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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reread. Still enjoyable, definitely no longer the intended audience.
LOVED THIS. I always love a twist on King Arthur/Camelot, and this did not disappoint. Even better, Ellie was a wonderful heroine! She seemed to have a great head on her shoulders and recognized that being herself would get her what she wanted (Will).
Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword had me hungry for more Arthurian retellings, so I revisited this favorite from my youth. Still so much fun, and I think really captures the timelessness and heart of the story! My favorite Meg Cabot, the last act in particular is quite a page turner!
4 stars!
TW: extreme cliches and cheesiness
Ok so like, this book is objectively not the best, but I loved so.....
I read this for the 2020 Reading Rush prompt read a book that inspired a movie you have already seen. The Disney Channel Original Movie Avalon High is one of my favorite dumb cheesy movies, so when I found this book, I knew I wanted to read it and it would be perfect for this challenge.
This book and the movie are so different. Pretty much all of the details are completely different. Only some of the names are the same. And the plot....... barely even similar. This is possibly as bad as the Percy Jackson movie adaptations as far as accuracy to the books goes.
Overall, I still like both the book and the movie because they both took an interesting prompt and made good stories from it. I will say that the book makes a lot more sense plot wise.
All in all a positive experience.
TW: extreme cliches and cheesiness
Ok so like, this book is objectively not the best, but I loved so.....
I read this for the 2020 Reading Rush prompt read a book that inspired a movie you have already seen. The Disney Channel Original Movie Avalon High is one of my favorite dumb cheesy movies, so when I found this book, I knew I wanted to read it and it would be perfect for this challenge.
This book and the movie are so different. Pretty much all of the details are completely different. Only some of the names are the same. And the plot....... barely even similar. This is possibly as bad as the Percy Jackson movie adaptations as far as accuracy to the books goes.
Overall, I still like both the book and the movie because they both took an interesting prompt and made good stories from it. I will say that the book makes a lot more sense plot wise.
All in all a positive experience.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I always appreciate a book I can start and finish on the same day.
Avalon High is, as you can probably imagine, a modern adaptation of the Arthurian legend. The protagonist and several of the characters she meets in her new East Coast high school are reincarnations of the legend--not that any of them, except perhaps Mr. Morton, believes it. As history begins to repeat itself, Mr. Morton is trying to prevent the world from slipping back into the Dark Ages and Ellie is trying to stubbornly cling to normalcy even as she herself starts to identify the many parallels between her new friends and the legends her parents have based their careers around.
There. A basic, spoiler-free summary of the book's plot. If you don't want to know anymore before reading for yourself, close your browser window.
That being said, I very much liked some things this book did and very much did not like others.
THE PROS:
-Avalon High is a Young Adult novel, so you can't expect a thesis-dense analysis of the many facets of the Arthurian legends. But Cabot does do a pretty good job at introducing the reader to a few of them, while focusing most of her energy on the most popular version of the story: the one with Lancelot as Arthur's favorite night and Mordred as his half-brother. Cabot introduces bits and details of the myth as she goes, rather than overloading the reader at the beginning with a lot of information that they're likely to have forgotten by the time it becomes important to the present-day story.
-I found the characters very realistic. Teenagers who aren't intending to hurt anyone with their gossip, girls who--contrary to popular belief--do not care for deep conversations and growing up before they need to, and boys who sometimes take things too far in their jest. The adults were active characters (a rare find in young adult and children's literature) and intelligent, observant individuals (an even rarer find). I didn't find it at all unusual that her parents nagged her about getting out and meeting people but didn't know entirely what was going on at school. I know a lot of people always say "But how could they not know?!" They're loving, involved, and intelligent (if clumsy), but even the best parents can't be omnipresent, and even the most open kids don't share every detail--especially in high school, a time when teenagers are trying to develop their own independent identity.
-I really loved the physical descriptions in books. It's not something I always pay attention to, but it was so vivid that I could picture even the most minute settings as I was reading. This, more than anything else, is probably what kept me reading. The voice is very natural, which is what made this book such a quick read for me. It's conversational, like listening to a friend tell you about the really bizarre week they had over coffee.
