Insta(gram)-Love

Beads of water cling to him like in a dream. The combined effect of the soft light behind him from the bathroom and steam curling around his muscles gives the impression of a mythological water god visiting our world.

Angelfall by Susan Ee This is not a mythological water god, rather it is Raffe, an agnostic angel created by Susan Ee in her post-apocalyptic self-published novel, Angelfall.

Penryn or Pen, whose world has turned into a nightmare of gangs of roaming scoundrels, witnesses the brutality of celestial beings de-winging the handsome angel Raffe who becomes her ally in working to regain the world she once knew. She wraps his wings in a bundle to protect them from more damage. They’re carried with him as he navigates with Pen this frightening new world.

Without wings, Raffe is vulnerable. With them he is nearly invincible. Pen’s theory is that they can be reattached like a human’s thumb. Together they search for an angel-surgeon to perform the feat.

Angelfall kept my interest with its fast-paced action and unusual characters.

Raffe (the wingless agnostic angel) plays a central role in the story. Angels have swept the earth creating an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it shattered existence. Food, shelter and safety are only memories. Broken lives along with literal debris from a once a thriving world litter the pages like dominoes scattered across a playroom floor.

Pen, from whose eyes and mind the first-person story evolves, struggles as she always has to hold her family together. She’s a teenager who’s versatile, strong, savvy and determined. Her mother’s mental instability and paranoid insanity means that monsters and demons have been her constant companions for years, therefore this new world’s not new to her.

Paige, Pen’s sweet and dearly loved sister, at eight years of age is confined to a wheelchair. Pushing Paige through the debris strewn streets and all the while keeping her mother under some semblance of control is not an easy task. Then, Paige is ferreted away by angels who do not have much use for humans while her paranoid mother wanders off on her own path.

The basic plot is breathless and absorbing.

Jul 17
Jul 17 {Review} About Last Night by Ruthie Knox

The romantic hero of About Last Night is named Neville. Oh yeah, you heard me.

For anyone who’s ever enjoyed a Harry Potter film or movie (and I sincerely hope EVERYONE has had that pleasure), this is obviously a dream come true. It doesn’t hurt that his character reminds me of my favorite YA hero, Wes from Sarah Dessen’s The Truth About Forever.

The heroine isn’t too bad herself. Mary Catherine is a former Catholic schoolgirl with a painful history and an intense love of art. She’s trying to break into curating for The Victoria and Albert Museum in London by assisting them in putting together their new knitting exhibition. She has no credentials, but plenty of expertise and passion.

Cath sees herself as a screw-up. She doesn’t trust herself, so she can’t trust anyone else either. She tattoos herself to enumerate her many self-perceived mistakes.

It had taken four hours for the tattoo artist to inject the warning she’d devised into the soft flesh of her belly, and she’d welcomed every bite of the needle, hoping the pain would become a carapace she could use to protect herself from repeating her mistakes.

One stranger in particular fascinates her. She nicknames him City, because his clothing and his habits make her think he works in the City of London, the financial district at the center of town. She sees him in the mornings on their commute in to work and on weekend runs. She muses in her journal about him. But she never even dreams of introducing herself. In fact, it’s only after he’s rescued her from an ill-conceived night on the town that she finally tells him her name.

“I’d never heard you talk before. You ought to do it more. It’s charming.”

“People who talk to themselves at the train station are generally understood to be crazy. Especially in your country.”

“I hardly know you.”

“I’m superb,” he said. “You’re going to like me.”

She does like Nev. Hell, so do I.

Jul 15
Jul 15 True Blood Snark-Cap - Episode 5.6: Hopeless

In a stroke of self-awareness, the True Blood powers that be (do they call themselves, “The Authority”?) named this week’s episode, “Hopeless.” I assume this is an commentary on the entire season.

This week we had Eric, Alcide, Bill and Sookie finding Russell and delivering him to The Authority. Eric glamoured Alcide into being repulsed by Sookie (HA!), Bill fake-glamoured Sookie to say an overwrought and unnecessary good-bye and we revisited the fairy bar. Oh, yeah… and Russell is back. I don’t know about you, but this whole season feels like a collection of scenes building up to something that’s going to be, in the minds of the show-runners, “Big.” But I think that payoff is going to have to be awfully big to make it all worthwhile.

