The Once and Future Geek

Gr 4–7—Middle schooler Sophie and her best friend Stu love the multiplayer video game Camelot's Honor. Along with their online friend Melvin, they have reached almost all of the game's highest levels. Alternating with the modern-day narrative is a parallel storyline featuring a young Arthur, Merlin, and Princess Guinevere. When Guinevere accidentally sends an important artifact to the future, the two stories converge, with Sophie and Stu ending up in the past while Arthur and Guinevere explore the 21st century. Mancusi maintains the structure of the time lines, tying them together as skills learned in life and the game prove valuable to the characters. Although the initial premise is humorous, the novel moves into emotional depth as Stu navigates a new family structure following his father's remarriage, Sophie reconciles her feelings about her mother's disappearance, and Arthur realizes his life may not have a "fairy tale" ending. All of the characters discover unexpected capabilities within themselves as they attempt to defeat the sorceress Morgana and to keep history from imploding. Dashes of romance, bullying, social anxiety, family stresses, commentary on middle school social structure, and bits of history and Arthurian lore all combine to create a thought-provoking adventure story.