Avalon High

Reader reviewed by Jocelyn

Meg Cabot's Avalon High, is not, as it seems at first, your typical high school story. The book starts out with Ellie's summer floating in her pool, at the house where she and her professor parents have moved for the year. Ellie is not exactly thrilled to be starting her junior year at a new high school across the country from her friends on the West Coast, but what can she do? At least she's still in the United States. Her parents' last sabbatical took them to Germany.

Everything seems to be going, if not great, as planned. Then, one day, Ellie and her father go for a run in the nearby park. Normal, right? Yeah, until Ellie sees someone at the bottom of a ravine. Not just any someone-he's sort of cute, too, and they have a weird instant connection. It's like they've known each other before...But that's impossible, right?

It's not long before Ellie starts to see that maybe things at Avalon High aren't exactly as they appear. There are some rather interesting coincidences. Ellie, being the daughter of professors of medieval history, recognizes some of these that others might not. Such as the 'A' in the cute guy from the park, A. William Wagner. That stands for Arthur. Yeah, as in, King Arthur. And he has a scarily violent stepbrother...But King Arthur's brother, Mordred, was a half-brother, not a stepbrother, so Marco couldn't be Mordred reincarnated! Only crazy people, like her history teacher, Mr. Morton, think like that. Right?

This is a funny story that, while still managing to be something teenagers can relate to, is a lot more than that. With a supernatural twist, this book is great. Also great are the references to real-life history and the Order Of The Bear, a group that believes King Arthur will someday rise again to lead the world out of the Dark Ages. I myself had heard this theory before reading the book, which makes it even more believable.

Avalon High is definitely worth the time it takes to read it, and I reccomend it to anyone who loves any sort of teen fiction or fantasy. You won't regret reading it!

Reader reviewed by Natalie

Ellie (Elianor) is named after the Lady of the Lake. Of course that is what you get when you parents are Medivalist. Her parents are on a sabbatical which mean she has to move to a different state for a year so her parents could study the medival times.

She soon meets A. William Wagner along with his girlfirend, Jennifer and best friend Lance. Will is a straight A popular jock who is liked by everyone. He soon starts talking to her telling her that he has this feeling that they have met before like in some other lifetime.

Ellie finds out that Will's girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend. But wait this seems too similar to the legend of King Arthur.

Will's first name is Arthur. He has a boat called Pride Winn and a dog named Cavalier, a father who sent his best friend on a mission and died soon to marry his wife. A step brother named Marco. His girfriend, jennifer, her name is derived from Guinivier and his best friend's name is Lance who comes from the name Lancelot.

Will's life seems to have too much in common with King Arthur. Can it be that Will was right, Ellie and Will have met each other in a previous life. Is Ellie really the Lady of the Lake?

Everyone should read it, the ending has a shocking twist!!

Reader reviewed by Therdry

This book is like a play, or movie someone rewrote to be set in a new time period, told with a new twist and view, it transforms.

Ellie someone who lives in the unusual finds things getting wierder after seeing a boy [William] while out running one day.

Meg Cabot's gift of making stories come to life really shows in this book.

Reader reviewed by Fiona Flamingo

Another typical Cabot book-this time with a twist....

With parents as professors who spend most of their time on sabbaticals following medieval legend, Ellie Harrison has become accustomed to being moved around. On this latest quest for information, they relocate to Annapolis, Maryland. Although Avalon High seems harmless enough, Ellie finds herself in the middle of a modern-day medieval bout of good versus evil.

Adding to the mix is A. William Wagner --- to Ellie, the most beautiful boy in school. Kind, gorgeous and ready to lend a helping hand to anyone, Ellie is taken by complete surprise when he shows an active interest in her. With him already having a girlfriend, things seem really weird, until Ellie finds out that his girlfriend and best friend are in love with each other.

