Cover: 3
Characters: 5
Plot: 4 3
Setting: 4
Writing: 4
SUMMARY
To newcomer Ellie, Avalon High seems like a typical American high school, complete with jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and even the obligatory senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy. But it doesn't take Ellie long to suspect that something weird is going on beneath the glossy surface of this tranquil hall of learning. As she pieces together the meaning of this unfolding drama, she begins to recognize some haunting Arthurian echoes, causing her to worry that she has become just a pawn in mythic history. A powerful novel by the author of The Princess Diaries. Has been made into a full length film by Disney on Disney Channel.
REVIEW
I was at my local library this week when I saw this book and I remembered I saw Avalon High on Disney Channel a year or two ago, so I borrowed it on the spot. But I think I should tell you about the movie and then compare it to the book so that you can fully understand why I didn't give the plot a full five, which it obviously should have gotten.
The movie is about Allie Pennington who moves to school and befriends Miles, a nerd she sees getting bullied by these jocks. Mr. Moore, the history teacher, assigns them to the topic of the Order of the Bear. The Order of the Bear is this order that believes that King Arthur and stuff will be reincarnated. In the movie, Miles, the nerd, is actually Merlin, the wizard who guides Arthur through his journey.
In the legend that's reincarnated into Avalon High, Arthur is in love with Guinevere, but she's cheating with Lancelot, Arthur's best friend, and when Arthur finds out, Morded, Arthur's evil half-brother, takes this chance and kills Arthur and Darkness wins over Light. That's it in a nutshell. If you're confused, visit this link with a summary of what happens during the movie.
Allie and Miles find this out soon enough, and Allie talks to Mr. Moore about it, since she thinks Will, the senior class president that's mentioned above in the summary, is the reincarnation of King Arthur, Jennifer, Will's girlfriend and obvious reincarnation of Guinevere, and Lance, Will's best friend is the reincarnation of Lancelot. It all makes perfect sense, and Marco, the evil stepbrother, is Mordred.
Then things take a turn. The entire story unfolds and when Allie's positive that Marco's going to make his move, she finds that Will is missing. She finds him eventually, and then it turns out that Marco's the good guy, Mr. Moore's Mordred, and Allie is Arthur. I really love this part because I always want a good girl heroine to save the day instead of a guy.
In the book, however, Ellie is really the Lady of Lake, this almost mythical lady who's the reason Arthur succeeds. Marco is really Mordred, Miles doesn't even exist, and Mr. Morton is Merlin. I like the movie version, and I never say that, because the books always are better for some reason. But, in this case, the book was a little too predictable and didn't have the twists that I wanted.
The cover is definitely good, but sort of boring in a sense. The characters were extremely well thought-out, and Ms. Cabot definitely did her research in building these characters. The writing didn't give a full five because Ms. Cabot used a lot of "you know"s and "whatever"s like a true teen should if it were in they're POV, but it got a little annoying after seeing it twice on every page.
In the legend that's reincarnated into Avalon High, Arthur is in love with Guinevere, but she's cheating with Lancelot, Arthur's best friend, and when Arthur finds out, Morded, Arthur's evil half-brother, takes this chance and kills Arthur and Darkness wins over Light. That's it in a nutshell. If you're confused, visit this link with a summary of what happens during the movie.
Allie and Miles find this out soon enough, and Allie talks to Mr. Moore about it, since she thinks Will, the senior class president that's mentioned above in the summary, is the reincarnation of King Arthur, Jennifer, Will's girlfriend and obvious reincarnation of Guinevere, and Lance, Will's best friend is the reincarnation of Lancelot. It all makes perfect sense, and Marco, the evil stepbrother, is Mordred.
Then things take a turn. The entire story unfolds and when Allie's positive that Marco's going to make his move, she finds that Will is missing. She finds him eventually, and then it turns out that Marco's the good guy, Mr. Moore's Mordred, and Allie is Arthur. I really love this part because I always want a good girl heroine to save the day instead of a guy.
In the book, however, Ellie is really the Lady of Lake, this almost mythical lady who's the reason Arthur succeeds. Marco is really Mordred, Miles doesn't even exist, and Mr. Morton is Merlin. I like the movie version, and I never say that, because the books always are better for some reason. But, in this case, the book was a little too predictable and didn't have the twists that I wanted.
The cover is definitely good, but sort of boring in a sense. The characters were extremely well thought-out, and Ms. Cabot definitely did her research in building these characters. The writing didn't give a full five because Ms. Cabot used a lot of "you know"s and "whatever"s like a true teen should if it were in they're POV, but it got a little annoying after seeing it twice on every page.
Fun, frothy, and very charming, Avalon High updates a legendary tale to make it palatable for today's teens and tweens. You'll definitely come away from this story with a need to uncover some more information about King Arthur and the infamous knights of the round table. This is a tale that is sure to satisfy.
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