Obviously, the following “analysis” contains spoilers for Sunday’s episode of True Blood. If you haven’t seen it and want to remain free from spoilage, please don’t continue reading. Instead, I suggest checking out my review of Jennifer Echols’ latest, Such a Rush, or Sandra’s reflections on encouraging young people to get excited about reading.

In which I watch, so you don’t have to…

It is way too convenient for Sookie to use her fairy mojo to get out of scrapes. It’s aggravating, because nothing is that hard for her, really. I really hate it when fictional characters’ obstacles are manufactured and there’s never any real risks for them. It’s just frustrating.
Random naked werewolf body FTW!

I keep forgetting the Iraq curse/firestarter storyline exists. And, yet… every week it comes back. Why? Why? Why?

Jul 12
Jul 12 Reflections on Sparking the Love of Reading

Sandra

Opinion

Credit: Primer in the Classroom, Flickr CommonsAfter twenty-six years of teaching language arts in a public high school, I arrived at the conclusion that there is no one method or book that’s appropriate for all young people.

Department meetings and informal conversations about how best to teach students always circled back to the same topics: What should teens read? What will most develop their reading skills? A typical exchange of ideas could get a bit testy. This is a rerun of a typical conversation about reading lists:

Everyone must read Shakespeare or they’re culturally illiterate.

Wait a minute. What’s the purpose of reading? Is it to carve out identical thinking, minds that we’ve crafted into whatever it is we believe is in their best interests?

It’s not developing reading skills for kids to require them to read something that we must interpret for them just to get at meaning.

I believe we must stop, sit back and think logically about what it means to read and how to help students become critical thinkers.

But, we’re doing them a grave disservice if they haven’t read the classics!

Why worry? They should just read, regardless.

What about free choice? Can’t we open the door to more selections, especially the free reading time in the summer?

And so it went, on and on and on with no resolution.

With everyone and their uncle writing columns about summer reading, I thought I’d throw in my two cents on this idea of reading lists, and the concept of “right” reading choices, based on my experiences in a high school classroom (I retired a couple of years ago).

Jul 11

Jul 11 Review: Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

The TV said you should ignore bullies and they would stop harassing you. In practice this worked about half the time. The other half, you ended up with two tall boys shadowing you through a trailer park, their fingers taking little nips at your clothes, like dogs.

At first glance, Jennifer Echols’ new YA novel, Such a Rush, has all the tell-tale signs of a typical YA romance: two attractive boys, absent parents and high-stakes drama.

And, yet, between the covers (and what a gorgeous cover it is), you’ll find a sensitively-crafted story of an 18-year old girl, who’s never had it even remotely easy, trying to figure out what sort of person she’s going to be.

Leah is a girl who’s grown up in trailer parks, most of which have been by airports. She lives with her mother who floats from town to town based on promises from each new boyfriend—promises that never come to fruition. Often facing eviction because her mother rarely works, Leah’s life has always been in upheaval. That is until at age 14, she and her mother move into the trailer park next to the Heaven Beach Airport.

Leah’s world opens up when she gets a job working in the office at Hall Aviation, a company that tows banners in the air up and down the beach. Mr. Hall, the owner, takes Leah under his wing (ha! puns!) after she starts saving her paychecks for flying lessons. Eventually, after years of working at Hall Aviation and flying with Mr. Hall, Leah is eighteen and ready to start working as a banner plane pilot she graduates—it’s her ticket to a better future.

However, all of those dreams are threatened when Mr. Hall dies of a heart attack shortly after his oldest son is killed while serving in the military and the Hall twins, Grayson and Alec, take over the business.

Leah is certain that Grayson and Alex cannot keep the business going, so she starts looking for another pilot job—her best bet being working as a crop-duster pilot for another company at the same small private airport. Those plans are derailed when Grayson (the trouble-making, reckless twin that Leah’s always crushed on from afar) blackmails Leah into flying for Hall Aviation during spring break. Oh, and she doesn’t just have to fly for the company—she has to try to date his brother (the golden boy).

Okay, so I know that sound likes a triangulated love fest, but it’s not—I swear.

