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Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories
Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories | Kelly Barnhill
A stunning new collection of short fictions from the World Fantasy Award- and Newbery Medal-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Kelly Barnhill comes a stunning first collection of acclaimed short fictions, teeming with uncanny characters whose stories unfold in worlds at once strikingly human and eerily original. When Mrs. Sorensen's husband dies, she rekindles a long-dormant love with an unsuitable mate in "Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch." In "Open the Door and the Light Pours Through," a young man wrestles with grief and his sexuality in an exchange of letters with his faraway beloved. "Dreadful Young Ladies" demonstrates the strength and power--known and unknown--of the imagination. "The Insect and the Astronomer" upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing. The World Fantasy Award-winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the secret, magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead. By an author hailed as "a fantasist on the order of Neil Gaiman" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), the stories in Dreadful Young Ladies feature bold, reality-bending fantasy underscored by rich universal themes of love, death, jealousy, and hope.
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gossamerchild
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Pickpick

My first 5 star read of the year. This was FABULOUS. I loved everything about it. And I kinda want the cover image as a tattoo. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

#shortstories #fantasy #theunreadshelfproject2023

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Moonprismpower
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Panpan

Ugh these stories are too much. I read all but the last. And I couldn‘t push myself to read any more. It feels like the author was trying too hard to be different.

Ugh fine I finished the book. I f*cking knew the last story, The Unlicensed Magician, would actually be one I enjoyed. And it was. I couldn‘t get it out of my head that Barnhill saved the most magical and least crazy story for last. It was a fairytale. A joy. All the rest were meh.

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HeatherBlue
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Vacationing with a close friend...might never leave this inn 😍 ending a fabulous day in a fabulous tub with a fabulous book on my fabulous kindle.

wanderinglynn That tub! 😍 Enjoy! 4y
Seekingtardis I hope you have a fabulous time!! 4y
HeatherBlue @wanderinglynn and @Seekingtardis thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️ 4y
Bette Looks fabulous. Enjoy. 👍❤️ 4y
HeatherBlue @Bette Thank you!! 💜 4y
55 likes5 comments
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HeatherBlue
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Vacationing with a close friend...might never leave this inn 😍 ending a fabulous day in a fabulous tub with a fabulous book on my fabulous kindle.

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Valink
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Started vacation book number 3 today and I‘m flying through it. Location: Block Island where I have never seen the Boat Basin or the mooring field emptier. We walked in to town today & people seemed to be very good about masks and distancing, and most stores had hand sanitizer at the door, almost all of them were selling masks.

Johanna414 I really liked this one! 4y
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elizabethh
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she.hearts.horror
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To be human is to lie, after all. Our minds tell lies to our hearts and our hearts tell lies to our souls.

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she.hearts.horror
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Each jagged shard of light in the darkness is a tiny message sent from the recesses of time. “You are alone,” the stars say. “You are alone. You are still alone.” Artist: Bart Cooper

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she.hearts.horror
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Dearest, Once there was a boy who loved a boy who did not love him back. Once there was a girl who loved a boy who loved a boy. Once there was a girl who loved a boy who loved her back. Mostly. If love is light and food is light and life is light, are we always in day? Are we doomed to never sleep? Ever yours, Angela Artist: king_midas

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she.hearts.horror
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She even made a diorama of the day she and her husband met—a man with a broken leg at the bottom of a gully in the middle of a flowery forest; a woman with a broken heart wandering alone, happening by, and binding his wounds. And how real they were! The visceral pain on his face, the sorrow hanging over her body like a cloud. The quickening of the heart at that first, tender touch. This is how love can begin—an act of kindness. Artist: king_midas

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she.hearts.horror
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mcipher
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@BarbaraJean - I am so spoiled! The thought you put into crafting this adventure - all the lovely instructions - was just amazing!! I‘m so excited for the books, the bookmarks are just lovely (And the squirrel!) I can‘t wait to try the tea (SO COOL)... I will add the stones to my yoga room collection and track some adventures in the Harry Potter journal. So thoughtful and fun - THANK YOU!! 🥰👏👏 (also: #Chloe approved)
#staycationintimeswap

Chrissyreadit 🥰😍🥰what is in the bookish den box? Love your staycation swap! 5y
Avanders 🥰🥰 5y
mcipher @Chrissyreadit The wooden bookmark on top and a wooden mask - you can barely see it but it‘s leaning against 5y
BarbaraJean Yaaaaay!! You‘re welcome! I‘m so glad you like it (and that Chloe approves—😁)! I had a lot of fun putting it together. 😊 Enjoy your adventures! 5y
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Chittavrtti

I‘ve missed reading magical realists. This is delightful.