THE CONS:
-As much as the conversational narration contributed to the story, it also at times detracted from it. I'm a huge fan of exposition with only the occasional dialogue, but what counts as exposition in first person is debatable. For example, I do not count numerous passages about how gorgeous Jennifer is or how awkward Ellie is to be exposition, but merely internal dialogue--that we were assailed with constantly throughout the book, as though we might have accidentally overlooked this apparently very important fact the first four times it was brought up. I guess it makes sense though, as what seventeen year old doesn't dedicated too much time to pining over cute boys and unrealistically comparing themselves to the girls around them--especially when thrown into a new environment that makes them feel even more insecure than they already might have been? It was frustrating to read through and made me want to put the book aside a few times, but it was realistic. And reminded me how much being a seventeen year old girl sucked.
-I could have done without the "but I'm a too-tall nerdy little nobody who no one ever looks at, I can't believe the popular boy is looking at ME (but he is, right?)" bit. This was the only part about Ellie's character foundation that I had a serious problem with. Call it a pet peeve. If she hadn't talked herself up as such a nothing at her old school and only outcasted for being a new kid, it might have been less obnoxious to me. It felt like an overused cliche, one that always frustrates me when I encounter it because it shouldn't be a surprise that a smart girl who happens to be funny and athletic can also have friends. Why is this always such a surprise in literature? (But on that note, I'm glad the popular girls weren't all snooty and hateful. That, at least, was done away with, and appreciate the refreshing change.)
-Okay, I lied. There were two problems with the characters (even if I admit and even applaud that they each had unique, individual voices so that I could tell who was talking even without a qualifier.). One was Ellie's foundation as the socially-awkward-but-funny-and-athletic nerdy girl. The other was the fact that none of the characters seemed to have changed by the end of the story. Mr. Morton (whom Ellie convinced to stay in town to help Will despite the odds being against him) and Marco (who calls his parents for help after wanting to ruin their lives just a few hours before) are the only two characters who approached anything resembling development. I didn't anticipate Will to be a very dynamic character, as he's ignorant of the influences in his life for the vast majority of the book, but Ellie at the very least should have changed. From the beginning she was stubborn, braver than the average teenage girl when faced with a snake, and cynical. At the book's conclusion, she still refuses to believe any of what she experienced was mystical or supernatural. Situations might have changed, but attitudes and outlooks did not, and I consider that a crucial aspect of character development.
Avalon High was a fun read, and for that I give it three stars. I loved the sometimes-corny humor in the book, the dynamic between all of the characters, and the vivid imagery Cabot uses to set her scenes and support her plot. I especially love how little references tie in--like Ellie's rant about what makes a home, and her role as Lady of the Lake in bringing Arthur home in the legends. It's a good book to get your feet wet if you're interested in Arthurian lore and aren't sure where to start--especially for young teens who are still in that high school hallway mindset and can easily connect with Ellie's stream of conscience.
Avalon High is, as you can probably imagine, a modern adaptation of the Arthurian legend. The protagonist and several of the characters she meets in her new East Coast high school are reincarnations of the legend--not that any of them, except perhaps Mr. Morton, believes it. As history begins to repeat itself, Mr. Morton is trying to prevent the world from slipping back into the Dark Ages and Ellie is trying to stubbornly cling to normalcy even as she herself starts to identify the many parallels between her new friends and the legends her parents have based their careers around.
There. A basic, spoiler-free summary of the book's plot. If you don't want to know anymore before reading for yourself, close your browser window.
That being said, I very much liked some things this book did and very much did not like others.
THE PROS:
-Avalon High is a Young Adult novel, so you can't expect a thesis-dense analysis of the many facets of the Arthurian legends. But Cabot does do a pretty good job at introducing the reader to a few of them, while focusing most of her energy on the most popular version of the story: the one with Lancelot as Arthur's favorite night and Mordred as his half-brother. Cabot introduces bits and details of the myth as she goes, rather than overloading the reader at the beginning with a lot of information that they're likely to have forgotten by the time it becomes important to the present-day story.
