Book Summary:
Jane survived a horrific terrorist bombing only to have her
parents decide to move the family out of the city into a smaller town for
safety. Now Jane is the new girl in school, and she is determined to take this
chance to reinvent herself. She cuts and dyes her hair to create a new physical
image, but she also looks to make new friends with those who are different from
her usual crowd.
On her search for her new friends, she finds three other
girls, Jane, Jayne, and Polly Jane. Together they work to bring art and flair
to the neighborhood. Their group, acting as P.L.A.I.N – People Loving Art in
Neighborhoods, secretly create artistic expressions throughout their small
town. Officials are outraged at what they perceive to be acts of vandalism, and
measures are taken to stop the perpetrators.
Will the PLAIN Janes be able to
convince them of the value of their creations?
APA Reference of Book:
Castellucci, C. (2007). The
plain Janes. New York, NY: DC Comics.
Impressions:
I’m not usually a big fan of graphic novels as I would
rather get my stories through words rather than pictures, but the use of this
format for this book worked perfectly. The different acts the group commit
throughout the story are shown through images rather than descriptions, keeping
the writing to a minimum for explanations. This is one of the few graphic
novels that I have actually enjoyed reading and looking at the illustrations to
get the complete story. I usually feel slowed down by illustrations, but this
one worked for me as a reader.
I thought it was an interesting choice to use a terrorist
bombing as the instigator for the family’s move. There could have been so many
other reasons used, and this particular catalyst is becoming a real-life threat
to more and more people around the world. This brought the danger to light
without focusing on it overly much as a key part of the story.
Professional 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.
Karp, J. (2007, March 15).The plain Janes [Review of the
book The Plain Janes by Cecil
Castellucci]. Booklist, 103(14), 56.
Retrieved from http://www.esebco.com/books/show/51718/searches/51718
Library Uses:
This would be great for book talks focusing on terrorism and
how to bring light into an otherwise dark and scary situation. Jane is able to
move forward with her life and do great things, so this is a great example for
teens who may go through similar situations or who may be scared by possibilities
of danger.
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