Avalon High

Ellie Harrison is not a fan of the medieval period. Blame it on her parents, both professors who specialize in medieval studies and who named her for Elaine of Astolat, the Lady of Shalott. However, after moving to Annapolis for a year while her parents are on sabbatical, her life begins to take on a distinctly medieval tinge when she starts attending Avalon High and meets Will, Jen, and Lance. Suddenly, the legend of King Arthur takes on a bit too much reality for Ellie's liking.

Ellie is a great protagonist. She's funny, a bit sarcastic, and smart. Her budding relationship with Will is sweet. But most importantly,she brings a serious grounding in reality to this imaginative retelling of the King Arthur legends. Cabot crafts a fun show more novel, a realistic world of teen drama, and throws in just enough fantasy to make things interesting. And of course, any novel that heavily references The Lady of Shalott automatically makes me like it. A great read whether you're really into Arthurian legend or not. show less

A surprising book!
I'll be frank. I did NOT expect such a unique, well-thought out, and surprising story from the author of the Princess Diaries (which, to read, are revolting; they're like being in the mind of a vapid middle-schooler trying to make it through high school. O. Ha. I pretty much just summed up the story).

Though Avalon High had Cabot's typical teenage drama, I found that it was worked in a much more mature way; it was infinitely more entertaining and pleasurable to read. The romance was subtle. It was just enough that I always wanted more after a little encounter, and I liked that the coincidental meetings actually seemed coincidental.

Now, the book's own summary is this:

"Avalon High seems like a typical high school, show more attended by typical students: There's Lance, the jock. Jennifer, the cheerleader. And Will, senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy.

But not everybody at Avalon High is who they appear to be ... not even, as new student Ellie is about to discover, herself. What part does she play in the drama that is unfolding? What if the bizarre chain of events and coincidences she has pieced together means -- as with the court of King Arthur -- tragedy is fast approaching Avalon High?

Worst of all, what if there's nothing she can do about it?"

That summary doesn't do the book justice, though. Not at all. I'm not ruining anything by telling you that there is a link between Avalon High and King Arthur's court. You can even tell, by some of the names in the summary, who's who, and most of that predictability carries. There was one twist, though, that was not shocking, persay, but certainly unexpected. And it certainly inspires mixed feelings--but good ones, don't worry. They're the kind that you sit there thinking, "Wow, what a great book". I actually cared what happened to the characters--like they were my friends or something. That is most definately the mark of a good story.

Now here's the good/bad news. I was really excited about the sequel for this book (which, as of the moment I type this, is due out in 6 days--acording to the Meg Cabot website). Yay! Great!

All's well until...

The bad news:

The sequel is a manga.
Whoa.
Wait.
WHAT!?
Why on Earth would I want to go from reading a perfectly legitimate book to a comic!? (Yes, sorry, diehards, I know there's a difference between comics and mangas but I'm quite distraught right now). And maybe, MAYBE if the animation was good, I'd consider it.

But JUST LOOK AT THIS!

WHEN I ASK FOR A SEQUEL, I DO NOT, NOT, NOT WANT THE ANIMATED VERSION OF A TEEN BOY'S FANTASY; THIS BOOK IS AIMED AT GIRLS, FOR GOD'S SAKE! JUST LOOK AT THAT SHOT OF HER IN THE POOL! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE MAIN CHARACTER,ELLIE, HAS CLEARLY GONE FROM BEING A NORMAL, SOMETIMES-THOUGHTFUL CHARACTER TO A COMIC AIRHEAD! HER VALLEY-GIRL ACCENT PRACTICALLY DIPS OFF THOSE MANGA PAGES!
LIKE, GAG ME!

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF AUTHORS SELLING OUT FOR MONEY. ANY RESPECT THAT THE FIRST BOOK GAINED MEG CABOT FROM ME HAS BEEN COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY VIOLATED BY THIS COPOUT.
I CAN HEAR HER NOW: "O, WHAT'S THAT, EDITOR? MANGAS ARE GROWING IN POPULARITY AND THEIR AUTHORS ARE ROLLING IN IT? THEN WHY DON'T I HAVE A MANGA!?"

GOOD GOD! IS NOTHING SACRED!?

I REFUSE TO BORROW--LET ALONE BUY--THIS SAD AND PITIFUL EXAMPLE OF HOW GREED CONTROLS PEOPLE.

How could could any author allow a piece of themselves--especially a piece that's already established so successfully--to be warped like that for profit? It's pathetic.

This review is an entry on my blog. show less

Prolific YA author Meg Cabot introduces something new in her amazing stand-alone book, AVALON HIGH: the reincarnation of an old legend into a modern world.

Everyone has more or less heard of the legend of King Arthur. For Ellie Harrison, however, she practically LIVES surrounded by it. Both her parents are professors of the medieval ages, and have taken a year off from their jobs to write books about their shared passion. That means that for Ellie’s junior year of high school, she’s moving from Minnesota to Annapolis, Maryland, mere miles away from the Naval Academy. Ellie’s last days of summer are spent floating in her backyard pool and running in the nearby park…and that is where she runs into Will.

A. William Wagner is the high show more school’s star quarterback, valedictorian, class president, and overall well-respected good guy. The day Ellie runs into Will at the park, they smile at each other like they have seen each other before…only Ellie is sure that she’s never met him before in her life (she would’ve definitely remembered otherwise). Much to her surprise, Will ends up showing up at her poolside after the first day of school and hanging out with her.

