Avalon High by Meg Cabot

Not only did he keep talking, but he crossed the space between us in two long strides and snatched up my arm in fingers that were so cold, they burned. He held me in a grip of iron, so that I couldn't even dart down the stairs the way I'd planned.
What were you trying to do anyway?" Marco asked, with a sneer. "Protect him?"

I was wandering through the YA section of the library a few days ago when I decided it was about time I read something penned by Meg Cabot. I had heard a lot about her and couldn't help admiring exactly how much space her books took up, so I figured tis revelation was a bit past due. Looking through them, Avalon High was the one that caught my eye. I remember having seen the movie adaptation on Disney a few years ago and enjoying it (myths and legends being a particular interest of mine), so I went ahead and checked it out.

Avalon High is told from the perspective of Ellie Harrison, a junior in high school who has just begun school at Avalon High after moving from Minnesota with her parents for their year-long professors' sabbatical. Upon arriving at the school, she immediately finds herself drawn to Will Wagner, an incredibly popular guy whom she seems to keep running into and who, for some reason she can't fathom, seems to really enjoy spending time with her. Ellie considers herself an incredibly practical person and is not generally the type to fall head over heels for someone she's only just met, but it seems her heart has a mind all its own and it doesn't intend to listen to her reasoning.

Then things start to become strange. Not only does she stumble upon the information that Will's girlfriend, Jennifer, is hooking up with his best friend, Lance; but she keeps butting heads with Marco, Wills step-brother, Marco, who seems to be doing everything in his power to hurt Will. Now her teacher, Mr. Morton, has begun acting strange, referring to her as the Lady of Shallot, the medieval woman for whom Ellie was named, and insisting that Will is in grave danger.

Even she can't help missing the parallels between each of them and those to whom their names seem to correlate, but if this is true, if Will is truly the incarnation of King Arthur, then things are about to get much worse . . . and there's not a very good chance that they'll get any better at all.

I really enjoyed reading Ellie's tale, especially considering all the rich bits of medieval facts and legends that were peppered throughout its pages. Meg Cabot writes believable characters and I particularly enjoyed the main character and her resoluteness throughout the book to protect and to do everything she could to keep Will safe. Protectiveness is a quality I very much admire in a person.

It was an interesting adventure and definitely a page turner. I can't say it's my absolute favorite, but it was worth reading and a fun journey. It's an easy read and definitely worth checking out, especially for those of you who, like me, always enjoy a good retelling of a well-loved legend.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

The reason there've been so many movies and books and poems and musicals about King Arthur--not to mention high schools like Avalon named after the mythical island he eventually went to die on--is that his story is a good illustration of the heroic theory of history: that an individual--not an army; not a god; not a superhero; just a regular Joe--can permanently alter the course of world events.