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!

Spring Into Reading! (March Book Wrap-Up)

Well, its March 31st! That means it's time to update you on my reading / writing status. This month has not been very productive in either area, as I had originally planned to read five books and only read four. I also planned to do a lot of writing over my spring break, but things took a turn for the chaotic, so I ended up not writing almost anything. In fact, I had to inform my readers on Wattpad that there will not be regular updates for a while. I feel terrible, but right now, family and classes come first.

All that aside, let's get into it!

Writing
I did not begin work on "Follow the Raven" this month as I had originally planned. I have been in the brainstorming stage, however, so I am slowly making some progress. As far as my fanfiction on Wattpad goes, I did post a couple of chapters this month, but as I mentioned earlier, I have had to shift from regular updates to irregular ones. At least I'm not pulling a TMNT and waiting two months to give my readers anything new. I did that once (unintentionally) and it didn't end well. My current stats for "Dude, This is No Vacation" are as follows: 1,287 reads; 99 votes; and 32 comments.

Reading
This month I wanted to read five books since I had a week off during my spring break and had the extra time. Instead I used that time to catch up with things around the house and do some spring cleaning of sorts (you should see my bookshelf - it's amazing!). Anyway, that being said, these are the books I did manage to finish:

• Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
• Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Personally, I did not really care for Enchanted. Perhaps it was because it's a YA novel, but I have read several YA novels that were written much better and had way more interesting stories. This book was scattered, illogical, and a drag to finish. I would not recommend it. I would, however, recommend Lucid. It is really interesting to see how the characters struggle with their realities vs. their dreams, and when it all comes crashing down on them...just wow. It's amazing.

And that's all I've got for this month! Stay tuned for more nerdy posts in the near future. I've got some especially good ones concerning Sonic Boom coming your way. (FYI, TMNT has been put on pause until April 26.) See you next time!

TMNT Battle for New York *Spoilers*

Not gonna lie - I was not expecting this episode. I didn't know it was coming, I hadn't seen promos or heard anything about it, so when Andre mentioned it at the end of his review of Episode 11, I had a major fangirl moment and threw all other plans of getting enough sleep out the window in order to watch it early (thanks, nick.com!)

OH. MY. GOSH. There is so much awesome in this hour-long special! For real! I almost couldn't handle it all!

First off, the Mighty Mutanimals. (Kind of a cheesy name, but y'know...) I wasn't at all surprised to see Slash and Leatherhead return. It was so good to see Slash again. I really love his character. What did surprise me was the return of Pigeon Pete and Doctor Rockwell (characters we haven't seen since Season 1). I noticed right away that Rockwell's voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't until the end of the first part that I realized it was Tom Kenny - the voice of Gibson from SRMTHFG! (And Spongebob, since no one else reading this blog knows what the heck SRMTHFG! is.) It was so cool to hear Tom doing his Gibson voice again. As for Pigeon Pete, I was completely thrown off-guard by his reappearance. I'm not a huge fan of his character, but who knows? I might be surprised a few episodes down the road. As for Kurtsman, their benefactor...how is he not dead? He was shot in the back and somehow only walked away with a broken arm? I don't buy it.

Should I save the fangirl moment for the end? Nah, I'll just do it now - WAS THAT MONA LISA?!?! Ohhhh my gosh. I didn't even notice the first time through, but when I re-watched it with my brother about a week later I saw it and had to pause the video and take it in and proceed to run around the house sqee-ing. Now, I know she looks kind of...weird. BUT I think it was Mona for a couple of reasons. 1) Why would that picture be thrown in there randomly like that? 2) Raph totally liked what he saw. You know he did. 3) The fans have been begging for Mona to show up at some point. I think that was her first appearance! Of course, I can't confirm it, but I'm telling you, that had to have been Mona Lisa. Either that or - ugh - Venus, and I KNOW they wouldn't dare put her in the show. There would be an uprising.

THE TURTLE BLIMP made its first appearance, too! Cowabunga!!

Now for the big question: Was this episode the end of the Kraang?