Jul 10
Jul 10 Why I'm a Friday Night Lights Convert

Opinion, Rookie Reads, Television

“Let’s make some memories.”When I first heard about Clear Eyes, Full Shelves from Sarah and Laura, the Friday Night Lights reference flew right over my head. They exchanged glances, cackled giggled, and laughingly explained the name of their blog. I responded with a big fat “Huh?”

But my ignorance continued unabated until I was invited to review books for them. My default response to the offer of books to read is—and always will be—a resounding HELL YES.

Thus, in order to do justice to the FNL Character Rating, in the name of research I decided I should actually watch some of this TV show.

Let me begin by saying I grew up in small towns all around Arizona. For eighteen years I lived in towns where the only bookstore was the Christian bookstore. Where at least a quarter of the students were Hispanic and the division between them and the gringos was stark. Where disagreeing with the government was considered unpatriotic. For a shy, spanish-speaking white girl who loved books, you would have a hard time finding a more alien environment—an environment that managed to be simultaneously hostile and home.

And while the experience has given me an interesting perspective, I have to say I love living in Portland, Oregon now. So you can understand why I might be reluctant to plunge back into this world again.

But FNL is special.

Jul 9
Jul 9 True Blood Snark-Cap - Episode 5.5: Let's Boot and Rally

I’m not sure I can keep this up all season, you guys. I mean… this season of HBO’s True Blood is just nonsensical. At this point, the Orgy Season seems classy and well-written.

Anyway, this episode featured masked gunmen shooting at shifters, the continued search for Russell, Sookie yacking on Alcide instead of, you know… Basically, the whole episode felt like a prequel, a setup for… something. And yet, nothing continued to happen. Please, please, please, HBO: I committed to “analyzing” this season and you’ve got to give me something to work worth!

Obviously, the following “analysis” contains spoilers for Sunday’s episode of True Blood. If you haven’t seen it and want to remain free from spoilage, please don’t continue reading. Instead, I suggest checking out my review of Courtney Summers’ fabulous zombie novel, This is Not a Test. If you haven’t added that one to your to-read pile yet, I don’t even know what to say (and that’s a feat).

Laura suggested I use this screencap to illustrate this season until it gets its act together. This is a suggestion I very much like.

Thoughts & Reaction

Sigh… “Brief” nudity? Come on, HBO… you can do better than that! Because at this point, that’s all we’re sticking around for.

I wish I could remember what TV blog called Bill & Eric’s staking devices “iStakes.” I’m still laughing over that. EW? Paste? I don’t know…

*yawn*

Jul 9

Jul 9 {Review} This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

This must be what Dorothy felt like, I think. Maybe. If Dorothy was six scared teenagers and Oz was hell.

I have to admit, I was nervous about reading Courtney Summers’ new book, This is Not a Test.

Not because I don’t love her writing—I do. Some Girls Are is a book I recommend all the time. Not because I don’t like zombies—I do. I love 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead and Zombieland. It’s just that I couldn’t get my head around Courtney’s amazing contemporary style meshing with an zombie story.

Obviously, I am an idiot, because This is Not a Test is one of the most memorable books I’ve read this year.

This is Not a Test is a zombie novel, yes, but it’s also a story about survival—survival in many forms.

Jul 8
Jul 8 {List-O-Rama} Memorable Reads: 1st Half of 2012

Listorama

How has half a year gone by already? Seriously, 2012… slow down!

I thought I’d use this Sunday’s List-O-Rama to round up some of my most memorable reads thus far in 2012—and I am going to bug Laura, Renegade and Sandra to do the same. (We’ll see if they cooperate, the CEFS contributors are not known for their blind acquiescence.)

Published in 2012

YA Novels

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler - This is definitely my favorite Sarah Ockler; I definitely connected with dynamics of growing up in a small down. {Review | Amazon | Goodreads}

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - This book has been rather divisive, but I loved it—and I really affected by the TFiOS tour stop I attended. {Review | Amazon | Goodreads}

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller - SLN is a book I’ve been recommending left and right to people—especially those who are afraid of reading YA. It strikes a perfect note of authenticity. {Review | Amazon | Goodreads}

Jul 6
Jul 6 {Book Matchmaker} Tracey Seeks Romance, Dystopia & Urban Fantasy Featuring Strong Female Characters

Book Matchmaker

Tracey, our latest Book Matchmaker victim lucky participant, filled out our extremely sophisticated Book Matchmaker questionnaire in search of recommendations for some fresh reads with romance, but also with strong female characters.

