AVALON HIGH

The author of the Princess Diary series tackles a royal family of more ancient and mythical lineage in this fun, suspenseful retelling of the King Arthur legend. Elaine is the daughter of two medieval scholars. Named after the Lady of Shallot, Elaine immediately finds herself in with the “in crowd” at her new high school and hopelessly attracted to Will, all-around leader, football hero and wonderful guy. When she learns that Will’s girlfriend Jennifer is cheating on him with best friend Lance, parallels to the Arthur legend immediately spring to Elaine’s mind. Worse, the school’s English teacher insists that Will, his friends and even Elaine are reincarnations of the medieval figures, and that it’s already too late to save Will from the forces of darkness. The prose and story gallop along with a style that will easily appeal to fans of both fantasy and realistic fiction alike. Very nicely done. (Fiction. 12+)