all the stuff going on in the media around Internet snooping with the government, this is a timely review. 

Little Brother released in 2008, yet Homeland just released. Not sure why it took 7 years but at least there was a continuation.

Little Brother

Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.

Homeland (sequel) 


A few years later, California's economy collapses, but Marcus’s hacktivist past lands him a job as webmaster for a crusading politician who promises reform. Soon his former nemesis Masha emerges from the political underground to gift him with a thumbdrive containing a Wikileaks-style cable-dump of hard evidence of corporate and governmental perfidy. It’s incendiary stuff—and if Masha goes missing, Marcus is supposed to release it to the world. Then Marcus sees Masha being kidnapped by the same government agents who detained and tortured Marcus years earlier.

Marcus can leak the archive Masha gave him—but he can’t admit to being the leaker, because that will cost his employer the election. He’s surrounded by friends who remember what he did a few years ago and regard him as a hacker hero. He can’t even attend a demonstration without being dragged onstage and handed a mike. He’s not at all sure that just dumping the archive onto the Internet, before he’s gone through its millions of words, is the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, people are beginning to shadow him, people who look like they’re used to inflicting pain until they get the answers they want.

Fast-moving, passionate, and as current as next week, Homeland is every bit the equal of Little Brother—a paean to activism, to courage, to the drive to make the world a better place.

Here are my top 10 reasons why you should read this series:

1) Gives you a pretty scary picture of the how the US could be run  if terrorist threats continue and we move under martial law. Scary!
2) Learn about what people can really do on computers. The author and protagonist is knowledgeable without being too technical. Yet, I learned a lot about hacking and cyberspace in general.
3) It will make you think about what you put online. Very insightful and eye opening.
4) The seriousness of hacking - it's all fun and games until the govt gets wind of it :)
5) Marcus's voice is hilarious. In the midst of being chased I found myself laughing at how he sees the world. Love when a book can make me laugh and want to run all at once.
6) If you love Fahrenheit 451 or George Orwell books, Marcus is the Winston of modern society.
7) I love the vulnerability of the tough tech guy. You feel Marcus' pain and he isn't afraid to cry, which for this book is realistic.
8) Being so timely, this is a very realistic thriller. You feel like it could happen tomorrow.
9) The cover. I totally get the feel of a group of hackers with this cover. I love it for this subject.
10) Surprisingly this book is more about freedom than entrapment.
Bonus - surprisingly a little romance/sex :)


Check out the other Bookanista recs for the day:


Lenore Appelhans  wonders at ALL YOU NEVER WANTED by Adele Griffin

Shari Arnold loves SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL by Trish Doller

Tracy Banghart embraces IMPOSTOR by Susanne Winnacker

Nikki Katz gets the shivers for 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

Stasia Ward Kehoe shares her cover for THE SOUND OF LETTING GO

Jessica Love raves about ROAD TO TATER HILL by Edith M. Hemingway


Katy Upperman celebrates THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay



Thursday, June 06, 2013

Bookanista Thursday


Check out what the Bookanistas are recommending this week:


Carolina Valdez Miller celebrates 17 & GONE by Nova Ren Suma [YOU ARE HERE, so, don't click this one]

Carrie Harris awakens you to INSOMNIA by Jenn Johansson…with giveaway

Christine Fonseca praises THE PLEDGE by Kimberly Derting

Corrine Jackson is wild for WHEN IT HAPPENS by  Susane Colasanti

Debra Driza  applauds FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

 Elana Johson invites you to her ABANDON release par-tay!

Katy Upperman is bewitched by NANTUCKET BLUE by Leila Howland

Lenore Appelhans  swoons for STAR CURSED by Jessica Spotswood…with an annotated snippet

Stasia Ward Kehoe is wild for THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky

Tracey Neithercott  highlights WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE by Trish Doller

Tracy Banghart  raves over JUMP WHEN READY by David Pandolfe

Monday, May 20, 2013

Bookanistas - better late than never

I forgot to post these last Thursday!



Lenore Appelhans  is blown away by REBOOT by Amy Tintera

Carrie Harris adores BEYOND DINOCALYPSE by Chuck Wendig -- with giveaway!

Tracy Banghart  & Debra Driza join THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine Fonseca book blitz!

 Corrine Jackson is stunned by BREAKING BEAUTIFUL by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Nikki Katz  wonders at THE GRAVE WINNER by Lindsey Loucks

Gretchen McNeil talks TRUTH OR DARE by Jacqueline Green

Elana Johson admires INSOMNIA by Jenn Johannson

Tracey Neithercott celebrates THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS by Jacqueline Moriarty

Katy Upperman fawns over FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta

Rebecca Behrens is wowed by THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

Thursday, May 09, 2013

BOOKANISTA LINKS FOR THURSDAY 9 MAY



LINKS FOR THURSDAY 9 MAY

Christine Fonseca  marvels at MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza – with giveaway!