You’d think this would be an easy one—but snooping on her Goodreads profile, Tracey had already read a lot of our go-to recommendations. But we came up with some good ones—or at least we hope so.

Tracey’s Responses

YA or Adult: Surprise Me

Genres: Romance, Urban Fantasy

Multiple POV

Swoon Factor: 4

Gross Out Factor: 3

Smut Factor: 4

Fluff Factor: 4

Likes: “On the Island, loved the character development. And multi-POV. Hunger Games, Graceling, Wicked Lovely, Enders Game, Feed, Divergent! Strong women, romance—but great characters and strong writing are a must”

Dislikes: No quest books, no sagas that need maps and a glossary to keep track of everyone! Bad writing and bad character development.

The Results

Thumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped & Thumped by Megan McCafferty (YA)

I know. It’s shocking to think that the government would try to stick its nose in our ladyparts.

This satire by the author of the fabulous Jessica Darling series is recommended by Laura as a great read for someone looking for a something fresh in the cluttered dystopian shelves.

Jul 5
Jul 5 {Review} I Only Have Eyes for You by Bella Andre

I Only Have Eyes for You by Bella Andre One of my favorite themes is the ever-poignant friends-to-lovers storyline.

What could be more wonderful than a love that develops because of a deep understanding of one another?

What could be more terrible than unrequited love for a “kindred spirit”?

The best part of this storyline, in my opinion, is the balance point, the metamorphoses of a friendship into something more. Bella Andre’s I Only Have Eyes for You seems to rush past the shift in thinking that characterizes this moment.

Sophie, one of the 8 Sullivan siblings, has loved her brother’s friend Jake since she was 5 years old. Her love has grown and changed with her own development, but Jake has never acknowledged her as a woman. At one of her brother’s wedding, Sophie decides to shake things up and make Jake reevaluate his preconceptions.

“I told them all I wanted was to have fun with the hairdresser and makeup artist. But I was lying to them. And to myself.” She looked him straight in the eye. “I did it for you, Jake. To see if I could finally get you to notice that I was alive. To see that I’m not a little girl anymore with a silly crush. That I’m a woman.”

It was at this point in the novel that Andre lost me. We’re told Sophie loves Jake. We’re told Jake has struggled to conceal his growing interest in his best friend’s sister. Then the sexytimes commence.

There’s no chance for tension to build, no opportunity to learn about the characters ourselves, before they’re succumbing to their passion.

Jul 4
Jul 4 {Review} Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

Sandra

Riley Rose. What a name and what a personality.

She’s complex, beguiling and difficult for others to understand. Her outward appearance and verbal flippancy belies the depth of her emotions. She charmed me with her always unexpected and often cynical insights.

In Everything Beautiful, Australian author Simmone Howell created a character who’s a seemingly tough teen with a rough exterior, yet inside is soft, tender and vulnerable.

She’s overweight. She’s experiencing an acute loss after the death of her mother. She’s having difficulty adjusting to her father’s new love, a Christian woman who’s a radical contrast to everything that was her family. Riley Rose is experimenting with sex. She’s found a great new friend who’s a perfect partner in any new adventure they embark on.

In other words, Riley Rose is one vulnerable teenager.

Jul 3
Jul 3 {Interview} Alanna Blackett on Unsecure Connection, Science Fiction and Sexytimes

Interviews

I first “met” Alanna Blackett a few years ago, when both of our favorite NBA teams, The Trail Blazers (me) and the Hornets (her) were looking to take names and kick butt. (Yeah… that didn’t really pan out, sadly.) Being that the internet sports world is dominated by a lot of male voices (though there are loads of female sports fans—don’t let anyone tell you any differently), we would regularly chat on Twitter about basketball.

