Child at Heart (April Book Wrap-Up)

It's the last day of April, and you know what that means...tomorrow is May Day! (Which, to be perfectly honest, I don't even know the significance of. It's just fun to say.) But besides that, it's time for my April book wrap-up! This month was the spring session of Camp NaNoWriMo, as I mentioned a few weeks ago. More about that to follow, along with the list of books I read and my thoughts about those.

Writing
April was a very productive writing month. During Camp I set my word goal to 10,000 and won this morning with 10,227. Score! All of those words went towards my TMNT fanfic over on Wattpad, which needed some serious attention since I'd been falling behind with updates. Now that I'm a few chapters ahead, as soon as finals are over, I'll be back to weekly chapter releases. I'm sure my readers will be happy about that. I'm really happy with the direction the story ended up taking me. I was kind of unsure at first, but once I let the characters take over, it made so much more sense and was easier and more fun to plow through. I'm especially proud of the nightmare scene that's coming up (spoiler alert!) since it gave me a chance to practice my horror-writing skills. I actually freaked myself out a little while writing it. That has to say something about its quality, right? My current stats for "Dude, This is No Vacation" are as follows: 2,000 reads; 159 votes; and 38 comments.

As with last month, I did not work at all on "Follow the Raven." Like, I didn't even brainstorm this time. I was more concerned with getting new chapters written for my fanfic. My plan is to spend more time on that after finals (mid-May).

Reading
Not gonna lie...I cheated a little this month by reading books that were 150 pages or less. My primary reason for doing this is because I was falling behind on Goodreads, but also because I wanted to spend April focused on writing. That being said, these are the books I read this month:

• The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
• Sounder by William H. Armstrong
• The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
• Hedgehogs in the Hall (Animal Ark #5) by Ben M. Baglio
• The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten (started April 29, in progress)

The True Meaning of Smekday was amazing. It was one of those books that I felt was destined to become a favorite of mine, and it did, very quickly. (The last book I experienced this with was Skulduggery Pleasant when I discovered it four years ago as a freshman in high school.) The story was so sweet and fun, full of friendship and adventure. Sounds cheesy, I know, but I loved it so much. The book was written for a young audience and was in the kids' section of the library, but it is over 400 pages and can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. I was not even finished with the book when I decided to buy it at Barnes and Noble. It is now sitting proudly on my shelf at home. (Also, fun fact: this book was the inspiration for Dreamworks' new movie, HOME.)

Sounder was the first book I chose because of its short length. I had never read it before (surprising, I know), but even as an adult I didn't entirely understand the point of it. There really wasn't any serious plot; they were all just kind of ho-hum about the fact that the boy's dad went to jail and the dog went missing. The five-minute happy ending didn't help, either. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. How is this a classic? Because it's "about a dog," when it really isn't? I don't know.

The Family Under the Bridge and Hedgehogs in the Hall are both books that I've had sitting on my shelf for years and just never read. The first was a cute, quick read and the second was a neat blast to the past. As a kid I read every Animal Ark book I could get my hands on, mostly because my best friend in elementary school was obsessed with the series. Going back and reading it again was like visiting old friends. I instantly remembered Mandy, James, and even some secondary characters from the series. It was informative and fun.

That's all I have to say this time! Thanks for reading! Stick around next month as I review my freshman year of college and dig into more nerdy topics, such as casting for TMNT 2 and Sonic-related debates. See you then!

In Defense of Kirk Thornton

Let's face it: there is not a man alive that could voice Shadow the Hedgehog in the way that Jason Griffith did for seven years. From his beginnings in Sonic X to the finish line in Sonic Racing, Jason really delved deep to bring out the character that so many fangirls fell for so quickly (myself included). The dark, brooding voice was a perfect match for Shadow, and Jason did it well. He also did extremely well as Sonic and Jet. In my opinion, no one can top Jason Griffith.

But here's the cold, hard truth, people: JASON GRIFFITH IS GONE. No matter how much we beg and plead for him to return as Sonic/Shadow/Jet's voice actor, he will not return. It's been five years, guys. Move on.

I understand where many people are coming from on the issue of Shadow, especially. It's really hard to bring him to life in the way that Jason did. But remember, David Humphrey voiced Shadow for two years before him. David Humphrey was first. Jason Griffith was second. And, like it or not, Kirk Thornton is third. And honestly, Kirk Thornton is not that bad.

I know, I know, I said the forbidden words. "Not that bad." But hear me out.

Kirk Thornton is really voicing a rebooted character. Yes, he voiced Shadow before Sonic Boom came out, but our dark hedgehog was never put in the gaming spotlight during that time. He had a few lines, but that was it. If you think about it, the idea for Sonic Boom was probably created around the time the entire cast of Sonic was replaced. Kirk Thornton was brought in to voice a new version of Shadow.

Well, new-ish. Evil Shadow is not new, but it's been a LONG time since we've seen him. Boom Shadow returns to his dark roots and becomes an antagonist once more (which, personally, I am totally fine with). He is independent, strong, and dangerous. He is the only proof we have that the Chaos Emeralds may still exist somewhere in the Boom universe. If he is the only one using Chaos Control, Shadow is a force to be reckoned with on this new Mobius. His character is dark and prefers to be alone. He considers himself the Ultimate Life-Form, which he is. Kirk Thornton does a really good job of keeping Shadow's voice deep and uncaring while still adding a bit of personality. It's new and different, yes, but it is not as bad as some fans are making it seem. It's not the end of the world that Jason couldn't voice Shadow forever.

