Avalon High Manga Series

Book Three of this series by Meg Cabot, Hunter's Moon, has been nominated for a Cybils Award this year, so I've decided to read from the beginning to get the whole story. There is actually a novel which starts the series off but I'm skipping that for the time being and will decide if I want to read it after. I'm blogging after reading each book and saving then I'll post when I've finished all three books.

Avalon High: Coronation series by Meg Cabot. illustrated by Jinky Coronado. Ages 13+

#244. Vol. 1: The Merlin Prophecy - Chapter one starts with what feels like a basic run down on what must be the plot of the novel. We now meet up with Ellie who is dating Will, who happens to be the reincarnation of Prince Arthur or at least that is what Mr. Morton (otherwise known as Merlin) believes. All the other kids in Ellie's group seem to have counterparts from the Arthurian Legend as well and the Prophecy says that King Arthur will return to save the world if Will truly believes he is that reincarnation. A book that sounds a lot more promising than it actually was. A lot of backstory and flashbacks are given, which I'm presuming are from the novel and the book also deals with typical high school dilemmas. The Arthurian element could prove interesting but this volume concentrates mostly on the romance between Will and Ellie which, held little interest to me. The book is labeled a Romance/Fantasy on the back and so far I see much more romance than fantasy. I found the illustration to be very Disney-ish, as well. Ellie would make a perfect Disney princess and it's just not my style. Here's hoping book two gets better. 2/5

#245. Vol 2: Homecoming - Chapter One once again tells us everything that has happend up to this point. Then the soap opera lives of the high school teens continues, though Will is mad at Ellie for the majority of the book saving me having to suffer through too much romance. Will still does not truly believe he is the reincarnation of King Arthur and to make matters worse his brother returns from the institution, where he has been since the end of the novel. He apparently went mad and tried to kill Will and Ellie. But now he returns reformed and cured, supposedly, and while he talks good talk, the teens have a hard time believing he has really changed. At this point I'm into the story enough that I'm interested in what will happen in the third book. But overall, I'm still not too impressed with this mediocre story, though it is better than Volume 1. 2.5/5

#246. Vol. 3: Hunter's Moon - And thus ends a trilogy. Full of romance and rushing to beat the clock, the story of whether Will accepts his fate as the reincarnation as King Arthur comes to a conclusion. The story concentrates on the countdown as to whether Will save the world form ruin or not and the plot against them by Will's brother and his girlfriend Morgan with the climax happening at a high school football game. {Yawn} Again, like the other books in this series, the King Arthur plot holds the story together but basically we are following the soap opera lives of teens and their romances. I found it to be a quick piece of fluff that was entirely predictable. Again, the illustrations of the girls in their ballgowns remind me of Disney princesses and the artwork just doesn't appeal to me at all. However, Meg Cabot is a popular author and I'm sure her fans and regular audience will probably enjoy this much more than I who have never read the author's work before. This volume is the best of all three with it's final conclusion which ends the Coronation part of the title but obviously leaves plenty of room for sequels. 3/5

In conclusion, I have no plan to read the original novel or any subsequent graphic sequels, unless of course I find myself lucky enough to be in a similar situation as I am today for the reason I've read these in the first place. :-)