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August 2007

Avalon High
by Meg Cabot

I have to say, when my parents broke the news about the sabbatical, the fact that they were quick to add, "And we're renting a house with a pool!" was the only thing that kept down the vomit that started coming up in my throat.  If you are a child of professors, sabbatical is probably about the dirtiest word in your own personal vocabulary.  Every seven years, most professors get offered one - basically a yearlong vacation, so they can recharge and try to write and publish a book.

Professors love sabbaticals. Their kids hate them.

Because would you really want to uproot and leave all your friends, make all new friends at a whole new school and just be getting to think, "Okay, this isn't so bad," only to have to uproot yourself again a year later and go back where you came from?

No. Not if you're sane, anyway.

Ellie's parents, both medieval scholars, are on sabbatical and she has to spend her junior year in Annapolis, Maryland, far from her Minnesota home. Maybe it's not where Ellie wants to be, but if you have to start at a new school, Avalon High isn't all that bad. It is typical enough: there's Lance, the jock; Jennifer, the cheerleader; and Will, senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy. Ellie met Will while running in the park and she finds her life intertwined with a familiar story of ancient origins, the legend King Arthur. Are some of her friends reincarnations of the Arthurian tale? There are just too many coincidences to ignore, like being named after the Lady of Shalott, and the fact that Will's complicated family life mirrors the drama of King Arthur's court. Ellie is sure that Will is the central figure of this modern day version of Camelot . . . you see, Will prefers to use his middle name. His first name is Arthur. Elaine is determined to save him from his distressing fate and possible destruction. In short, Ellie has no intention of letting the distant past determine the future of her and her friends.

This synopsis was written by a San José Public Library librarian.

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Read On! - Other recommended titles by Meg Cabot.
(Select any title to request it from the library's catalog)

• Pants on Fire
• Party Princess
• Prom Nights from Hell
• Queen of Babble in the Big City
• When Lightning Strikes

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