A review by ghiblies
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
3.0
Avalon High was one of my favourite childhood books so when I saw the audiobook available from my library I thought, why not? I was in a nostalgic mood and this seemed like a good choice. I'm sorry to report that I swiftly switched over to my physical copy, but it was better than having to listen to Will sound like Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon series. Listen, I love Pokémon, I love Ash but he's a 10 year-old boy. The crush that 11 year-old me had on Will was dying a swift and agonising death the longer I persisted with the audiobook. The rest of the narration was fine so if you have no idea what Ash Ketchum's voice sounds like then maybe you'll fare better than I did. I will say, Mr Morton's "British" accent was questionable, but as a Brit, I can't claim to do a good American accent so I think that's fair game.
Reading the physical book was better but I found the story just lacked that sparkly, special feeling that led me to reread the book countless times when I was younger. This, I imagine, can be attributed to age; I'm in my twenties now so of course I'd find the romance between two teenagers far less riveting than when I was 11. I also found it hard to believe when Ellie proclaimed she was in love with Will SUPER early on when she barely knew him, and I could have seriously done without the constant commentary of her being a too-tall, tomboyish nerd who was soooo unsuited to Will. These are things that my younger self would have eaten up but they don't do much for me now.
The Arthurian aspect I still think is quite cool. Yes the plot is a little on the nose, fairly predictable, but that's the nature of the genre so fair enough. It adds an element of adventure and fantasy which I remember really loving when I was 11, and it was a fun way to solidify the story of King Arthur which my dad had been teaching me through Very Serious books and documentaries.
All that to say, I'm no longer the target audience for this book so I'm not surprised that I don't love it the way I used to. It still has a special place in my heart and I'd still recommend it to young readers, but perhaps childhood nostalgia should be left alone so that it isn't ruined by Ash Ketchum soundalikes!
11 year-old me's rating: 5 stars, undoubtedly
My rating now: 3 stars (a cute, nostalgic read, but not for me now)
Edit: I was just reviewing my reading notes on this book and I have one more thing to mention. Will makes the comment "Unless you're Native American, I don't think you can go around telling other people to go back to their country," and I'm actually really glad to have reread this in my twenties because now I can understand the true gravity behind this comment.
Reading the physical book was better but I found the story just lacked that sparkly, special feeling that led me to reread the book countless times when I was younger. This, I imagine, can be attributed to age; I'm in my twenties now so of course I'd find the romance between two teenagers far less riveting than when I was 11. I also found it hard to believe when Ellie proclaimed she was in love with Will SUPER early on when she barely knew him, and I could have seriously done without the constant commentary of her being a too-tall, tomboyish nerd who was soooo unsuited to Will. These are things that my younger self would have eaten up but they don't do much for me now.
The Arthurian aspect I still think is quite cool. Yes the plot is a little on the nose, fairly predictable, but that's the nature of the genre so fair enough. It adds an element of adventure and fantasy which I remember really loving when I was 11, and it was a fun way to solidify the story of King Arthur which my dad had been teaching me through Very Serious books and documentaries.
All that to say, I'm no longer the target audience for this book so I'm not surprised that I don't love it the way I used to. It still has a special place in my heart and I'd still recommend it to young readers, but perhaps childhood nostalgia should be left alone so that it isn't ruined by Ash Ketchum soundalikes!
11 year-old me's rating: 5 stars, undoubtedly
My rating now: 3 stars (a cute, nostalgic read, but not for me now)
Edit: I was just reviewing my reading notes on this book and I have one more thing to mention. Will makes the comment "Unless you're Native American, I don't think you can go around telling other people to go back to their country," and I'm actually really glad to have reread this in my twenties because now I can understand the true gravity behind this comment.