Shalott tells the story of Callie, her twin sister El, their friend Meg, and two boys from their school – Stephen and Lev – who accidentally go back in time to Camelot, through Callie and El’s father’s virtual reality program. Callie – an artistic girl who seeks her father’s recognition for her abilities – wants to save Camelot by making Lancelot fall in love with the Lady of Shalott instead of Queen Guinevere, preventing a chain of events which would lead to the destruction of Camelot – then El and Meg interfere, and an accident sends them back through time, where they are caught up in the court of King Arthur and the magic of Morgan Le Fay.
This novel is a YA medieval fantasy, with elements of romance and adventure, and though that isn’t a genre I would usually read, I greatly enjoyed this novel. Undeniably, the author has researched the setting and myth of Camelot, and the detail within Shalott makes for a believable novel, even in a fantasy setting. The characters all had depth and I felt for their dilemma – would they ever be able to return home to Australia and the present day? (Or, in the end, would they even want to?)
Shalott is the first novel in a series of four, following the adventures of the five teenagers and their adventures in Camelot. This is a novel definitely worth reading for fans of fantasy and medieval novels, but one which I think a lot of teenagers would enjoy. An enchanting novel.
