Avalon High by Meg Cabot

Elaine is not thrilled to be starting her junior year at a new high school just because her professor parents are on a sabbatical. 

That's before she meets Will.  Will is quarterback of the football team, senior class president, and friend to nearly everybody.  When Will becomes her friend, Elaine decides this move might not be so bad.

But something strange is going on at Avalon High.  Will's best friend and girlfriend are hooking up in secret.  His brother hates him.  And the English teacher thinks Will is the reincarnation of King Arthur.

Will Elaine be able to save Will?  And what's her part in this story?



This is a retelling of the King Arthur story set in a modern-day high school.  It was a fun book to read with a little bit of everything for everyone.  There's fantasy, romance, suspense, and mystery.

Fierce Females -- They Don't Need a Hero, They Are the Hero

I love stories with a great female lead.  It's wonderful to read of the girl saving the day instead of waiting meekly for a guy to do it.  So here are some of my favorite fierce females in teen stories . . .

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
High school senior and yearbook photographer Maggie thought she would rather die than go to prom, but when a classmate summons a revenge-seeking demon, she has no choice but to buy herself a dress and prepare to face jocks, cheerleaders, and Evil Incarnate.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.


More Fierce Females --
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Dangerous by Shannon Hale
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
Fallout by Gwenda Bond
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
I Become Shadow by Joe Shine
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin
Seeker by Arwen Dayton
Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The Wicked and the Just by Jillian Coats


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 8, 2016.

A New Twist on an Old Tale

I love retellings of famous stories.  I love seeing how an author can take a familiar story line and make it completely different with just a few changes.  Here are some of my favorite retellings for teens . . . .

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
As seventeen-year-old Jill Jekel and classmate Tristen Hyde work together on a chemistry project, hoping to win a scholarship for her and a cure for his curse, they also uncover family secrets and a chemistry of their own.
(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.
(Le Morte de Arthur)

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Cantor
When the father of high school sophomore, Lucy Norton, remarries, Lucy finds herself tormented by two bratty stepsisters and a wicked stepmother.
(Cinderella)

Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
A young woman, Psyche, searches for her lost love and questions her true self in a modern retelling of Greek myths.
(Greek Myth of Psyche)


More Retellings for Teens --
Black Spring by Alison Croggon (Wuthering Heights)
Cloaked by Alex Flinn (The Princess and the Frog)
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (The Wizard of Oz)
Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney (MacBeth)
The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle (Beauty and the Beast)
The House of Dark Maids by Clare B. Dunkle (Wuthering Heights)
Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman (The Great Gatsby)
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd (The Island of Dr. Moreau)
Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron (Frankenstein)
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (The Masque of the Red Death)
A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Pharoah's Daughter by Julius Lester (Moses)
Quiver by Stephanie Spinner (Myth of Atalanta)
Railsea by China Mieville (Moby Dick)
Roses by G.R. Mannering (Beauty and the Beast)
Shylock's Daughter by Miriam Pressler (The Merchant of Venice)
Something Rotten by Alan Gratz (Hamlet)
Splintered by A.G. Howard (Alice in Wonderland)
Street Love by Walter Dean Myers (Romeo and Juliet)
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel (Frankenstein)
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Peter Pan)


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 3, 2015.

In Search of King Arthur

The legend of King Arthur is one of the most well-known tales.  Stories of Camelot, King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table are always popular.  Here are some great takes on the King Arthur tale for teens. . . .

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

I Am Mordred: A Tale from Camelot by  Nancy Springer
When Mordred learns the identity of his father, he struggles with feelings of hatred, but also fights the fate which determines that he kill the good and gracious king.

The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris
In medieval England, fourteen-year-old Terence finds his tranquil existence suddenly changed when he becomes the squire of the young Gawain of Orkney and accompanies him on a long quest, proving Gawain's worth as a knight and revealing an important secret about his own true identity.

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Sandell
In fifth-century Britain, Elaine, who lives with her family in the military encampments of Arthur's army, describes her perceptions of war and the people around her as she becomes involved in the struggle against the Saxons.

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
When her village is attacked and burned, Gwyna seeks protection from the bard Myrddin, who uses Gwyna in his plan to transform young Arthur into the heroic King Arthur.