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ApplesandSpindles
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Pickpick

Kelly Barnhill gets lots of comparisons to Neil Gaiman and it is easy to see why, but she has her own power and gift as a writer. I found this book just poking around Book People, here in Austin, one day and I struck gold!

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Bibliogeekery
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Pickpick

This was a whimsical collection of short stories from the woman who brought us The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Fairy-tale-esque and full of imaginative twists and turns. A lovely read!

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Bibliogeekery
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Saw this guy while reading! Pelican!

LauraBeth 😍😍 6y
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Bibliogeekery
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This morning's reading spot with a coffee 📚☕🌴

CuriousG This is gorgeous! 6y
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Bibliogeekery
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The little book corner hut at this resort is gone (sadly) but the sign remains!

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Bibliogeekery
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Next up! Getting so much reading some on my holiday!

Lmstraubie Love this cover! 6y
mreads Great book👍😀 6y
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Johanna414
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Pickpick

There were a couple stories I didn‘t really get, but I loved most of them. This was a great way to start #newyearwhodis with @BarbaraJean - I‘m so glad you included this on your list, as I don‘t normally pick up short stories. I absolutely adored the final novella.
I finished this up while doing a little #audiopuzzling and #audiocrochet this morning

Lmstraubie I love that cover!! 6y
BarbaraJean Oh, yay!! I felt the same way about a couple of the stories—there were a few misses for me, but for the most part I loved them! Her writing is gorgeous. I‘m glad you enjoyed it!! 6y
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mreads
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This quote is actually from the authors acknowledgment but sums up exactly how I feel about reading.

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Johanna414
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Nina fell asleep while I finished cleaning, Lane is still napping and I‘m taking a few minutes with my book before we go to our Christmas Eve party. I estimate 5 minutes before someone wakes up and needs me...

kellyann28 I saw this book on Book Outlet and was intrigued. How is it? 6y
Johanna414 @kellyann28 I‘ve enjoyed some stories more than others, but as a whole it‘s been great! I‘m usually not a big short story fan, but these have really pulled me in 6y
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Johanna414
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This should get me through all the gifts I have to wrap tonight!

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Aimeesue
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Oh my! “In the midst of slowly stoning him to death using only popcorn and lost buttons and bits of yarn.”

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Aimeesue
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I have no idea what to expect from this one, but I was drawn in by the cover!

BarbaraJean I loved this one! Hope you enjoy! 6y
Aimeesue @BarbaraJean I am! I think these may be best read spread out a bit. I read too many last night and they started to run together, all having similar themes. I did love 6y
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MrsBibliophile
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Pickpick

Working on Day 8 of this plague. I'm starting to feel better though not by much. I started one of my birthday books, from Griffin Bay. It's a collection of fictional short stories, which I love! So far. The author, Kelly Barnhill has a paintbrush for a tongue, and illustrates each page with ease.

Ericalambbrown Hopefully you have recovered. The crud going around this year has been just dreadful! 😉 6y
MrsBibliophile @Ericalambbrown I'm on Day 10 :-( the Dr said the flu this year is especially bad. 6y
Ericalambbrown @EmmaGray oh, bummer! I hope this clears soon. How miserable! 😩 6y
MrsBibliophile @Ericalambbrown at least I have books ♡ right? 6y
Ericalambbrown @EmmaGray Right! 😀 6y
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KeepCalmWithBooksAndCoffee
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Short story collection that seems perfect for this time of year. 🤩

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Ericalambbrown
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Pickpick

This is a really unique collection. The stories all utilize forms of magical realism, which obviously requires suspension of disbelief. If that‘s not your thing, you may want to shuffle along past this one. If you like Gaiman or Rushdie or Allende or Garcia Marquez or Morrison, you may well enjoy this. The novella ending the book The Unlicensed Magician was particularly wonderful, as was the opening story Mrs Sorensen and the Sasquatch.

