Avalon High

This article is about the Meg Cabot novel. For the film adaptation, see Avalon High (film). For the St. Paul, Minnesota, high school, see Avalon School.
Avalon High
Author Meg Cabot
Country United States
Language English
Genre Mystery novel
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
 27 December 2005
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 304 pp (1st HB)
ISBN ISBN 978-0-06-075586-7 (1st HB)
OCLC 60515267
LC Class PZ7.C11165 Ava 2006

Avalon High is a young adult novel by Meg Cabot, published in 2005. It reached number 3 on The New York Times‍ '​ children's best sellers list in January 2006.[1] Three manga volumes have been released: Coronation Volume 1: The Merlin Prophecy, Coronation Volume 2: Homecoming, and Coronation Volume 3: Hunter's Moon.[2]

Plot

Ellie Harrison has just moved to Annapolis, Maryland. Her new 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, the student every girl wants and all around good guy. But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be, not even Ellie herself.

Characters

Elaine "Ellie" Harrison: the new student at Avalon High—she moved to Annapolis, Maryland from Minnesota and is presumed to represent Elaine of Astolat for most of the novel, though it is revealed later that she plays a different role in the legend.

Arthur William "Will" Wagner Jr.: has a slightly disruptive family relationship at home and is a star quarterback for the Avalon High School Fighting Knights, he represents King Arthur.

Jennifer Gold: a cheerleader who corresponds to Queen Guinevere in the legend.

Lance Reynolds: the Avalon High School football team's cornerback, who is Will's best friend. He goes behind Will's back to cheat with Jennifer. Lance corresponds to Sir Lancelot

Marco Campbell: Marco is Will's step-brother/half brother. He is Mordred.

Mr Morton: Avalon High School English teacher. He is a member of "The Order of the Bear" and represents Merlin. .

Admiral Arthur William Wagner Sr.: He is Will's father and he corresponds to Uther Pendragon in the legend. He seemingly murders his best friend (by sending him into combat where he was killed) and then marries his wife.

Jean Wagner: Jean is Admiral Wagner's wife, who married him 6 months after her husband died in combat. Although originally it was believed that she was merely Will's stepmother, it was later revealed (by Mr. Morton) that she was in actuality Will's birth mother. She corresponds to Igraine in the legend.

Ellie's Parents: professors of medieval history on sabbatical. Her mother is writing a book on Elaine, the so-called "lily maid" of Astolat, and her father is writing his on the sword that Ellie takes to the park and hands to Will during his face-off with Marco, thus revealing herself as the Lady of the Lake. Ellie's parents care about her despite being an embarrassment at times.

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.

There is a subtle foreshadowing in the book's first chapter that points to Ellie being the Lady of the Lake, as opposed to the Lady of Shalott. Her home state, Minnesota, is known as "the Land of 10,000 Lakes".

Adaptation

Disney Channel adapted the book as a Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name in 2010. The movie stars Britt Robertson, Gregg Sulkin, Joey Pollari, Devon Graye and Steve Valentine. The movie premiered November 12, 2010.[3] Some parts of the movie are filmed in New Zealand.

Plot Alteration

The characters in the film are both renamed and have their mythic alter egos swapped, with respect to the book. In the film Allie (Ellie in the book), rather than Will, is King Arthur (but several characters initially believe otherwise); Mr. Moore (Mr. Morton in the book) is in the film Mordred, replacing Marco; and Miles (instead of Moore/Morton) is Merlin. In the film, Marco reveals himself to be a member of the Order of the Bear, and determined to protect Will (believing him to be Arthur), although Allie initially believes Marco to be Mordred.

In the film, Mr. Moore reveals that he suspected Allie to be the Lady of the Lake and is shocked that she is Arthur. The climactic battle scene, which in the book takes place in the ravine, in the film occurs in the school theater (which magically becomes a beach).

The students are explained as the reincarnations of their alter egos, as opposed to merely corresponding to them. Allie is an only child; she no longer has a brother. Since Will is not Arthur, some connections are eliminated: Will's father is not trying to make Will join the navy; Will does not sail, nor does he have a dog (in the book there are connections to the names of Arthur's dog and boat). Avalon High's team name is the Knights, not Excalibur. Many potentially violent and threatening scenes were removed and scene settings changed to make the movie more appropriate for younger children.

References

  1. ↑ "CHILDRENS'S [sic] BEST SELLERS". New York Times. 2006-01-15. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  2. ↑ "Meg Cabot's Official Website". Archived from the original on 2013-08-14.
  3. ↑ "Legend Lives on at Avalon High". Disney Channel Medianet. October 13, 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11.

External links