Corrine Jackson is blown away by BRUISED by Sarah Skilton

Elana Johson  buzzes about STUNG by Bethany Wiggins

Stasia Ward Kehoe fawns over THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

Jessica Love raves about THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING by Ashley Elton

Shannon Messenger  shares an exclusive excerpt from INSOMNIA

Tracy Banghart  swoons for THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bookanista Thursday!


Today's Bookanista Love goes to.....
Katy Upperman  ponders LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS by Laura Buzo

Kimberly Sabatini wonders at WHEN YOU WERE HERE by Daisy Whitney

Elana Johson  falls for THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

Tracy Banghart  loves LACRIMOSA by Christine Fonseca

Corrine Jackson adores the ARCADIA BELL series by Jenn Bennett

Rebecca Behrens delves into CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

Lenore Appelhans raves about THE RULES by Stacey Cade

Stasia Ward Kehoe wraps up National Poetry Month with THE POETRY TEACHER’S BOOK OF LISTS by Sylvia Vardell

Christine Fonseca  celebrates UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

Jessica Love hails THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE by Jennifer E. Smith

Shannon Messenger  discusses some recent reads

Thursday, March 21, 2013

My Bear Plea and Bookanista Thursday

Peta photo
Today is Bookanista Thursday but I want to share something first.

My first book Untraceable touches on the inhumane bear pits in North Carolina where bears are held in cement bunkers and treated horribly.

This month is a huge month because they are voting on whether to close them or not.

If you read the book or are interested in speaking out. You can write an email to the city council for the meeting on March 19th.

Here are the email addy's and sample letter

Here is the agenda for the meeting in March.

Here is my petition to stop it and here is another larger petition going on as well.

And lastly, here's a great story about a 6 year old who won the PETA kids award for helping these bear pits.

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Now for the Bookanista Links this week:


Tracy Banghart revels in ROMEO REDEEMED by Stacy Jay

Corrine Jackson is redeemed by HOPELESS by Colleen Hoover

Jessica Love gets lost in TAKEN by Erin Bowman

Stasia Ward Kehoe connects writers with WriteOnCon

Shannon Messenger celebrates upcoming spring reads



Thursday, March 07, 2013

Bookanista Thursday

Bookanistas are ramping back up again. Things  got slow over the holidays but we are back!

So once again weekly, we will discuss and review books in a positive way.

This week, the Bookanistas are talking about:


Jessica Love raves about THE REECE MALCOM LIST
Nikki Katz sees red over SCARLET 
Katy Upperman  adores JUST ONE DAY
Stasia Ward Kehoe is ga-ga for GOING VINTAGE

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Bookanistas: Cover Luv!

Here are some recent covers that I think are amaze-balls!!

Hysteria by Megan Miranda (Walker Childrens) - Feb 5th, 2013 

Wow this cover is spooky. When I first saw it I could not stop staring at it. Is it a headless girl or a girl hidden behind some strange painting. I know what the book is about and it's perfect. Gives you that creepy feel that Megan infuses into her books so well. 



Mallory’s life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can’t remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear . . .
When Mallory’s parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There’s the hand that touches her shoulder when she’s drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory’s name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it’s never gone. Can Mallory live with that?
goodreads Book Stalking: Hysteria by Megan Miranda
Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza (Harper) - March 12, 2013

Seriously? This is bada$% cover. The way her face peels away in pixels says so much about this book. I cannot wait to read this.


Pitched as a "Bourne Identity"-type sci-fi thriller about a teenage girl who discovers that she is a Mobile Intel Life-like Android, an experiment in artificial intelligence created by the U.S. government, and her scientist mother, who kidnapped her when she was found to have human emotions.

A few other honorable indie mentions :)

Ali Cross Desolation series, Book 2 Desolate (Out now!) And her first in the series Become is free!

COVER: Love the despair of this. An angel being struck down from heaven. I loved Ali's first book and can't wait to see what is in store 

Where darkness lives, all will become desolate.

It’s been two months since sixteen-year-old Desolation Black chose Earth over Hell and her friend Miri over her eternal love, Michael. 

Desi goes through the motions of life: school, training, remaining vigilant against the forces of darkness, but her dreams are full of the choices she wishes she could change. When she’s injured by a strange demon, old temptations arise, and the lines between good and evil blur. Desi discovers those choices aren’t so final after all.