Readergrrl I love Sasquatch! My spirit animal!! 6y
Ericalambbrown @Readergrrl Have you read this? 6y
Readergrrl @Ericalambbrown Not yet! After your review, I‘ve got to get my hands on a copy! 6y
Readergrrl @Ericalambbrown I just finished Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances. I feel like you‘d enjoy it after reading your review of this book. 6y
Ericalambbrown @Readergrrl thank you! I‘ll have to stack that one 6y
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Ericalambbrown
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Finally finishing this book (hopefully) while stuck on layover in ATL. But I got to have lunch in a bookstore so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sarah83 💖💖💖💖 6y
tracey38 Nice spot for lunch! 6y
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glitterkitty459
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#Septemberwrapup #monthlystats Part 1/2 (8/16 total books)
Tagged was my one of my favs for the month 👍
Also very happy with the rest of the Soulless series 😍
Least favorite of the month for me was sadly The Silence of the Girls 🙁 Disappointing 👎

What was your favorite read of the month?

Book_Fairy_Mary Oh nooooo! I'm about to start The Silence of the Girls! 6y
scowler1 Reading it now, 30 pages in and I love it. Very different subject matter but it's still the Pat Barker I know. 6y
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Nafiza
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Pickpick

In turns provoking (though and emotion) and inspiring, this collection is one of the most beautiful ones I have had the pleasure to read. Barnhill keeps exceeding all expectations.

#shortstories #kellybarnhill

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Literatigeek
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Pickpick

I just finished this collection of short stories by Kelly Barnhill. I would say most were quirky and definitely for fans of Neil Gaiman. What really pushed this collection from a 3.5 to a 4 was the ending novella "The Unlicensed Magician", it's worth at least checking it out from your library for that. Review on blog to come.

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ness
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Pickpick

OK, I lied. I did the yoga, and then I finished the last 30 pages because this collection is pretty much perfect. A great end to #24in48 for sure.

Jess7 🤗 6y
RebL Ha! I went back to my book too, even though I have a looooong day at work tomorrow. 6y
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ness
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And now for the last one! #24in48

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ness
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Let‘s end with some Kelly Barnhill short stories! #24in48

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ness
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OK I LIED. I stayed up for another hour (bringing me to 2.5 hours so far in #24in48) to read some Kelly Barnhill short stories in the dark. (thank goodness for cellphone flashlights)

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TracyReadsBooks
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Pickpick

An absolutely delightful collection of stories full of magical realism, imagination, wonder & mystery. The standout is the last one, Barnhill‘s World Fantasy Award winning novella ‘The Unlicensed Magician.” Other favorites include ‘Mrs Sorensen and the Sasquatch,‘ and perhaps my very favorite ‘Elegy to Gabrielle—Patron Saint of Healers, Whores, and Righteous Thieves.‘ I definitely recommend this book, particularly for fans of speculative fiction.

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TracyReadsBooks
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ness
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Starting my new bedtime short story collection, courtesy of @DiruVamp ! The first story is so good!

DiruVamp Awesome!! I hope you enjoy it! 👏🏻👏🏻 6y
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ElishaLovesBooks
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I‘m not the best photographer, especially when it comes to food. But this is vanilla chia seed pudding with blueberries inspired by @DebinHawaii ♥️♥️ Very yummy! Great for a very hot day like today!💥🎇☄️

mabell Looks and sounds delicious! 6y
DebinHawaii It looks great! 😋Glad you liked it! 6y
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ElishaLovesBooks
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So far I haven‘t met any #fancy young ladies in this short story collection. In fact, the first female protagonist is anything but #fancy! She has a special way with animals. It‘s interesting but I‘m still not sure how I feel about it. #heatinjuly

Soubhiville It‘s a great title. I hope it grows on you. 6y
ElishaLovesBooks @Soubhiville I bet it will! The writing is great! 6y
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BarbaraJean
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#JuneWrapUp #JuneStats
6 female / 2 POC Authors
5 library / 2 TBR / 1 re-read
6 print / 1 eBook / 1 Audio

SO many good books this month. So much beautiful writing (all four corners of the above are absolutely gorgeously written) but also so much bleakness! My favorites for pure enjoyment were Dreadful Young Ladies & Mort. The best as far as thought-provoking would of course be Handmaid‘s Tale. I‘m so behind on reviews—have to catch up this week!

