LS 5623 The Plain Janes

Castellucci, Cecil and Jim Rugg. The Plain Janes. Minx: New York, 2007.

ISBN: 1-4012-115-1

When we first meet Jane, she is big-city girl with long light-colored hair. Then a bomb goes off in a trash can she just passed by on her way to school. She comes to, confused, and rescues a young man from the rubble. She visits the unconscious young man in the hospital and later takes his art notebook to fill up when her family moves to the suburb of Kent Waters. She also has a crisis as to who she really is: she cuts off all of her hair and dyes it black, perhaps reflecting her new outlook on life. Once she and her parents are moved to Kent Waters, she starts high school at Buzz Aldrin High. There she rejects the in-crowd and searches for a “tribe,” finding them in group of very different girls all with a variation of “Jane” as their name. They start a guerilla art group, P.L.A.I.N. for “People Loving Art In Neighborhoods” where they put bubbles in public fountains or put knitted scarves around fire hydrants among other activities. Our Jane even finds the beginnings of love in Damon, a boy who expresses an interest in P.L.A.I.N. Soon the police label them terrorist and the neighborhood is divided about the group. When they decide to one final act on New Year’s Eve, Damon is inadvertently caught. What will the Janes do now?

This rather simple and plainly (perhaps regarding the title and the art group?) illustrated in black and white graphic novel is a treasure. The School Library Journal in September 2007 calls The Plain Janes “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 if, but fans of soul-searching, realistic young adult fiction should know about it as well.” Castellucci really takes a good look at what friendship and togetherness mean and teens will appreciate a protagonist that doesn’t automatically confirm to the norms and even dares to stretch outside of it. These Janes are anything but plain! Readers may also want to check out the companion book, Janes in Love.