The Plain Janes

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, Illustrator

This graphic novel is a wonderful example that if something bad happens, and you are placed in a strange place that you've never seen before, good things can come out of it.

In The Plain Janes, Jane is moved from her long-time hometown after a bomb goes off, to her new high school, and is almost immediately placed in front of the popular girls, who try to suck her into their clique. But Jane, well, doesn't want to be popular, for the fear of getting attacked again. She joins a group that all share something, despite their differences. That thing they share are their names. Meet Jane, Jayne, and Polly-Jane. They are all different, and form a club called P.L.A.I.N, People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. They start to sneak around, making art displays for the community, or as the police like to call it, Vandalism.

Meanwhile, in MetroCity, Main-Jane's friend who entered a coma after the explosion, is receiving Main-Jane's Art letters. His nurse reads the letters to John Doe, the victim of the bomb because she believes that if John hears the words that Jane has written, he'll come out of the coma, so Jane can get her hope back.

Jane and the Janes continue to show their art, until something comes up that no one planned for, and they must figure out what to do.

This graphic Novel is a great read, and it is a book that can last forever, as you read it over and over again.