And this time, the power of love—for a friend, for a lover—may not be enough to save her from the darkness that lurks within

The Sundering - Megg Jensen (coming Sept 2013). You can go ahead and get ready by starting the The Swarm series with SleepersBook 1 (free right now!) and Afterlife - Book 2 

COVER: This is just spooky. People with white hair freak me out! And the eyes. Love this.

After defeating the Malborn and losing the person she loved most, Lianne escapes to Chase's homeland. With her appearance forever marked by death, Lianne feels like a monster both on the outside and the inside. She retreats into herself, fearful of what she's become.

But she can't hide forever. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Bookanistas: Cover contest for THE 13TH SIGN

Below is the hot-off-the-presses cover for THE 13TH SIGN by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb (January 8, 2013 from Feiwel & Friends):

And the jacket copy:

What if there was a 13th zodiac sign? 


You’re no longer Sagittarius, but Ophiuchus, the healer, the 13th sign. 


Your personality has changed.
So has your mom’s and your best friend’s. 


What about the rest of the world? 


What if you were the one who accidentally unlocked the 13th sign, causing this world-altering change—and infuriating the other 12 signs?  


Jalen did it, and now she must use every ounce of her strength and cunning to send the signs back where they belong.
Lives, including her own, depend on it.

To celebrate, Kristin is hosting a COVER REVEAL CONTEST! Here’s how it works:

  • 1.     Search the cover above for THREE zodiac symbols. Got them? Good! Then…
  • 2.     Email your answers directly to Kristin at ktubb@comcast.net by June 30 to…
  • 3.     Be entered into a drawing! The following will be doled out randomly to three folks who send in correct answers:
  • -a $50 IndieBound gift card!
  • -a signed hardcover of SELLING HOPE plus a signed paperback of AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT!
  • -a book “basket” including three middle grade books: BRIDGE TO TIME by Lewis Buzbee, THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger, and THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne M. Valente
4.   BONUS! Anyone who includes a FOUTH zodiac symbol in their answers will    get double entries for the above drawing!

And that’s it!  Start searching and emailing! (Please remember to email answers rather than post them in the comments! Thanks!)

P.S. If you’d like to preorder THE 13TH SIGN, you can do so here  (Amazon) or here (Indiebound)! You’ll be automatically be eligible for the upcoming THE 13TH SIGN Preorder Contest!

For more Bookanista recommendations, visit


Elana Johnson can't get enough of See You At Harry's
Shannon Messenger shares some YA cover lust 
Shelli Johannes-Wells talks about the cover for The 13th Sign--with a contest!
Stasia Ward Kehoe and Nikki Katz gush about Surrender
Jessica Love has feelings for The List
Katy Upperman lays it on the line for The Book Thief




Thursday, May 03, 2012

Bookanistas: Elle Strauss (Author of Clockwise & Clockwiser)

Last year, Elle Strauss stopped by to talk about Clockwise and It's a Little Haywire.

Today, we get a peek into Book 2, Clockwiser.


The last year has been smooth sailing for Casey Donovan. She and her boyfriend Nate are doing better than ever, and things at home are good, too. Everything’s been so calm, she hasn’t “tripped” back to the nineteenth century in ages.

Then the unthinkable happens and she accidentally takes her rebellious brother Tim back in time. It’s 1862 with the Civil War brewing, and for Tim this spells adventure and excitement. Finding himself stuck in the past, he enlists in the Union army, but it doesn’t take long before he discovers real life war is no fun and games.

Casey and Nate race against the clock to find Tim, but the strain wears on their relationship. It doesn’t help that the intriguing new boy next door has his sights on Casey, and isn’t shy to let her know it.

Can Nate and Casey find Tim in time to save him? And is it too late to save their love?

Here is the first chapter:

CASEY
Beginning of Summer Holidays

Sometimes I wished I were an only child. But then I’d be walking or taking transit instead of getting a lift from my brother Tim in his Cavalier beater. He didn’t have air conditioning either, and the wind blowing in from our open windows was hot and moist. The humidity made me feel like I was wearing a warm, wet washcloth for a shirt.

“Can’t you drop me off first?” I said, fanning myself with my hand. I was meeting my best friend Lucinda at the mall, and she only had a thirty minute break from her job at Forever21. Plus, the mall was air conditioned. Bonus.

“I gotta get some cash first. Besides, I’m not your personal taxi service, Casey.” Tim snarled, turning the volume up on his stereo. The bass beat was so loud it rattled the trunk. “Get off your lazy butt and get your license already.”

I gave him a dirty look and reached over to turn the music down. I had a very good reason for not getting my license, but I could never tell Tim or any member of my family what it was. There were only three people currently living who knew the reason. One of them was my boyfriend Nate Mackenzie.
My heart still fluttered a bit when I thought of him in those terms. My boyfriend. Not just some out-of-reach guy I crushed hard on my whole sophomore year, but my boyfriend.