Naturally, when I found out she was publishing a novella, Unsecure Connection, with Decadent, I bought it as soon as it was available. But it’s always a little stressful reading something written by someone you know—even if it’s just through the series of tubes that makes up the internet. This was amplified that I’m very science fiction-phobic, and Unseure Connection is science fiction. But I fretted needlessly—I quickly blew through the novella in an evening and loved the story of a pair of misfit hackers in a grim, gritty future version of New York City. The other thing that struck me is what a female-positive story Unsecure Connection is. Riley is tough and smart and crafty, and in surprising ways. It’s definitely a story I’d recommend for anyone looking for something different.

So, I thought I’d invite Alanna to chat with us about about her novella and books and reading in general. And sexytimes. Ahem.

{Pro Tip: Be sure to read all the way to the end of the interview.}

I’d love to hear a bit about Unsecure Connection, its plot, characters and gritty, creative setting in your own words.

It’s a cyberpunk romance novella featuring two hackers who are kind of stalking each other around Interspace, which is basically a virtual reality internet. When the story opens, Riley’s hacking into a database and she realizes someone’s tracking her. That person is CJ, who used to be a top-tier hacker until he got caught by the Evil Corporation. So now he’s being forced to work for them as a high tech bounty hunter, trying to catch his old friends and colleagues. Riley doesn’t really trust CJ (with good reason), but they have so much in common that she can’t help liking him. This all takes place in a future where New York City is controlled by corporations and has expanded to take over much of the lower half of New York state. I had fun writing it.

Jul 2
Jul 2 True Blood Snark-Cap - Episode 5.4: We'll Meet Again

HBO is so wacked out about the possibility of people watching their show with subscribing to an expensive cable package, that they have all kinds of “failsafes” on the HBOGo streaming app that often prevent legit subscribers like me from watching their shows.

This morning, I logged on to zip through yesterday’s craptastic episode of True Blood and snag some screencaps (because the ones that HBO releases are so nonsensical, I can’t even deal) and I repeatedly got the message that my session had timed out. I couldn’t watch more than a few seconds without getting this error message. So, anyway… you have the jerks at HBO to thank for this post sucking and not having any fabulous pictures.

And… By the way, here’s my little love note to HBO.

Dear HBO,

In case you didn’t realize, there are many, many ways to watch your programming without a subscription—don’t make it so hard for your paying customers. It kind of disincentivizes people from actually, you know, giving you money. I want to give you money—stop making me feel like you hate me and the rest of your paying customers by treating us like pirates.

xoxox,

Sarah

So, we’ve decided… until this season gets its act together and stops sucking, we’re referring to these recaps/analysis as “Snark-Caps.”

(Thanks to Laura for the brilliant name.)

This season is just so ridiculous and convoluted, I have no words to describe its suckitude. I mean, the Orgy Season was pretty bizarre, but at least the story was united under an umbrella of bizarre. This season, is just like a series of random vignettes that have no interconnection. I wonder if they’re working up to something, or if they’re really going for the soap opera-style of storytelling now? Other than the Pam-Eric scenes, the rest of this episode was just full of WTF—and not the awesome kind. I mean, was anyone even shirtless in this episode?!

Obviously, the following “analysis” contains spoilers for Sunday’s episode of True Blood. If you haven’t seen it and want to remain free from spoilage, please don’t continue reading. Instead, I suggest checking out Renegade’s intro to romance novels—she made my to-read pile a whole lot bigger.

Jul 2
Jul 2 {Review} Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander

It was strange being there, eating dinner with them. They knew that I knew, and I knew that they knew, and there we all were, a zombie, an assortment of werewolves and/or weredogs, and me, a nurse who was getting used to dealing with vampires. I was struck by how completely normal it felt to be with them, for all of our differences.

Dragons and vampires and zombies… oh my!

Cassie Alexander’s debut urban fantasy novel, Nightshifted, hits a sweet spot with an appealing mix of action, imagination and humor, with just the right dash of romance.

I picked up Nightshifted on the recommendation of Angie, whose taste in Urban Fantasy seems to be pretty similar to my own. She promised that this book featured a jaded heroine who’s easy to root for and a gritty world, and did Nightshifted ever deliver.

Edie has taken a nursing job in a secret ward, Y4, at a run-down county hospital. The patients there aren’t quite… normal. They’re paranormal beings of all sorts, and many of them are very, very dangerous. Despite the low pay and occupational hazards, Edie works there as part of a deal with some unsavory characters who promise to use their magical mojo to keep her addict brother off of drugs following a near-overdose.

