Summary: Jane is forced to move from Metro city after an explosion almost kills her and others around her. Her parents want her to be safe and so they move to a small town called Kent Waters. Jane wants to change her entire image since she’s got a different outlook on life. She cuts off all of blonde hair and dyes it black. She doesn’t want to sit with the popular kids anymore. She decided to befriend 3 girls who look like misfits. Their names are Jane, Jayne, and Polly Jane. The girls do not care for Jane in the beginning but she devises a plan to get their attention. She comes up with this idea of organizing an art movement called P.L.A.I.N which stands for people loving art in neighborhoods. They would run around the city and create art projects from everyday objects each time leaving a note. Some were describing acts of kindness and others were simply art like wrapping trees in paper or putting bows on mail boxes. The police started calling it vandalism and wanted to catch the culprits. One night the Jane’s are almost caught but a boy from school named Damon but instead he warns them. Jane develops a crush on Damon but is too afraid to pursue anything. After Jane finds out that the John Doe that was in a coma after the explosion in Metro city was released she gets Damon to drive her there to get information on John Doe, he pen pal since the terrible day. Damon takes her but John Doe isn’t there anymore, he has been sent back to Poland. Jane is upset and they drive home but Damon and her make out briefly in the car. The last art project was planned to take place on New Year’s but it fails. Damon ends up taking the blame and Jane feels bad but is also happy that she has close friends and family to support her.
Citation: Castellucci, C. & Rugg, J. (2007). The plain Janes. New York, NY: DC Comics.
Impressions: I think that this story was very interesting and entertaining. I think that it will attract the misfit students who are looking to do things outside the box. It’s also nice to see strong female characters. I like the idea of this graphic novel. I know that the main character was going through some issues and was just trying to find a way to cope. It sends a great message because she transfers her energy into helping others. She creates this movement within the dull town that actually brings them all together. She rejects anything normal or boring, making her own rules. On the other hand though she is still a child and scared for her being. The almost fatal explosion really did mess with her mind as well as her always worried mother. The illustrations were in black and white with bold boxes outlining each scene. It’s a classic graphic novel and keeps readers engaged.
Reviews:
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 7–10—Young adult author Castellucci makes her graphic-novel debut with this quirky comic. Jane's parents relocate to the suburbs when she's caught in a bomb attack in Metro City. Bored and lonely in her new town and school, the teen is thrilled when she meets three other girls named Jane, all of them as out of place as she is. They form a secret club, the Plain Janes, and decide to liven up the town with art. Some people like their work, but most are frightened, and the local police call the Plain Janes' work "art attacks." Castellucci gives each girl a distinct personality, and spirited, compassionate Main Jane is especially captivating. Rugg's drawings aren't in superhero or manga style, but resemble the more spare, clean style of alternative comics creators such as Dan Clowes and Craig Thompson. A thoughtful look at the pressures to conform and the importance of self-expression, this is also a highly accessible read. Regular comics readers will enjoy it, but fans of soul-searching, realistic young adult fiction should know about it as well.
Goldstein,L. The Plain Janes. Brooklyn Public Library, NY: Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Plain-Janes-Minx-Graphic-Novels/dp/1401211151.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* For the first book in a new series aimed at teenage girls, DC comics recruited novelist Castellucci (Boy Proof, 2004, and The Queen of Cool, 2005) to write this story about outsiders who come together, calling up themes from the author's popular YA novels. Relocated to suburbia after a brush with disaster in the big city (and fueled by an urge not to be terrified of the world as a result), Jane rallies a small group of outcasts into a team of "art terrorists," shaking the town from its conservative complacency by putting bubbles in the city fountain and wrapping objects on the street as Christmas packages. Their activities end up rallying the local teenagers to their cause and working the adults into a dither. The book has its share of stereotypes--the science geek, the psychotically overprotective mother, the irrepressible gay teen--but this is thought-provoking stuff. The art, inspired by Dan Clowes' work, is absolutely engaging. Packaged like manga this is a fresh, exciting use of the graphic-novel format.
Jesse Karp, J. (March 15, 2007). The plain Janes. Book List. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Plain-Janes-Cecil-Castellucci/pid=1911749.
Suggestions: I think this book could be a good book for a book club. It would also do well with a book trailer because of all the action and mystery of it.
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