And really, stepping in as a replacement for Jason Griffith is hard! Those are big shoes to fill. So seriously, give Kirk Thornton a break already. Five years later and I still hear complaints. Just try and accept the fact that he came in to voice a rebooted character, not the same Shadow Jason left behind. Like it or not, Sonic's universe is evolving and expanding, and so are the characters. And remember that I'm a Shadow fangirl, too, so it's not like I'm an outsider to all this.

Kirk Thornton is Shadow, and he's doing well. End of story.

Little Shop of Horrors Review *Minor Spoilers*

Last night I went to see my friend perform in her first college musical, "Little Shop of Horrors." Having never seen the movie (or read the book, since apparently there's a book), I had no idea what to expect other than a giant plant as a main character. Boy was I in for a treat!

But before I get into that, I want to send a big shout-out to my friend Alex, who has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks now after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. Thankfully he is expected to make a full recovery, but the family could totally use some help with paying for the medical bills and whatnot. If you could lend a hand, we would be extremely grateful. Here's a link to their GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/qxfcpw

Alex has been a friend of mine for a couple of years now, and he's always been really good at making others laugh and see the bright side of things. We're very grateful that he's still with us today. <3

Now, on to the main event.

"Little Shop of Horrors," to put it simply, is about a clumsy young man who accidentally discovers a strange new type of plant that brings in a ton of business just when his shop is about to close down. The success is welcome at first, but it doesn't take long for him to discover that there is something not quite right with this new plant, which he calls Audrey II.

A very good portion of this show was made up of singing - like, at least half of it, probably more. I personally didn't mind since I'm a musical person and the songs were fun. My friend Cassie was in the very first and very last scene and had a couple of solos, which was awesome. The two songs I enjoyed the most were "Mushnik and Son" and "Feed Me." The acting was done well. I think the most convincing was either Mushnik or Audrey II. Least convincing were the various women who kept coming on to Seymour. (Keep in mind, I saw a live performance, NOT the movie.)

This horrific, musical comedy is definitely not what I thought it would be, and it didn't end the way I thought it would, either, which is fine by me. I really appreciate unpredictable endings because they are so rare nowadays. Many people around me in the theater didn't like the ending, but I thought it was completely fitting. Plus, I liked Audrey II's character (voiced by my old high school drama director, by the way).

That's all I've got this time! Make sure you check back here next week for more nerdy posts, and please go help my friend Alex and his family during this tough time. Thank you!

Random Nerdiness

Happy Easter! I got to thinking this past week: There are a lot of topics I want to cover that won't take up an entire post on their own, so I figured, why not combine them? That being said, here are a few things I've thought about in the past couple of months that I want to talk about.

First up: SEGA's relocation and refocus. The article speaks for itself, but to sum up, SEGA is eliminating hundreds of jobs, relocating to Southern California, and refocusing from console games to mobile devices (after the success of Sonic Dash and Sonic Jump). They have since released Sonic Runners. While I'm glad more new Sonic games are coming out, I'm really upset that the company is turning away from console gaming. That's what got Sonic started in the gaming world. It's sad to me that he is now reduced to the endless Green Hill Zone on a mobile device instead of being free to roam Mobius. However, if I had to choose between that and losing Sonic entirely, I would totally choose mobile devices. The Blue Blur is part of who I am. I never want to lose him.

Something more exciting in Sonic news is the announcement of Project Tikal! The guys who created Sonic Prologue, the successful fan film (not to be confused with SONIC, the one featuring Jaleel White), are now working on a new project. I have no idea what it will be about, but the teaser photo features a sunken Angel Island and the Death Egg I, so I'm pretty pumped!

Also, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG THE MOVIE IS COMING!!!

All right. Moving on to TMNT. Specifically, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, coming June 2016. Yes, it's official, it's happening, and I'm sorry for those Shellheads out there who didn't like the first movie. (Personally, I loved it and am now a proud owner of the DVD version.) I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm going to say it anyway: Bebop and Rocksteady have been confirmed for the second movie, as well as Casey Jones, played by Stephen Amell (aka Arrow). There's also a rumor floating around about another human female...possibly Irma? That would be kind of interesting. We'll just have to see.

Now I'm going to switch gears here and talk about something completely different for me...Guardians of the Galaxy. Specifically Karen Gillan, who played Nebula. I have seen the movie twice now, and both times I watched it I kept thinking, "Is she really right for this role?" Don't get me wrong - I love Karen Gillan. She was Amy in the Doctor Who series, and she did exceptionally well in that role. I'm just wondering if taking on the villainous Nebula was a good fit for her. The evil side of her character seemed forced and she appeared awkward in certain scenes. Perhaps it's simply because I'm so used to her playing a heroine instead of a villain, but Karen Gillain didn't really seem like a good choice for Nebula. I loved the movie, though. The battle sequences between Nebula and Gamora were awesome. I do have to admit that.

Finally...it's Camp NaNoWriMo! During April and July, campers are allowed to set their own word goal and work on any project they want instead of being limited to a 50,000 word novel. For example, last July I won Camp by writing more than 10,000 words for my fanfiction story at the time (I was still writing Sonic) after having failed the previous April session. This April, my goal is 10,000 words towards my newest fanfiction (a TMNT fic). I'm already 2,831 words into it. There has been a major hiccup in my progress due to a friend of mine recently being hospitalized, but last I heard he was stable, and as soon as I know he'll be all right I'll get back to writing.

And that's all I've got for this week! You'd better hold on to your seats, though, because I've got a pretty big nerd rant coming your way soon. You've been warned. Again, Happy Easter, and I'll see you back here next time!