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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Amazing book that kept you intrigued throughout the whole thing
Meg Cabot's protagonists have one quality in common that I tend to dislike: the overwhelming confused disbelief in the slightly supernatural stuff going on. I think I need a big Meg Cabot break. At least a year. Then I'll tackle the Princess Diaries to see what the fuss is all about.
This is a fun teen romantic fantasy mixing likable modern day characters with Arthurian lore. Sounds weird but it works.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Teen rating: 5 stars
Adult rating: 2 stars
This book had its place back in the day; it was the first modernized Arthurian retelling I ever read and I'll always appreciate it for sparking my interest, but it doesn't hold up as well in 2021. First, despite the protagonist's age (17), she reads like she's 13, and the writing leans much more toward MG than YA- it seems a book meant to be read by young girls fantasizing about being older girls. Unfortunately, despite the first person perspective, the protagonist also reads like a teen written by an out-of-touch adult. I doubt even in 2006 there were many teens using words like 'guff' or 'malarkey' or apologizing for 'startling' each other. The payphones and landlines are fair given the pub date but now seem dated and awkward.
The concept itself is promising- King Arthur and his inner circle reincarnated as popular high school students with modern problems- but it's lazily delivered. The 'forces of darkness' are presented as a vague, simplistic evil, the rationalization for Will being a reincarnated Arthur is that the names of his friends, dog, and boat echo King Arthur's original crew, and a show of strength is all that's required for Good to triumph over Evil. Most frustrating is how much the story relies on and reinforces stereotyping- the characterization is of the extremely basic cardboard-cutout variety (your standard vapid cheerleader and brainless jock and troubled golden boy) and the MC's commentary (tall girls are destined to stand alone by the guac at parties because the boys want to flirt with short girls, for example) only furthers the cliches. The only really good bit here is the MC constantly declaring that her Arthurian namesake was lame for committing suicide over a guy who didn't love her back- although a twist in her role in the reincarnation removes her ability to rewrite that woman's story for a better outcome, and in any case she proves she's just as willing to die for the guy she loves, so it's hard to get properly excited about what should have been at least one very positive message here.
Ultimately, Cabot is a popular author who's provided a lot of teen entertainment in her time, but this particular book is probably best left back in its own era.
Adult rating: 2 stars
This book had its place back in the day; it was the first modernized Arthurian retelling I ever read and I'll always appreciate it for sparking my interest, but it doesn't hold up as well in 2021. First, despite the protagonist's age (17), she reads like she's 13, and the writing leans much more toward MG than YA- it seems a book meant to be read by young girls fantasizing about being older girls. Unfortunately, despite the first person perspective, the protagonist also reads like a teen written by an out-of-touch adult. I doubt even in 2006 there were many teens using words like 'guff' or 'malarkey' or apologizing for 'startling' each other. The payphones and landlines are fair given the pub date but now seem dated and awkward.
The concept itself is promising- King Arthur and his inner circle reincarnated as popular high school students with modern problems- but it's lazily delivered. The 'forces of darkness' are presented as a vague, simplistic evil, the rationalization for Will being a reincarnated Arthur is that the names of his friends, dog, and boat echo King Arthur's original crew, and a show of strength is all that's required for Good to triumph over Evil. Most frustrating is how much the story relies on and reinforces stereotyping- the characterization is of the extremely basic cardboard-cutout variety (your standard vapid cheerleader and brainless jock and troubled golden boy) and the MC's commentary (tall girls are destined to stand alone by the guac at parties because the boys want to flirt with short girls, for example) only furthers the cliches. The only really good bit here is the MC constantly declaring that her Arthurian namesake was lame for committing suicide over a guy who didn't love her back- although a twist in her role in the reincarnation removes her ability to rewrite that woman's story for a better outcome, and in any case she proves she's just as willing to die for the guy she loves, so it's hard to get properly excited about what should have been at least one very positive message here.
Ultimately, Cabot is a popular author who's provided a lot of teen entertainment in her time, but this particular book is probably best left back in its own era.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence
Minor: Suicide
In my sudden inspired Meg Cabot reread, this book still holds up for me. The only difference I notice is the time frame is incredibly short. It felt similar to the first time I read Romeo & Juliet and realized the play takes place over a weekend.
i used to love this book when i was younger, and when i saw it at a used bookstore for 5 dollars, i couldn't resist! i still think it's great :)
The beginning of this was really slow and then when it hit the peak it went really fast. I think it was a good representation of Arthurian history but my only exposure is from watching Excalibur when I was in high school, and Disney Sword in the Stone.
"A powerful novel by the author of The Princess Diaries" A powerful novel my foot. I had my doubts when 20% in on my Kindle the main character declared that she was falling in love with a guy whose name, position on the football team and the fact that he had a girlfriend were the only things she knew about him.
All in all, I felt nothing for this book. Nothing whatsoever. I was just reading words. I connected with none of the characters and the whole plot was rather boring to me. It could have been something great but it just fell flat by trying too hard.
All in all, I felt nothing for this book. Nothing whatsoever. I was just reading words. I connected with none of the characters and the whole plot was rather boring to me. It could have been something great but it just fell flat by trying too hard.
I think I would have enjoyed this more had I not seen the movie first, even if it has been years since I watched it.
This was the first book I have ever read by Meg Cabot and, though I wasn't a huge fan of the characters, her writing seems quite nice and I'm going to aim to read more from her.
This was the first book I have ever read by Meg Cabot and, though I wasn't a huge fan of the characters, her writing seems quite nice and I'm going to aim to read more from her.
adding for completeness of my reading history but don't remember enough to review.