GypsyKat Some great books there! ❤️ 6y
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TracyReadsBooks
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Jabberwocky So much impact for a single sentence!! Love it! 6y
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TracyReadsBooks
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Don‘t want to start a new book since I‘m heading out of town tomorrow so it looks like a short story or two for me tonight.

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Tashreads
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#readingresolutions #bookandblanket

Winter in Australia 🇦🇺 and this is my happy place

Thndrstd Loved that book 6y
Tashreads @Thndrstd one of my many TBR, but heard such great things about it I couldn‘t resist 6y
Lcsmcat Beautiful mug! 6y
LazyDays Beautiful picture🌈 6y
Becker Great author 6y
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BarbaraJean
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Pickpick

This book—💜 Barnhill‘s writing is gorgeous. Beautiful, strange, sad, surreal—I absolutely loved this collection of stories (and one novella). There were a couple stories that were misses for me (the title story being one), but overall: holy crap, this was good. If you enjoy magical realism or melancholy fairy tales... this is probably your jam. I checked it out from the library, but will probably buy a copy for my shelves. Just—💜

Beachesnbooks Glad to hear you enjoyed this one! I bought it last month and am really lookimg forward to picking it up. 6y
monalyisha OoooOo! Adult or children‘s? 6y
BarbaraJean @monalyisha Definitely adult—some dark themes throughout. I haven‘t read her middle grade novels yet, but I imagine the tone is quite different! 6y
monalyisha @BarbaraJean That‘s exciting! I‘ve enjoyed her MG stuff, but it‘s seemed more like children‘s lit for adults who like children‘s lit. I‘m interested to see what her true adult writing is like! 😍 6y
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BarbaraJean
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We read because we hunger to know, to empathize, to feel, to connect, to laugh, to fear, to wonder, and to become, with each page, more than ourselves. To become creatures with souls. We read because it allows us, through force of mind, to hold hands, touch lives, speak as another speaks, listen as another listens, and feel as another feels. We read because we wish to journey forth together. 💜📚💜

BarbaraJean Also: an author who ends her Acknowledgements with an ode to reading/readers—💜 6y
Prairiegirl_reading Love this! Is the rest of the book any good? So different from her middle grade stuff. 6y
BarbaraJean @Prairiegirl_reading The rest of it IS good. I loved it overall—some stories less so than others, but seriously gorgeous writing throughout! I haven‘t yet picked up her middle grade books, but they‘ve just moved up my list! (edited) 6y
Prairiegirl_reading @BarbaraJean I thought the girl who drank the moon was really enjoyable. I‘m very curious about this. 👍🏼 6y
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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

I really liked this short story collection. It was moody and fun. Some of the stories really drew me in and could have been books I would read.

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BarbaraJean
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This has been my view for most of the day. Ignore the boxes of my husband‘s Magic cards all over the table! I woke up with head congestion, sore throat, and overall 😷 I called in sick and have been napping & reading most of the day. I‘ve renewed this library book so many times & still hadn‘t started it, so I was gonna just return it. But I started reading it and found short stories are perfect for a sick day. I can snooze in between each one!

JoScho Feel better! ❤️ 6y
mllemay Short stories are great for general unwell-ness lol. Hope you can get some rest this weekend and feel better soon :) 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Hope you're better soon, Barbara! ❤💙💚💜💗 6y
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ness
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Eeee! I love all of this so much (especially lil Delilah Bard!!! She is perfect). I can‘t wait to dig into this book and munch on some tasty Justin‘s PB cups while staying nice and hydrated in my Game Boy mug. Fun fact: I wasn‘t allowed to a Game Boy growing up because videogames weren‘t for girls. Joke‘s on my parents because I play videogames all the time now. Thanks again so much, @DiruVamp !! I love everything. #BottleandBookSwap

DiruVamp Yay!! I am so glad you like everything! I could not resist that little Delilah Bard and I thought that Gameboy tumbler was so cool! Isnt it great when we can “grow up” and finally get to do the things our parents wouldn‘t allow us to do? 😂😜Enjoy! 👏🏻🎊😄 6y
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