Book to Movie Review: the Fifth Wave

Before I get any farther into this, I'd like to say, yes I'm late to the party on this one, but I finally saw the Fifth Wave movie, based originally off of the book of the same name by Rick Yancey.

I was actually ridiculously sick with the flu earlier this week and finally decided to try and be somewhat productive while in bed. So I opened up my iPad and rented this on iTunes. I think it was like $4, which was worth it for how sick and miserable I was at the time.

If you have read the book, or the series, you'll know the writing in it is rather choppy. There's no clear direction and I honestly found it pretty messy to read at times making me walk away from the series in the end (I made it about halfway into the second book, the Infinite Sea). I was truly disappointed in the books. I found the concept of aliens wanting to take Earth without damaging it too much super unique and interesting in the world of Young Adult Literature, and I wanted to love it.

So when the movie came out, I was hopeful that it could fix some of the problems I had with the writing style in the books. I was happy to find that it did! That said, after already knowing what happened in the first book, I was a little less into the movie because the only major plot twist was one I already knew. To be honest, though, I think I'd have guessed it even without knowing already.

The acting was done well and the effects were super awesome. My favorite part, of course, was the fact that it all takes place relatively near where I live now and there are little mentions of places and things nearby, like Kent State University and, of course, the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that's just a few hours away.

I appreciated the movie a lot more than I thought I would and I would recommend it to those interested in a sci-fy twist to dystopia. That said, the plot is predictable, I think, but the next one is less so. I hope they continue to make these movies, as I think the movies do a far better job at telling Cassie's story than the books.

Is the McKinley House haunted?

We recently had a super cool event down at the McKinley Birthplace Home where we had the Collective Paranormal Research Society show our members of YAC (Youth Advisory Committee) what they do. What is that you may be asking? They look for evidence of ghostly activity and try and prove that the paranormal does exist.

This particular group is located right in Youngstown, Ohio, and travels around conducting various investigations.

We were lucky enough to have them not only perform a mini investigation with YAC, but they taught us about what they do and how they do it. We learned about devices like EMF detectors and EVP recorders, as well as what they have learned and seen in their travels. It was truly an amazing experience for our teens and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

They closed the evening walking around the home and trying to make contact with anyone who may be present but not exactly living among us. Everyone was surprised when that contact was made. All of the teens attending, as well as the leader of YAC, Miss Kim, announced who they were and asked various questions with the lights out. They had wanted anyone present to light it up any time his or her answer to the question was yes.

The question all the kids are talking about is whether or not the ghost (or ghosts!) likes Miss Kim being around and hosting programs for children and teens at the house. The flashlight, to everyone's surprise, light up brightly with no one remotely close to do it themselves. Our teens also insured that no one on the Research Society had a button that would trigger it on and off. The investigators would ask whoever was present to step away and turn the light back off before asking another question, which it did.

It was a wonderful experience for everyone and now myself and Miss Kim are a bit spooked down at the house, even if the presence there is a friendly one! It seems we have our very own Casper.

If this is the sort of thing you are into, hop onto Facebook and like their page. They are actually going to be live on Facebook this evening  at the Bissman Building, so please do check them out!