Avalon High

infobox Book |
name = Avalon High
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image_caption =
author = Meg Cabot
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Mystery novel
publisher = HarperCollins
release_date = 27 December 2005
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 304 pp (1st HB)
isbn = ISBN 0060755865 (1st HB)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Avalon High" is a young adult novel by Meg Cabot, published in 2005. It reached number 3 in the New York Times children's best sellers list in January 2006. [cite news |title= CHILDRENS'S BEST SELLERS |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EEDF1E30F936A25752C0A9609C8B63 |work=New York Times |date=2006-01-15 |accessdate=2008-03-01 ] A manga sequel has been released called "Coronation, Volume one: The Merlin's Prophecy".Movie rights have been bought by Disney Channel.

Plot summary

Elaine "Ellie" Harrison has just moved from Minnesota to Annapolis, Maryland while her parents take a year long sabbatical to continue their medieval studies in nearby DC. Her new high school, Avalon High, seems like a typical high school with the stereotypical students: Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, Marco, the bad boy/desperado, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, and all around good guy. But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be, not even Ellie herself.

Eventually, it becomes apparent that Avalon High is a situation where the ancient Arthurian legend is repeating itself. Will, Jennifer, Lance, Marco, and Mr. Morton all correspond to King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Knight Lancelot, Mordred, and Merlin, respectively. As for Ellie, Mr. Morton and Marco misinterpret her as Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, who, in the legend, falls in love with Lancelot yet commits suicides due to her spurned love.

As Jennifer betrays Will to get together with Lance, the downfall of Will begins, like in the legend where Camelot falls due to the betrayal of Guinevere and Lancelot. Originally, Mr. Morton pairs Ellie with Lance, in hopes that Ellie would attract Lance away from Jennifer, therefore thwarting the betrayal of Will. However, when this plan fails, Mr. Morton tells Ellie to escape when she can, since she apparently no longer has a role in the crisis. Nevertheless, Ellie manages to convince Mr. Morton to stay and help out the people. As a result, Mr. Morton brings in Mrs. Wagner (Wills mother) and Will to prompt the confession of Mrs. Wagner as she reveals that she is not really Will’s stepmother, but in fact, his real mother. He brought them in to attempt to clear up the family feud and thwart the dark forces from killing Will. However, this only results in the appearance of Marco and Marco learns the truth about his mother as well.

Then, Marco loses control, jumps out of the school’s window, and Will follows him. This triggers the dark forces and suddenly, a seemingly supernatural storm appears. Everybody is rushed home, including Ellie. Ellie stays at home, worrying about what will happen to Will and Marco since they have seemingly disappeared. She receives a call from Will’s mom, revealing that Marco has broken into the gun case and may possibly kill Will. As a result, she realizes that Will must be at his regular hide out, the ravine. She grabs the medieval sword in her father’s study (her father was studying it as a scholar) and runs to the ravine, despite the numerous obstacles that the dark forces throw at her (including a large car, rain, and hail). She reaches the ravine and Marco also shows up, holding up a gun. However, at the last moment, Ellie gives Will the sword and Marco loses courage when he sees the sword. It is revealed that Ellie is not Elaine, the lady of Shallott. Instead, she is the Lady of the Lake who saved Arthur by giving him the sword of Excalibur and eventually brought him to Avalon, to refuge.

Characters

Ellie Harrison: the new student at Avalon High - moved to Annapolis from Minnesota due to her parent's sabbatical. She is named for the Lady of Shalott in the Arthurian legend who falls in love with Lancelot yet commits suicide in the end because Lancelot leaves her for Guinevere. However, despite her namesake, she is really Elaine, Lady of the Lake, who presents Arthur with the famed sword, Excalibur. At Annapolis, she feels an attraction to Will Wagner, despite knowing him for a relatively short time. Through her parents' scholar backgrounds, she has a deep understanding of the Medieval Ages and the Arthurian legend. After a while, she begins to notice the strange coincidences between the legend and Avalon High.

Arthur William Wagner: The "all-around good guy" who is the senior class president, quarterback, and valedictorian. He corresponds to the King Arthur in the legend and has a slightly disruptive family relationship at home.

Jennifer Gold: A typical blonde cheerleader who corresponds to Queen Guinevere in the legend. She was originally dating Will (Arthur William Wagner) while cheating on him with Lance.

Lance Reynolds: the "jock" who is Will's best friend. He goes behind Will's back to cheat with Jennifer. He seems to have no real intention to hurt Will, like Jennifer, however, he can't seem to deny his attraction to Jennifer. Like Lancelot in the Arthurian legend, Lance is Will's right hand man who betrays Arthur to stay with Guivinere.

Marco Campbell: Will's delinquent stepbrother. He has been kicked out of school and eventually, it is revealed that he and Will share the same mother. He corresponds to Mordred in the Arthurian legend and he seeks to bring Will down through revealing Jen's and Lance's betrayal and eventually, attempted murder.

Mr. Morton: He is a member of the "Order of the Bear", who believes that the Arthurian legend repeats every generation. He goes undercover as a teacher in Avalon High to guide Will to success. He corresponds to Merlin in the legend.

Admiral Wagner: He is Will's father and he corresponds to Uther Pendragon in the legend. He seemingly murders his best friend and then marries his best friend's wife.

Miscellaneous

The book has twenty nine chapters and each chapter starts with a quote, which relatively relates to the content of the chapter, from Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem about Elaine the Lady of Shalott.

References

External links

*Meg Cabot, "Avalon High", HarperCollins, December 27, 2005. ISBN 0-06-075586-5