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Summary
Summary
Written by Cecil Castellucci Art and cover by Jim Rugg When a transfer student named Jane is forced to move from the cool confines of Metro City to Suburbia, she thinks her life is over. But there in the lunch room at the reject table she finds her tribe: three other girls named Jane. Main Jane encourages them to form a secret art gang and paint the town P.L.A.I.N. - People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. But can art attacks really save the hell that is high school? Advance-solicited; in stores May 16 - 176 pg, 5.25" x 8", B & W, $9.99 US Edited by Shelly Bond PRODUCT UPDATE (080107): Plain Janes was erroneously listed on the July 18 Order Status Report as a stripped cover return. In fact, this book is eligible for full copy returns only, beginning August 15. Retailers will be notified of the title's status on the Order Status Reports that accompany their August 15 invoicing. Diamond apologizes for any confusion created by this error. Retailers with additional questions should contact their Diamond Customer Service Representative.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 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.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
DC Comics' imprint of graphic novels for girls, Minx, starts off with a bang with this elegant story of art in the suburbs. As Jane walks past a sidewalk cafe in Metro City, a terrorist's bomb goes off. Her parents, overtaken by fear, move the family to the small town of Kent Waters. The popular girls at Buzz Aldrin High court her, but Jane wants to be an outsider. She finds three other girls named Jane, all of them unpopular in different ways--one is "Brain Jane," one an aspiring actress and one an athlete--and together the four of them make "art attacks" on the city, leaving the name P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) wherever they go. They build pyramids on the site of a planned strip mall ("The pyramids lasted for thousands of years. Do you think this strip mall will?") and populate the police department's lawn with gnomes. But to a community consumed with elevated threat levels, the attacks seem more ominous than generous, and P.L.A.I.N. becomes an outlaw group. All the while, Jane continues to write letters to John Doe, the unidentified man whose life she saved during the bombing--and who sits in a hospital, comatose, his sketchbook serving as her muse. Castellucci (Boy Proof) and Rugg (co-creator of Street Angel) nimbly make their larger point--that fear is an indulgence we must give ourselves permission to overcome--without ever preaching, and without neglecting the dynamics of a page-turning coming-of-age story. Ages 12-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(High School) In Castellucci's (Boy Proof, rev. 5/05) first graphic novel, Jane's life is turned upside-down when she's injured in an explosion outside a Metro City cafe -- an implied terrorist attack. Her parents waste no time in moving to suburbia, where arty Jane finds her ""tribe"" in a quiet group of rejects: Jane (a theater nut), Jayne (a science nerd), and Polly Jane (a wannabe jock). Searching for a way to draw them out, Jane forms P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) and engages their help in planning ""art attacks."" The group's whimsical efforts range from adding bubble solution to the town fountain to organizing the entire school to simultaneously break into song -- and meet with proscription and persecution from the authorities. The core of this timely novel, though, is Jane's struggle to see the beauty of the world rather than its dangers. Pulling everything together is Jane's poignant correspondence with the comatose John Doe, a young man she rescued in the aftermath of the bomb and whose sketchbook (bearing the mantra ""Art Saves"") she borrowed for inspiration. The layered dialogue and emotion-laden visual close-ups suggest character depth, and the clean-lined graphic format is uniquely suited to the art attacks, Rugg's warm gray-scale scenes conveying not just detail and scope but the drama, impact, and joy of unfettered expression. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist 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 Copyright 2007 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In Re-Gifters, fiery Korean teen Dixie woos hapkido dojang-mate Adam with an expensive gift, but Adam's heartthrob is glam-girl Megan. Meanwhile, Dixie's fighting spirit gets the attention of school bad boy, loan shark, and bookmaker Tomas, a.k.a. Dillinger. Affections change as the gift changes hands, and when Adam tries to get Dixie to throw the hapkido championship, Dixie is ready to respond to Tomas's real affection and support despite his reputation. This delightful martial arts romantic comedy shows fine plotting, simpatico characters, and fluid, manga-influenced art. The Plain Janes tells a more complex and darker tale with plainer, Dan Clowes-style art. Caught in a terrorist attack, high schooler Jane changes hair, mindset, and-compelled by her frightened parents-city and school. Spurning the in-crowd, she recruits other outcast Janes to stage guerilla-style art attacks, tagged P.L.A.I.N.: People Loving Art in Neighborhoods. The hyperparanoid authorities are not amused, but P.L.A.I.N. wins over most of the other kids. The premise is intriguing, relevant, and disturbing, even as the resolution leaves more questions. When is an art attack sabotage, graffiti, or vandalism? How can people reinvent their lives despite fear? DC's new Minx line promises eclectic, real-world stories that honor girls' intelligence and assertiveness, and these two titles deliver. Recommended for teens up.-M.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
