The Camelot Betrayal

Gr 9 Up–In this strong second installment in the “Camelot Rising” series, Guinevere continues to struggle to find her place as she feels “part of Camelot and apart from it.” Much of this stems from muddled feelings toward Arthur’s nephew, Mordred, who used her in the previous book, and how Arthur keeps her at a careful romantic distance. As she tries to balance being Queen and protecting Camelot while keeping her magic a secret, a new danger appears in the form of Guinevach, the real Guinevere’s sister. Guinevach appears to know and recognize Guinevere, which should be impossible. Guinevere searches for Guinevach’s ulterior motive with her closest friends; maid Brangien and female knight Sir Lancelot. In addition to building on the previous book and adding more original content to Arthurian legend, the story of Tristan and Isolde is also reimagined. It comes with a twist and a rescue mission spearheaded by Guinevere who wants to prove herself as brave as Arthur and worthy of her title. The matter of lies is a strong theme throughout the story, lies Guinevere tells to protect herself and others, as well as those perpetuated by Merlin. Merlin sees all time and has set things in motion for his own unknown purpose, using Guinevere and changing her memories to where she no longer knows who she is or was. Tristan has brown skin and most other characters are white.