The Once and Future Geek (The Camelot Code #1) by Mari Mancusi, 352 pages. Disney Hyperion, 2018. $17.
Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some danger)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Sophie and Stu love playing online games together, but they are drawing apart as Stu joins the soccer team. But then an encounter with a mysterious code sucks Stu through a portal to Camelot. Turns out SirMelvin01 was really Merlin all this time and he needs Stu’s and Sophie’s help. Arthur dropped Excalibur’s scabbard down the portal well and it is somewhere in Stu’s time and place. Then Arthur himself also gets sucked through. Life in Stu’s town seems way better than pre-Excalibur life for Arthur – maybe he’ll just stay and become a football star instead. Its all hands on deck to get everyone and everything back to the right time before Morgana can unleash her evil revenge and before history changes past all fixing.
The time-travel aspect is not quite as complicated as it might seem. A solid fantasy book for upper elementary readers. I do wonder how much they know about King Arthur and Camelot, but either way the characters are engaging, the adventure is dangerous, and the resolution leaves room for a sequel – hopefully with different secondary characters.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
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