While being assigned a report on the Lady of Shalott, Ellie realizes that Mr. Morton, the teacher, is way more than someone who teaches for a paycheck. After learning about Mr. Morton and William's stepbrother's near-death fight the previous year, all the pieces begin to fall into place, and she uncovers a parallel that shockingly resembles the legend of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot.

Meg Cabot does it again with this lively and intriguing rendition of the story of King Arthur. The characters, storyline and intricate details will have readers not wanting to put the book down.

Reader reviewed by sara

Meg cabot is one of my favorite authors.so I was glad to see that she wrote another great book.i couldnht put it down.think about it king Arthur,Genevieve,and his step brother are all brought back to life in our time,as the popular people of a typical high school.how cool is that concept for a book.thats what I thought too .if I were you I would read this one as soon as you can.

Reader reviewed by Lauren

How cool would it be if someone from the past was reincarnated into a teenager. A teenager named Will, most popular guy in school everyone loves him. Will is King Arthur, and everyone around him is part of it. His girlfriend Jennifer is Genevieve, and his evil step brothoer tries to kill him?

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

As new student Ellie is about to discover, herself. What part does she play in the drama that is unfolding? What if there's nothing she can do about it?

Reader reviewed by Gabby

Elaine "Ellie" Harrison is fuming over her parents choice to take a sabbatical from their professor duties at the beginning of the school year, just in time to make Ellie's life take a complete 360. Not only is she forced to move to Washington, DC, but she has to leave behind her closest friends, and create a new identity for herself. Hopefully one that will leave an impression on her new classmates. But Avalon High is an exact replica of every other high school in America. It's students are classified in the same way: jocks, cheerleaders, class president...But suddenly Ellie finds herself mixed up with the cool crowd. Now she's hanging with Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, and Will, quarterback and senior class president. But the more Ellie spends time with her newfound friends, the more she realizes that their lives are mimicking history. History from centuries ago. Like the time when King Arthur ruled. Now, Ellie must figure out how to stop a chain of events that is destined to leave everyone around her in tears, or worse...dead.

I have read every book by Meg Cabot, and have never come across one that didn't spark an interest in me, but I must say that AVALON HIGH could very well be her best contribution to the publishing world thus far. Being a fan of the story of King Arthur, I loved how Cabot incorporated her modern, present day characters, into the story of the Round Table, and pulled it off without a hitch. Cabot has an insurmountable amount of talent and imagination, and it is showcased more in AVALON HIGH than in any of her previous novels. A delightful romp with mysteries on every page that will leave readers begging to hear more of Ellie's story.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Reader reviewed by linda

Deja-vu in the wildest form comes alive in this book! Almost everyone in the book is a reincarnation from the old days of Camelot and King Arthur. It just so happens that Elaine, named after the Lady of Shallot, arrives in a town filled with mystery and a high school filled with old memories. Her job was to stay out of the whole situation but her attraction to the Will brings about a series of situations which end with history repeating itself...kind of. A great historical romance that I would recommend to everyone.

Reader reviewed by chick box

meg cabot has really done a great job with this new book of hers. not only does it show her great intelligence but also her great imagination. not many writters can come up with these kind of stories.

Avolon High is about the legend of King Arthur coming back in modern times. Every main person in the book is kind of like the reincarnation of the circle of the most important people serounding king Arthur. really great read!

Reader reviewed by Grace

Ellie is forced to move to Annapolis when her professor parents go on a sabbatical to research King Arthur. At Avalon High, she meets Will, the all-around good guy, who she immediately falls in love with. But the thing is that he already has a girlfriend, but all is not happy in that world. As Ellie learns more about Will's family and friends, she notices many similarities, which include her being named after the Lady of Shalott, between now and the Arthurian legend. But, if her teacher Mr. Morton, a member of the Order of Bear dedicated to helping bring the reincarnated Arthur back to power, is right, it may be too late for Ellie to do anything to stop the Dark Forces from taking over.

Avalon High is a creative modern retelling of the legend of King Arthur that all Meg Cabot fans will love.