Avalon High

             Inspired by this class, I was searching through Netflix for a "Tween" type of movie and stumbled on something extremely nostalgic: Avalon High. Avalon High is based on a book written by teen lit author Meg Cabot about how the legend of King Arthur would be reincarnated in a Modern Day world. In the High School these kids attend, Ally is a new student who moves with her parents who are both professors of Medieval Literature and attends a typical hierarchical High School. The popular Jock, Will with his best friend Lance, and his girlfriend Jen: (Even people unfamiliar with the Arthurian legend can understand the obvious references: Lance is Lancelot, Jen is Guenievere, Will is supposed to be Arthur in the book, however, in the movie, they altered this fact.) Ally takes an immediate interest in Will and they have a cute, clean romance on thier journey throughout the movie of Ally and Will falling in love. The movie is an atypical teen romance, with Arthurian Legend thrown in. On Ally's first day of school, her history class is focusing on Medieval Literature and is assigned a group project. The topics are pretty straightforward: The architecture of Camelot, the tragedy of Camelot, and then Ally and her partner Miles (Merlin) is assigned an topic called "The Order of the Bear." Ally shocked she had never heard of this goes to her parents and they refer her to the ancient prophecy dedicated to declaring that the Order of the Bear is dedicated to protecting the reincarnation of King Arthur. Meg Cabot's book IS SO MUCH MORE DIFFERENT then the movie, however, through a series of exciting events, it turns out that the reincarnation of King Arthur is in fact Ally and she is empowered to be a powerful knight. This movie is no Princess of Thieves (an ABC Original Movie starring Kierra Knightly) however, it is fun to watch, however, I really enjoyed the book. In the book Ellie is in fact the Lady of the Lake and the events that occur in that book are so much more series and lively. 
                Below are the bibliographic information for Avalon High: 


Avalon High. Directed by Stuart Gillard, based on the book by Meg Cabot. Adapted for the screen by Julie Sherman Wolfe and Amy Talkington. Starring Britt Robinson ("Life Unexpected") and Gregg Sulkin ("Wizards of Waverly Place") 



Genre label: Fantasy
e. Reading level/interest level: Tween (10 to 13)/Fantasy/Reincarnation of Legends 
f. Mention of any books or materials that are similar in style content, theme or 
characters: Avalon High is technically simliar to The Vampire Diaries because of the introduction of doppelgangers and tales of reincarnation. Also, there is an ancient prophecy that is being fulfilled in the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Roswell. 
g. Also include any of the following items that you think might help you with 
reader's advisory activities in the future: 
i. Personal thoughts: It is always fun to see an film adaptation of a book you really like. In some instances, the movie can be better: i.e. A Walk To Remember. However, this movie did not include the elements that Meg Cabot had so cleverly included in her book and the romance seemed cheesy at best. It is nice to see a girl on screen through focusing on her career on Varsity Track and be excited about a sport and be typically normal on television. 
ii. Subjects/themes: Fantasy, Romance, Friendship, Bonds, 
v. Character names/descriptions:
Will-the "King of High School." He has everything: Quarterback and Captain of the Football Team, straight A student, has a "perfect" girlfriend, but in The Little Mermaid fashion, he wants more depth to his life. 
Ally- Eager to fit in to her new High School and tired of being the new girl, she is a spunky track runner who obvious has a crush on Will before she even meets him. She has constant dreams of Medieval fights and wants to fit in. 
Jen- (Guenievere) is a pretty popular cheerleader who is Will's girlfriend, however, is in love with Lance (Lancelot) as the legend goes. 
Lance- (Lancelot) Will's best friend, in the book he has much more depth to him, however, the movie just frames him as a man who made a mistake. 
Miles- (Merlin) is a nerdy straight A student who has visions. Ally becomes friends with him and empowers him to understand the need for friendship. 
Professor Moore- (Mordred) You don't know he is evil in the last ten minutes of the movie, however, he assigns the projects to all the kids and once he founds on the true prophecy he is hellbent on destroying Will whom he actually believes is the reincarnation of King Arthur. 
vi. A one/two sentence high interest annotation (that might be used on 
reader's advisory bibliography)