Avalon High

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Avalon High is a 2005 novel by Meg Cabot.

The plot follows Elaine 'Ellie' Harrison, the daughter of two professors who specialize in medieval and Arthurian studies. The family moves to Annapolis, Maryland for a year long sabbatical and Ellie begins High School at Avalon High. There she meets some of the students like Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader and Will Wagner, the Big Man on Campus. Ellie begins to bond with Will and gets a crush on him despite him dating Jennifer. Slowly Ellie begins to notice major similarities between the situations at Avalon High to King Arthur legend. Will is Arthur, Jennifer is Guinevere, Lance is Lancelot and Ellie herself is believed to be Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, a woman who committed suicide after falling in love with Lancelot. She is not the only one to know this as it is revealed her teacher Mr. Morton (aka Merlin) and Will's evil step-brother Marco (who is Mordred) are also clued into the legend. Now Ellie must try to help save Will from Marco and the powers of darkness but how can she if she is just the Lady of Shalott?

A sequel came out as 3 part Manga titled Avalon High: Coronation.

Despite being based on the Legend of King Arthur, the series isn't altogether faithful to its source. Many things had to be Bowdlerized or taken out to fit the story in the American high school setting.

Disney Channel has put out a Made for TV Movie version.

Not to be confused with Josh Phillips' 1999 web comic Avalon.

Tropes used in Avalon High include:
  • Abusive Parents: Will's father, Colonel Wagner, is not winning any prizes for being the parent of the year. He is cutting towards Marco, who has a good reason to hate the guy, and is strict towards Will, refusing to see him as a person. While Marco resents that Will is the favored child, Will has to point out he doesn't want to be the apple of his father's eye. You would expect the reaction to his son nearly being shot in the rain would be relief that he's unhurt, but instead he kicks Will out for politely saying that he doesn't want to go to military school.
  • All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Jennifer
  • Alpha Bitch: Subverted with Jennifer who comes off as this the first half of the novel. Once we get to know her she turns out to be more of a Spoiled Sweet along with a Dumb Blonde.
  • BFS: The sword Ellie's dad is studying, especially later in the story
  • Big Man on Campus: Will
  • Bittersweet Ending: How Avalon High ends. While Elle manages to stop Marco from murdering Will, thanks to a well-placed sword and The Reveal that she is the Lady of the Lake, Will is still dealing with the emotional ramifications that his stepmother is actually his mother and Marco tried to kill him. Marco has to go to juvie, though Mr. Morton hopes that the forces of evil will leave him alone. Will attempts at an honest conversation with Colonel Wagner and refusing to go to military school leads to the man kicking him out, so he moves in with Elle's family for the timebeing.
  • Cassandra Truth: Elle keeps telling Mr. Morton and Marco with increasing frustration that she is not a reincarnation of Elaine, the Lady of Shalott. She doesn't have a crush on Lance, and she's not a woman that would drown herself over a guy. They find out that she's right; Elaine is the Lady of the Lake, the one who empowers Arthur's sword.
  • The Chosen One
  • Cool Sword: Double Subversion; The sword being studied by Ellie's father is just a boring old sword. And it's not Excalibur, but it still ends up being pretty cool.
  • Did Not Do the Research: Avalon High is full of this. The protagonist, Elaine, is the daughter of medieval scholars who emphasize Arthurian legend, and is actually named after The Lady of Shalott. This is confusing, as Cabot seems very unfamiliar with Arthurian legend, starting with Mordred being only Arthur's half-brother, when he is almost always his son by his sister (who is usually either Morgan le Fay or Morgause), or at least his half-nephew.
  • Expy: The whole point. Will is Arthur, Ellie is The Lady of the Lake, Marco is Mordred, Mr. Morton is Merlin, Lance is Lancelot, Jennifer is Guinevere, etc.
  • Five-Man Band:
  • High School
  • High School AU
  • Jerk Jock: Lance, but he turns out to be not too bad
  • King Arthur: Avalon High and its manga sequels are a rehashing of the King Arthur legend in modern times, placing all the reincarnations of the famous mythological figures in high school.
  • Love Triangle: Between Jennifer, Will, and Lance.
  • Meaningful Name: Everyone. Ellie is a Red Herring, since she's not Elaine of Shalott as everyone thought.
  • Pair the Spares: Mr. Morton attempts this with Ellie and Lance. It ends up happening with Will/Ellie and Lance/Jennifer
  • Red Herring: Ellie being named Elaine.
  • Reincarnation: Again, the whole point
    • Not exactly. In the book, according to Mr. Morton, the legend repeats every generation with the students corresponding to the characters of the tales. In the film the characters are Reincarnations according to an old prophecy.
  • Shipper on Deck: Mr. Morton for his Ship Mates, Will/Jennifer and Lance/Ellie.
  • Spoiled Sweet: Jennifer is not the smartest girl, but she is rather nice.
  • Tears of Remorse: Elle happens to overhear Jennifer crying in the bathroom after the school finds out she was cheating on Will. She's guilty about how Will is so calm about it, and how the whole school is viewing her as disloyal.
  • Those Two Guys: Ellie's friends Stacy and Liz
  • The Uriah Gambit: Will's father apparently pulled this with Marco's father so he could begin Comforting the Widow.

The movie provides examples of:

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