Avalon High in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 16, 2010 SarahC rated it really liked it

Shelves: arthurian, highschool

Smoothly written and intelligent, Meg Cabot’s Avalon High tells a modern version of an ancient story without complicated settings or high-fantasy details. It’s a story many young readers can relax right into and veteran readers of the King Arthur legends will enjoy the smart simplicity of this version. Cabot brings legend into the everyday world of teens and high school to suggest how the Arthurian prophecy might have been real throughout the centuries.

The main characters of Avalon High are youn Smoothly written and intelligent, Meg Cabot’s Avalon High tells a modern version of an ancient story without complicated settings or high-fantasy details. It’s a story many young readers can relax right into and veteran readers of the King Arthur legends will enjoy the smart simplicity of this version. Cabot brings legend into the everyday world of teens and high school to suggest how the Arthurian prophecy might have been real throughout the centuries.

The main characters of Avalon High are young, clever, and energetic, but also displaced, confused, and struggling. In the unfolding plot, the main characters emerge with a clear-headedness and a willingness to believe, and they begin to snap-fit into this epic story.

Elaine Harris is a high school student transferred to a new school, Avalon High. She is influenced by her parents whether she admits it or not. They are medievalists, professors and writers of early history, on a year-long research trip to Maryland. Elaine wants to stay under the radar, cooly accepting her status as new kid in town. She does admit a curiosity about certain students at school, particularly one shining boy, who recognizes her? She couldn’t have possibly known him before?

Will Wagner is admired, kind, and well-spoken. He is in good everywhere at school, but he has family struggles at home and holds a sense that he has seen more or been more some other time. Does this sense have anything to do with the fact that he isn’t that interested in his equally-popular girlfriend or in what might she may be doing against him with his best friend?

Elaine and Will begin a close friendship and immediately Elaine begins to learn unsettling details from her teacher Mr. Morton, Will’s stepbrother Marco, and Will’s girlfriend Jennifer. Elaine must quickly decide if she has some cosmic connection in the growing danger in Will’s life or if these are the mad workings of someone’s mind.

Cabot’s scenes and ideas really give the reader a reach-out-and-touch mythic story. She connects the modern characters with their parallel legendary characters in ways that really make the story work. Elaine finds her place of solitude in her backyard pool and she just...floats. Will seeks a refuge in a forest in the midst of the city park, apart from the modern world around him. The story is of good and evil, challenges and courage, honor and loyalty. Cabot’s retelling makes you think that these things have never been that far apart from our everyday lives, which is the same reason this enchanting legend has thrived for well over a thousand years.

At only 186 pages, Avalon High is a short novel. The individual elements of the Arthurian legends fit nicely and Cabot does leave some breathing room, particularly with the legend behind Arthur and Elaine and their connection together. It leads to a satisfying conclusion - a touch romantic and a bit multi-layered and enigmatic. There are sequels published as graphic novels, so the story does continue from here.

Disney Channel is producing a film version, releasing in just few weeks, which is the reason I picked the book up when I did. I am a follower of modern versions of the Arthurian legends and am always glad to see a new movie of these influential stories told in new ways.

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Dec 07, 2010 Erin (NY) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, ya, read-in-2011

This was an interesting twist on the Arthurian legends. I liked the premise, but I thought it took too long for the main story to get started.

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Dec 06, 2010 Lauren⁷ 💜 rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-has-a-copy, romance, young-adult-teen-new-adult

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May 31, 2011 Astrid Lim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, swappable, retelling

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Shelves: audio

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Shelves: 0005-new-river-coop, fantasy, romance, fairy-tale-retelling, young-adult, paranormal, contemporary, chick-lit, 05-u-s-circumnavigation, media

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