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

Avalon High is yet another one of Meg Cabot’s books. (Man, that woman spits out books so fast that can never remember what her newest release is.) Ellie, our main character, has two parents who are Professors and are both obsessed with all things related to Arthurian legend – so much so that they even named their daughter after the Lady of Shalott. Her parents go on sabbatical for a year, moving the family to DC, and transfering Ellie to Avalon High. It should come as no surprise that the Arthurian legend seems to be coming to life.

I’ve grown extremely wary towards books having anything to do with King Arthur and his court. I’m one of those people who think Lancelot is a total ninny, and am rather appalled by the fact that show more people think the relationship between Lance and Gwen is romantic. I love Arthur, and I hate that people don’t seem to care the Gwen is his wife and Lancelot is his best friend. As many people, books, movies and such seem to be all for Lance and Gwen these days, I tend to steer clear. Which is what I had every intention of doing with this book here, until I read a review that said “Lance was kind of a doof.” Those few words in themselves were enough to make me go out and get this book.

This book reminded me why I had loved Cabot so much a few years ago, and rather makes me wonder why I got out of reading everything that she would publish. It was sweet – very sweet – and witty, cute… did I mention sweet? There’s something about how she puts JUST the right amount of romance in her books. This is going to be one of those books that I pull out just to read certain passages over again. 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

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

Avalon High is a modern retelling of the Legend of King Arthur. Ellie is new in town and to Avalon High. Her parents are both college professors who specialize in medieval times and they've moved with Ellie to Annapolis because they are both on sabbatical for a year. While out running, Ellie meets Will, one of the most popular boys at school. He tells her that he feels like he's known her in another lifetime. Ellie doesn't think much of it until more strange things begin to happen. She slowly puts the pieces together and realizes that the Arthurian Legend is playing out in her school. If you aren't familiar with the Legend of King Arthur, don't worry. Cabot works in detailed explanations of the legend throughout the book.

I enjoyed this show more book. It was a cute high school romance with elements of suspense. Ellie was a realistic, likeable character. So was Will - I would have loved to have had him as my boyfriend in high school!

I listened to the audio version of this book which was narrated by Debra Wiseman. I thought she did a great job with both the male and female voices. However, one of the characters has a British accent and I didn't think her British accent was very good so that was distracting.

I didn't find out until after I'd finished this book that the rest of the books in this series are graphic novels. I'm disappointed because I love listening to Meg Cabot's books in the car and I'm assuming that there aren't audio versions of the graphic novels. On the other hand, I've never read a graphic novel before so reading them could be a new and exciting experience for me. 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