We’d already been an official couple for an entire year, totally blowing all the doomsday predictions that we’d never make it. No one thought a college boy would stick it out with a junior in high school--especially Nate’s evil former girlfriend!

But he did, and we were still going strong. I’d be starting my senior year in a few weeks and then I’d join him at Boston University, too.

“If you dropped me off first, you wouldn’t have to deal with me,” I tried to reason.

“If I didn’t shuttle you around at all I wouldn’t have to deal with you.”

The only reason he did was because my parents were putting the screws in. Tim’s bad attitude, questionable choice of friends and poor grades put him in their bad books. Driving me around was penance.

He pulled into the parking lot of the bank and hopped out, leaving the car running. I reached over and turned it off. Idling the car was bad for the environment for one, and a waste of Tim’s hard-earned minimum-wage job gas money for another. You’d think he’d know better.

I checked the time on my phone and grew anxious as Lucinda’s break time grew nearer. Tim had his back to me as he stood in line at the ATM window. I looked at my reflection in the visor mirror. Since I’d grown out of my skinny awkwardness last year (and snagged a hot boyfriend), I was more mindful of my looks. Instead of trying to hide behind a bush of dark, curly hair, I used better hair products and found a great stylist, and I liked the way my curls framed my face now. I took a tube of lip gloss out of my purse and rolled it onto my lips.

I tugged on my shorts and rubbed my bare legs. They were so long, my knees almost touched the glove compartment. Height had its advantages, but getting comfortable in a small car wasn’t one of them.
I turned the radio on and hummed along. I daydreamed about me and Nate and how we could relax for the rest of the summer, hopefully stretching the lazy days out as long as possible.

I checked the time on my phone again and immediately started stressing about being late to meet Lucinda. C’mon, Tim! He was second in line now. I texted Lucinda to let her know I might be a little late.
I heard sirens and I perked up. This wasn’t the best neighborhood. The bank wasn’t huge, just tucked into a strip mall along with a nail place, a dollar store, and a thrift shop. Litter overflowed from the bin and a good amount had been blown up against the cement foundation.

I checked on Tim. He’d finally made it to the front, the last one in line. If I’d known it was going to take him this long, I would’ve run into the dollar store and picked up cheap nail polish.

The siren noise grew increasingly louder and suddenly three cop cars pulled into the parking lot beside me. My heart jumped, and I thought fleetingly that maybe Tim was in trouble with the law again. Only, he was getting money out of the ATM, not robbing the bank.

But someone was.

Everything happened so fast.

A guy with a ski mask pushed past Tim as he ran out the bank doors. A cop shouted, “Stop or I’ll shoot,” and another masked man followed. Guns went off. Tim stood there, stunned and frozen.

I heard myself shout, “Tim!” He was right in the middle of the cross-fire!

A police officer ran to him, pushing him to the ground just as the second armed man shot in their direction. The officer fell to the ground, taking the bullet instead of Tim.

The robbers ran around the corner and out of sight, chased by police officers on foot and a cruiser down the back ally.

I sprinted to Tim where he was on the ground by the fallen cop.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice tight.

His face was white, and he motioned to the woman beside him. “Yeah, but I don’t think she is.”

The officer moaned, holding her hand on her chest.

“Oh, ma’am, are you okay?” I searched for blood but couldn’t see any.

“I will be,” she said gasping for breath. “I have a vest on.”

Another officer kneeled beside her. “Ambulance is on its way.”

The woman had dark hair pulled back in a low bun. Her eyes stayed pinched together and her pale face glistened with sweat. The impact of the bullet was enough to do some damage. I picked up her police hat that had fallen off her head and handed it to her.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Just doing my duty.”

The ambulance arrived. The paramedics pushed us aside and lifted the woman onto a gurney. The cop who’d checked her pulse stepped forward from his open door cruiser. Radio dispatch noises leaked out.

I watched the ambulance pull away, siren blasting, and realized I didn’t know her name. I asked the officer standing beside me.

“That’s Officer Clarice Porter,” he said. “Now, would you two mind coming with me to the station to file a report?”

We agreed, and I took my first ride in a police car. It was Tim’s second, but his first was not for noble reasons. He still claimed it was his friend Alex, and not him, who’d stolen the cigarettes from the convenience store.

A thought like a loud banner ran through my mind as the doors of the police cruiser slammed shut and we drove away.

Clarice Porter saved my brother’s life.

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If you want to hook up with Elle, you can follow her blog

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Check out other Bookanista posts: