Sophie and Stu have spent countless hours playing a video game about King Arthur, but things are changing as Stu joins the soccer team and Sophie fears being left behind. While playing the game, Sophie is suddenly swept into a time before the sword was pulled from the stone and Arthur was simply a boy. She’s asked to help find a missing scabbard, but Arthur takes matters into his own hands and ends up in the 21st century. When Arthur learns of his tragic future and the betrayal of his best friend, he refuses to return and puts history as they know it in danger. With events changing and time running out to save her best friend, Sophie has to convince Arthur to become King while keeping him safe from the arrival of Morgana, who intends to finally take her revenge.
The Camelot Code explores what happens when the legendary hero King Arthur discovers the course of his future before ever pulling the sword from the stone. Arthur is just a kid who doesn’t want to die in battle or be betrayed by the love of his life, so he’s torn between choosing himself and history. This is a great weight to put on him, and he has to go on this journey for himself to make the right decision. Sophie feels like she’s being left behind because Stu seems to be wanting to do more sports things, while Stu just wants attention from his dad, so he’s playing soccer. Though this gives the two best friends tension, they have to put these issues aside to help Arthur. The story is full of action, adventure, and undercover capers, putting a fresh spin on a classic tale. Stu and Sophie put together a plan for Stu to be Arthur, which results in a humorous series of mishaps while Arthur runs around the present, charming everyone he meets and facing his first real fight, which happens to be against a young Morgana. Mari Mancusi weaves in elements from the classic legend but does so from the perspective of King Arthur as a child, time travel, and having the fate of history left in the hands of two best friends.
Reviewed By: Elizabeth Konkel