Of course, Ellie knows that nothing can after happen between her and Golden Boy. After all, he has a girlfriend, the beautiful, blond cheerleader Jennifer. Ellie’s just the friend who can make him laugh, that’s all.

However, there seems to be something strange going on at Avalon High, things that are strangely coincidental to what happened to King Arthur all those centuries ago. It can’t be that Will is the reincarnation of Arthur and that his life is in danger…could it?

And what part does Ellie play in saving the life of the man she loves?

AVALON HIGH is a perfect combination of humor, romance, and suspense. It had been on the edge of my seat as I breathlessly rushed to the finish in order to know what happens…and this is the second time I’ve read it. show less

in a sentence: ellie (new girl at new school, thanks to her professor parents on sabbatical) meets will, the potential reincarnation of king arthur (and serious hottie). let the fun begin!

this was seriously one of the most fun, enjoyable, and sweet stories i have ever heard. i listened to it in the car, and i found myself laughing out loud, smiling, and sometimes even gasping while listening! ellie, the main character and narrator, was very relatable, and you felt as if you were her best friend through the whole ordeal. the teen lingo was spot on - all of the "whatevers" and "duhs" were perfectly placed, to make it that much more believable. the story moves quickly and deliberately through her first days at a new school with all of the show more token, and realistic, awkwardness of the experience. you could tell that Cabot knew where she was taking you with the plot, but was making sure you enjoyed the journey too.

the blend of the chick lit + hist fic novel was PERFECT. the story of king arthur is one that is well known enough to be hinted at, but is explored more deeply by Cabot throughout the tale. the romance is sweet and genuine, while the drama - though fantasy - is very tastefully done. i also found ellie's parents to be so refreshing - genuinely caring, loving, and interested in her...despite their aloofness at times. i feel like a lot of young adult novels out there have the token 'crappy' parents, and it was nice to have the alternative in this novel.

i can't say enough great things about this book. as soon as i was done, i was 1) sad it was over and 2) ready to pop disc one back in and start at the beginning!

favorite quote (listening to it makes it harder): i liked how each chapter was prefaced by a stanza or so from the Tennyson poem that ellie gets her name from. so clever that Cabot...

fix er up: while i did find the style of writing to be true to a teenage girl speak - i could see that being irritating while reading. that is really my only complaint, and that's nit-picking hardcore. show less

If you haven’t figured out by now, I own pretty much every Meg Cabot book (with a few exceptions; generally it’s almost every YA or adult novel of hers). I love Avalon High as much as I do the Princess Diaries series. It’s a great stand-alone novel with varied characters and a plot that really comes into its own.

Ellie is a fantastic heroine. She can stand up for herself without relying on Will, she tries to see the best in everyone, and once she’s informed about the cycle of reincarnation, instead of just letting things take place, she’s the one who decides to take matter into her own hands. I like Will, he’s just an all-around nice guy. There’s a sense of melancholy and frustration around him, especially when he finds out show more the truth about his family and Jenifer and Lance’s relationship, but he’s also got an inner strength.

Jenifer’s an interesting character in that she should be the bitchy popular cheerleader, but she’s actually nice to Ellie and the other side characters. Which is a great break from a lot of Meg Cabot’s other books, I really like the fact that she and Ellie can be friends. Unfortunately, she’s also not really given much to do, aside from being a supportive girlfriend. Which is one of my big problems with the book as a whole; the minor characters aren’t as well-developed as Ellie or Will.

The King Arthur reincarnation plot is actually well done, despite the massive liberties taken with the mythology. (She does point out the various differences between the texts, so I tend to give this a pass.) Aside from the OBVIOUS NAMES ARE OBVIOUS, I rather liked the use of Arthurian legend fitting into modern-day America. It manages to fit in fairly well, and again, despite a few handwaves, it doesn’t feel overtly forced. If I had to nitpick anything on the plot, I do think the pacing is a little rushed. The last half of the book takes place over the course of one afternoon. I would have liked to have seen the plot stretch out over a few days, instead of “Must do the big climax right now!” There’s not much tension toward the end, and more drawn out climax would have been fantastic.

In spite of the flaws, I still love this book. It’s one of my favorite light fantasy YA novels to recommend to people and a shining example of how well Meg Cabot can write. show less

Elaine has professors for parents who are hard core Arthurians, even naming her after the Lady of Shallot. What could be more fitting in this story than have her going to Avalon High, meeting Lance, who really is Lancelot. Jennifer, who is the reincarnation of Guinevere, and Will, who is the reincarnation of one of the greatest leaders in the legends, Arthur. And falling for him. Hard.And then having to find out that there were evil forces that wanted to kill him.I am officially in love with Meg Cabot's writing.I knew it was worth it when I did a double take and went back to the bookstore and bought this book. Very much worth it.By the time I am about to finish the book, I was reduced into a giggling, excited girl. I am smitten. Okay, show more the book was cheesy, but in a good way. I love how strong Elaine's character was in this book, and that you can't really hate the other characters, especially Jennifer and Lance. At least I didn't.I am fangirling Will though. He's charming, good looking and popular. What more can you ask for? He wasn't just a jock, there was depth into his character.A fantastic, fantastic retelling of the legend of King Arthur! (full review in my book blog) show less

Just lots of fun. I like what I've read of Cabot's YA stuff. I find her teen girls relatable, even when their experiences resemble mine in no way at all. Just regular kids, who are good but not amazingly perfect, even if they do have ESP or they can see dead people. And their crushes are fun too.