Review: Nice combination of Arthurian legend and modern fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 10, 2013
Lonely Elena's looking forward to seeing her Godmother Isabel when she turns 16. But her family has some surprises in store as Arthurian myths become Pagan reality in the modern world. The effects of uncontrolled magic in a normal American school in a normal American town are a little dramatic. But Elena has unexpected friends who can help her out, and soon she's travelling to the secret Island of Avalon off the coast of England, where mystery and history combine.Being English, of course, I wanted to know more about where Avalon might be, why people would take planes rather than trains to travel around England, and precisely which Arthurian legends would qualify as real. But bigger questions give this story its depth: the relationships between good and evil, power and responsibility, and unity and control for a start. It's a pleasing novella where a studious American high-school girl enters a magical boarding school, meets prophesy and destiny, majors in pizza and alchemy, and learns where she belongs. The story's light with just a hint of darkness in the wings, nicely tuned to middle school readers, and a fun way to start a new series.Disclosure: I volunteered to read a free eARC and give my honest opinion.