Elaine's parents are on sabbatical and she has to spend her junior year in Annapolis, MD, far from her Minnesota home. While running in the park, she meets Will, and she finds her life intertwined with a familiar story. Too many coincidences, like being named after the Lady of Shalott, and Will's complicated family life make her feel as though she is living in modern-day Camelot. Even her teacher believes that King Arthur will be reincarnated.
(Amazon.com)
Genre: romance; contemporary; fantasy
Rating: 4/5
Note: #2 of the Modern Retellings of Classics Challenge (Le Morte d'Arthur)
Cabot is more known for her humor, something that this book is actually fairly devoid of surprisingly. That's not to say this isn't a good read. Cabot makes a good attempt at trying to blend Arthurian legend with modern high school life and Elaine isn't unlikable as a heroine. She's feisty and basically the hero, in spite of Will being the Arthur figure. The main feeling you take away is that this book is a nice, fluffy, fast read that isn't anything earth shattering, but at least tries to be creative. My main issue was with Mr. Morton and the Order of the Bear going to all the trouble to hunt down possible Arthur reincarnations, only to have him try to give up and run the minute he thinks Will is in danger. It seems like an ancient order who had apparently been trying to defeat the "forces of darkness" for centuries would have come up with some sort of game plan at some point.
So, the book succeeds in being a pleasant enough summer read, but nothing that will go down in the annals of great YA literature.
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