I mean I know the ladies can look alike (especially when there is no one specific image that either one is clarified to be) but they are pretty separate people. So why did all these brilliant hard-core Arthurian scholars (I mean the Order of the Bear, not Ellie's parents) completely disregard the Lady of the Lake? It is one beauty of a plot hole for Meg Cabot to not even try to explain away.
As for the rest of it, maybe it's because High School was a hellish experience for me, but god did I find everything so shallow. Jen is once again the most annoying person around. Can her character never catch a break? Of all the adaptations of Gwen there is one that I think I could stand to have a conversation with. This is not that Gwen. Jen in this book reminds me of all the popular cheerleader types (as she is meant to) who made my life hell for six years. I know she's meant to be disliked (maybe not detested) but something about her just makes me angry.
Lance is a moron. So many levels of dumb right there. I can't actually form sentences that describe how boring and predictable he is as a character.
Will is just every bit of perfection that could be fit into a character (particularly a representation of King Arthur). He has his faults but even they aren't really faults. He thinks too much and doesn't want to be a soldier. Wow...what downsides.
Ellie is the only bearable part of this to me. Of course she was so much more bearable in 2005 when these mystical teen romance novels weren't quite so over done. She's a typical love sick teenage girl through a lot of the book and badass through the rest. Now it's kind of overplayed but at the time (especially to twelve year old me) it was pretty chill. She's a smart, awkward, athletic, outsider, who still gets the guy (and a badass lineage). To awkward middle school girls everywhere she is a dream of a better future. What's not to love about that?
And the movie? Do I even want to start on that?
How does this: Turn into this?
Just how?
And now I'm done. Sorry this is so long.
I agree that lance is a moron and a predictable character. I feel like after reading so many stories with lance involved. We always know what his next move will be.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Ellie's "role" as the Lady of Shalott never made any sense. If that is who she was supposed to be, she would've been fawning over Lance, not instantly in love with Will.
ReplyDeleteEric, I completely agree. Throughout the entire book I kept wondering, "Why does everyone think she's the Lady of Shalott? She doesn't even like Lance." Honestly. reading this now makes me want to throw it across the room.
ReplyDeleteThat's the only part that made you want to throw the book across the room? Pages 1-283 made me want to throw it across the room. A part of me will always love it (that's childhood for you) but adult me just wants to re-write the whole thing so I don't hate everyone in it.
DeleteTo answer your last point Katie, I have no idea how they could take this book and make it into an anime, then get bought by Disney and have the "King Arthur" character....a girl. I understand the concept of making women strong leads...but don't do it to a legend such as King Arthur. Thank god, we didn't have to watch it for class.
ReplyDeleteThe longer I think about the book the more I start to like it. Not in a serious sense, but that the roles should be played by comedians, and be turned into a comedy. It couldn't be any worse than Grown Ups 2.
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