Books at the Box Office: Avalon High

Well, after three months of praise, it’s time for me to talk about one of my beloved books being turned into an AWFUL movie.  Avalon High by Meg Cabot was my JAM in middle school. I still look back on it fondly and keep a paperback copy on my shelves. It made me interested in retellings and Arthurian legend, and I was excited when Disney announced they were making it a DCOM…but then I was betrayed, and I screamed and…ugh. But wait. Let’s look at the book:

From Amazon:

Avalon High, I was starting to think, might not be so bad after all.

Maybe it’s not where Ellie wants to be, but if you have to start at a new school, Avalon High is typical enough: There’s Lance, the jock. Jennifer, the cheerleader. And Will, senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy.

But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be . . . not even, as Ellie is about to discover, herself. As a bizarre drama begins to unfold, Ellie has to wonder, what part does she play in all this? Do the coincidences she’s piecing together really mean;as in King Arthur’s court;that tragedy is fast approaching for her new friends?

Ellie doesn’t know if she can do anything to stop the coming trouble. But somehow, she knows she has to try.

It’s a good book,alright? Like I loved it, and I think it has a lot to offer–plus, it’s free on Kindle Unlimited if you’re scared of that commitment. Then came the movie…oh god.

The trailer:

Not only was the movie crappy quality, it completely changed the book. The point of the book is that every modern character has an Arthurian counterpart–and they completely switch a MAJOR one in the movie, all in a thinly-veiled attempt at being more “feminist” that actually undermines that feminist qualities of the book and makes the whole story make NO SENSE. Ugh, I cannot stop complaining about this movie adaptation. Seriously.

Looking back, the movie had a kind of great cast too: Britt Robertson (The Space Between Us/I Still Believe) as Allie (aka Ellie) and Gregg Sulkin (aka dating Colton Underwood’s girlfriend’s sister also Wizards of Waverly Place) as Will. But alas….they couldn’t say Disney’s absolute ruining of the plot.

If you take anything away from this rant, it is that you should read the book and pretend the movie never existed.