Edie’s stuck.

Things get a whole lot worse when a “Daytimer” (a semi-vampire thing—it makes sense, trust me) dies during Edie’s shift, and she goes looking for Anna, a name he uttered with his dying breath. She stumbles upon some bad stuff, and accidentally kills a very nasty vampire in the process of rescuing Anna, who appears to be a teen girl (trust me, no one in the Nightshifted world is as they appear). As a result, Edie finds herself wrapped up in the paranormal underground, trying to save her own life.

Edie is a fantastic narrator—she’s real and funny and prickly.

Jun 29
Jun 29 {Book Matchmaker} Victoria Would Love Some YA with a Dash of Mystery

Book Matchmaker

Mystery is supposed to be the next paranormal, right?

Well, our latest Book Matchmaker victim participant, Victoria, wants a bit of both, plus some quality contemporary reads— only YA need apply, please. And add in a dash of romance for good measure!

Victoria’s Book Matchmaker Responses

YA or Adult: YA

Genres: Contemporary, Dystopia, Romance, Paranormal, Mystery/Thriller

POV or Narrative Style: First Person, Third Person, Multiple POV, Epistolary, Male POV, Main Character or Narrator, Female POV, Main Character or Narrator

Likes: Patrick Ness, Courtney Summers, Sarah Dessen, JK Rowling… probably my favourite authors EVER!

Dislikes: Instant love

Smut Factor: 2

Fluff Factor: 2

Swoon Factor: 4

Gross Out Factor: 3

We had a ton of fun with this matchmaker, since all of us love YA.

The Results

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

This is a genre-bending psychological novel that’s very challenging. It’s YA, but mature, and told in second person, in the form of a letter from a kidnapped girl to her captor. It takes place in the Australian outback and the landscape adds to the atmosphere of the novel.

{Buy at Amazon | Add on Goodreads}

Jun 27
Jun 27 {List-O-Rama} Intro to Romance Novels

Listorama

Editor’s note: As our Official Romance Correspondant, Rebeca aka “Renegade” has put together a little primer for the romance-curious.

Romance gets a bad rap.

Actually, most of my favorite book genres get a bad rap: Fantasy, YA, Science Fiction, Romance. I guess you could say I go for the ‘bad boys’ of book genres. Of course, if you actually said that out loud, I’m pretty sure you’d be thoroughly mocked.

But I digress.

In the spirit of not assigning value judgements to our reading, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite Romance Novels for the Romance-curious. They are big-R Romance in the fullest sense of the word: they are about relationships and include hopeful endings. (Jennifer Crusie has a wonderful essay on what makes a book a romance novel, which is really required reading.)

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

For Fans Of: YA

Any Dessen book is guaranteed to rock. I think she must put it in her contract or something. Anyway, this is my favorite of her books in a large part because of Wes, the love interest. Trust me when I say that he is perfect in a completely three dimensional, I-am-not-Edward sort of way. Perfect. Okay, now I have to go read about Wes again… *sigh*

Jun 26
Jun 26 {Early Review} Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

Laura

When my parents moved to the United States from Korea in 1974, they originally planned on moving back to Korea after my dad’s medical residency was finished.

Instead, for various reasons, my father accepted a job at a hospital in Western New York (the same hospital where I was born,) and they remained in the US, becoming citizens in 1981.

My parents’ decision to stay in the US and raise their children in the Rust Belt has been the root of the most enduring “what if” of my life:

What if my parents had returned to Korea and I had been raised there, on that tiny peninsula on the other side of the world?

What kind of person would I be?

Would anything about my personality, my beliefs, that which I consider to be the core of my being, be the same?

Or would the difference in culture have resulted in a completely different person, unrecognizable from the person I see in the mirror everyday?

But while I find myself curious about the idea of parallel lives and universes, I am FAR too lazy to study quantum physics and the actual scientific possibilities of their existence. (Research + controlled experiments + advanced gobbledegook science = *shudder*)

So instead, I indulge in cheesy forms of entertainment that explore the idea of,

What if I was THAT person, instead of the person that I am and lived in THAT world instead of this one?

Jun 25
Jun 25 True Blood "Analysis" - Episode 5.3: Whatever I Am, You Made Me