Avalon High by Meg Cabot Review

"To newcomer Ellie, Avalon High seems like a typical American high school, complete with jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and even the obligatory senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy. But it doesn't take Ellie long to suspect that something weird is going on beneath the glossy surface of this tranquil hall of learning. As she pieces together the meaning of this unfolding drama, she begins to recognize some haunting Arthurian echoes, causing her to worry that she has become just a pawn in mythic history. A powerful novel by the author of The Princess Diaries."

I have always been a huge fan of Meg Cabot. From The Princess Diaries to Awaken Trilogy to now Avalon High. Avalon High is another favorite written by Meg Cabot. 

Avalon High is a cleverly written Arthurian retelling of the King Arthur legends. I was surprised to find out that Avalon High isn't a popular book of Meg Cabot. Clearly, Avalon High is one of those hidden gem (books) of the Young Adult book world.

Avalon High has a fun and twisty plot, cleverly designed and perfectly paced. With the plot in mind, Avalon High just got twistier. 

The ending was surprising. Truly I was in for a twist! I am not familiar with the King Arthur legend or the Lily Maid legend, so I was really into the shocking ending. Wow! That threw me off. I feel like the story of Avalon High can be continued and it is a story worth having a sequel.

Characters:

Ellie or Elaine: She's cleverer than most of the character. Although on the last scene of the book, I wonder if she acted on impulse or by her past. (Maybe both.) Elaine is named after the Lily Maid. She hates the Lily Maid legend and stories. She doesn't like anything related to the King Arthur legends.

Will: QB. Mr. four-point-oh. Homecoming King. The love interest of Ellie. And reincarnation of King Arthur. Will is constantly shadowed by his brother, his girlfriend (not Ellie), and his father. He is at crossroads, divided by choice. 

Jennifer: Cheerleader. Beautiful. Will's girlfriend. The reincarnation of Guinevere the Queen and wife of King Arthur. She is tormented by the fact that she cheated on Will with Lance. Her choices will affect Will's mentality (meaning making him more vulnerable to attack) unless...

Lance: The guard. The jock. The reincarnation of Lancelot the knight. He will always be there to protect King Arthur, in football and against Will's brother.

Rating: Four out of Five.

Sass & Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler Review

"For Daphne, the glass is always half full, a situation is better managed with a dab of lip gloss, and the boy of her dreams—the one she's read about in all of her novels—is waiting for her just around the corner.
For Gabby, nothing ever works out positively; wearing any form of makeup is a waste of study time, and boys will only leave you heartbroken. Her best friend, Mule, is the only one who has been there for her every step of the way. 
But when the richest boy in town befriends Gabby, and Daphne starts to hang out more and more with her best and only friend, Mule, Gabby is forced to confront the emotional barriers she has put up to stop the hurting. And for once, her sassiness may fall prey to her definition of stupidity."

WOW! What a great read!

Sass and Serendipity will make you want to read the original book, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. (I'm so curious about Sense and Sensibility.)

Sass and Serendipity is a hilarious and crazy book. Sass and Serendipity will attract the attentions of younger readers, usually around twelve to fifteen. It's cute, but not realistic or believable. Despite that, I love Sass and Serendipity.

The plot... Written and created brilliantly by Jennifer Ziegler. Every twist and turn was so incredible that this book is almost on my recommended list. 

The writing... AMAZING! Beautiful. This is an author who can really piece sentences together. Descriptions of the girls were so deep and realistic. 

The sister relationship: Gabby and Daphne are sisters. They are not so close. One favors her father. The other favors their mother. One daughter-parent relationship will be shattered and reformed. Another one will heal again. 

Sass and Serendipity is not exactly a "Surprise! Haha! You didn't see before I hit your!" Everything was obvious, but how Jennifer Ziegler wrote the 'how' they go there was amazing. It was clever and ingenious. 

The sisters:

Gabby: The clever one. She is intelligent yet cold towards the people around her. She once wasn't like that until an horrible accident took her beloved away.

Daphne: The ignorant one. She doesn't really know anything. She is confused and lost in the world. All she had was her father and her fairy tales to guide her. The character growth of Daphne was outrageous in a good way. 

Rating: Four out of Five.