Hear me out. I know they probably aren't gone for good (although I think Kraang Sub-Prime is toast now), but the way the plot unfolded and wrapped up in this episode made me think, "All right. That's it. No more Kraang." Reason being, their mutagen missile was stopped, every human they'd captured was returned to Earth, and they were all returned to Dimension X. And in the episode following this one, they are not around at all. All we see is whatever they left behind. I felt like this was a good way to wrap up the Kraang issue and focus soley on the Shredder and Karai and HUN (OMG YES) from now on. I understand that they have the rest of this season and a whole fourth season to go, but I was really getting a "this is it" vibe from "Battle for New York." Was this the end of the Kraang? I think it was.

That's all I've got this time, folks. Next week will be a reading / writing wrap-up for March. Stay tuned, and as always, BOOYAKASHA!! (Leo is now the only one who hasn't said it, btw. Watch closely at the end of "Battle for New York.")

In Memory of Terry Pratchett

For those of you who don't already know, renowned fantasy author Terry Pratchett passed away on Thursday, March 12, after losing his battle to Alzheimer's disease. He was most famous for his Discworld series, consisting of 40 books. I have not read many of his them, but a very close friend of mine thoroughly enjoyed the series and admired the man behind the words. He is extremely saddened by the loss of such an amazing writer, so I am dedicating this post to Terry Pratchett for him. Also, for those of you who don't know, Pratchett's final book will be released this fall. It's called The Shepherd's Crown (Discword #41) and it is about Tiffany Aching. For more information, click here.

A loooooong time ago, I stumbled across the Bookshelf Tag and decided I really wanted to do it even though I wasn't tagged by anyone. Months later, I'm finally sitting down to get 'er done. Here we go!

Is there a book that you really want to read but haven't because you know that it'll make you cry?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I've heard a ton about it, and many of my friends adore the book, but I am so tired of hearing about cancer taking lives. I have seen firsthand what it does to people. I don't need to read about it, too. I hear the story in the book is really inspiring, which piques my interest, but knowing how it ends is enough to make me back away.

Pick one book that introduced you to a new genre.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This was the first dystopian novel I read. (Dystopian is generally based in post-apocalyptic worlds.) I finished the trilogy, but after seeking out other dystopian novels, I discovered quickly that it is not my favorite genre. All the stories are basically the same. They get old and predictable fairly quickly.

Find a book that you want to read.
A Work In Progress by Connor Franta. Oh my goodness. I knew he was thinking about writing a book a while ago, but now the final product is coming out in April and I just really want to read it. Connor was the first YouTuber I subscribed to. It will be cool to hear his story.

Is there a book series you've read but wish you hadn't?
Divergent and its followers by Veronica Roth. No, no, no.

If your house was burning down and all your family and pets were safe, which book would you go back inside to save?
Just one? Oh, jeez. Well, I'll have to go with the first book I thought of and the one I consider my childhood favorite: The School Story by Andrew Clements. I still love this book. It's kind of an inspiring read for me, considering how I want to be a published author someday soon.

Is there one book on your bookshelf that brings back fond memories?
A lot of books bring back fond memories. But again, I'll go with the one I thought of first: Bigger by Patricia Calvert. I don't remember much about the story itself, but every time I see this book, I remember a close friend of mine from Montana and it makes me smile.

Find a book that inspired you the most.
Can I use the same book for two answers? Well, I'm going to. The School Story, as I said above, inspires me still because its protagonist is a girl who wants her book to be published. I can relate.

Do you have any autographed books?
Yes, actually! Roof Oasis by Marie Gilbert and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie are both signed.

Find the book that you've owned the longest.
A good portion of the books on my shelf were given to me as a child, and I simply do not remember which one of those I've owned the longest. Sorry.

Is there a book by an author that you never imagined you would read or enjoy?
I'm going to use a book I've already mentioned again. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book that I never thought I'd like. I met the author, Sherman Alexie, in October of 2014 and liked him just fine, but when I read the synopsis of his novel I was not looking forward to reading it for my English 1020 class. However, about 50 pages in, I changed my mind and ended up really liking the story.


There you have it! The Bookshelf Tag. Now I'm tagging my grandmom over at Gilbert Curiosities. Have fun, grandmom!

R.I.P. Terry Pratchett.