-I found the characters very realistic. Teenagers who aren't intending to hurt anyone with their gossip, girls who--contrary to popular belief--do not care for deep conversations and growing up before they need to, and boys who sometimes take things too far in their jest. The adults were active characters (a rare find in young adult and children's literature) and intelligent, observant individuals (an even rarer find). I didn't find it at all unusual that her parents nagged her about getting out and meeting people but didn't know entirely what was going on at school. I know a lot of people always say "But how could they not know?!" They're loving, involved, and intelligent (if clumsy), but even the best parents can't be omnipresent, and even the most open kids don't share every detail--especially in high school, a time when teenagers are trying to develop their own independent identity.
-I really loved the physical descriptions in books. It's not something I always pay attention to, but it was so vivid that I could picture even the most minute settings as I was reading. This, more than anything else, is probably what kept me reading. The voice is very natural, which is what made this book such a quick read for me. It's conversational, like listening to a friend tell you about the really bizarre week they had over coffee.
THE CONS:
-As much as the conversational narration contributed to the story, it also at times detracted from it. I'm a huge fan of exposition with only the occasional dialogue, but what counts as exposition in first person is debatable. For example, I do not count numerous passages about how gorgeous Jennifer is or how awkward Ellie is to be exposition, but merely internal dialogue--that we were assailed with constantly throughout the book, as though we might have accidentally overlooked this apparently very important fact the first four times it was brought up. I guess it makes sense though, as what seventeen year old doesn't dedicated too much time to pining over cute boys and unrealistically comparing themselves to the girls around them--especially when thrown into a new environment that makes them feel even more insecure than they already might have been? It was frustrating to read through and made me want to put the book aside a few times, but it was realistic. And reminded me how much being a seventeen year old girl sucked.
-I could have done without the "but I'm a too-tall nerdy little nobody who no one ever looks at, I can't believe the popular boy is looking at ME (but he is, right?)" bit. This was the only part about Ellie's character foundation that I had a serious problem with. Call it a pet peeve. If she hadn't talked herself up as such a nothing at her old school and only outcasted for being a new kid, it might have been less obnoxious to me. It felt like an overused cliche, one that always frustrates me when I encounter it because it shouldn't be a surprise that a smart girl who happens to be funny and athletic can also have friends. Why is this always such a surprise in literature? (But on that note, I'm glad the popular girls weren't all snooty and hateful. That, at least, was done away with, and appreciate the refreshing change.)
-Okay, I lied. There were two problems with the characters (even if I admit and even applaud that they each had unique, individual voices so that I could tell who was talking even without a qualifier.). One was Ellie's foundation as the socially-awkward-but-funny-and-athletic nerdy girl. The other was the fact that none of the characters seemed to have changed by the end of the story. Mr. Morton (whom Ellie convinced to stay in town to help Will despite the odds being against him) and Marco (who calls his parents for help after wanting to ruin their lives just a few hours before) are the only two characters who approached anything resembling development. I didn't anticipate Will to be a very dynamic character, as he's ignorant of the influences in his life for the vast majority of the book, but Ellie at the very least should have changed. From the beginning she was stubborn, braver than the average teenage girl when faced with a snake, and cynical. At the book's conclusion, she still refuses to believe any of what she experienced was mystical or supernatural. Situations might have changed, but attitudes and outlooks did not, and I consider that a crucial aspect of character development.
Avalon High was a fun read, and for that I give it three stars. I loved the sometimes-corny humor in the book, the dynamic between all of the characters, and the vivid imagery Cabot uses to set her scenes and support her plot. I especially love how little references tie in--like Ellie's rant about what makes a home, and her role as Lady of the Lake in bringing Arthur home in the legends. It's a good book to get your feet wet if you're interested in Arthurian lore and aren't sure where to start--especially for young teens who are still in that high school hallway mindset and can easily connect with Ellie's stream of conscience.
Cute book with a modern twist on the King Arthur legend.