The PLAIN Janes - Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

The P.L.A.I.N. Janes
Cecil Castellucci (Author)
Jim Rugg (Illustrator)
Minx a abandoned division of
DC Comics
ISBN 9781401211158

To start off, I do not read a lot of graphic novels. I haven't collected comics in over 20 years. The few graphic novels I have read in the last 5 years, I have either been asked to review, or liked the author's other works and gave them a try. With this one I was very hesitant; it was about a group of girls in high school, and yet I loved it. I enjoyed it so much I read it twice back to back and cannot wait to read the sequel Janes in Love.

The story is set shortly after 9/11 and features a girl, Jane, who was near one of the blasts. Her whole life is turned upside down. He parents move her to a small town. Her mother is not getting better from the shock of 9/11; she is getting more frightened, and protective and a little paranoid. Jane was popular and in the 'in crowd' at her old school in the city. Here she decided to make conscious changes; she joins the outcast, a group of Plain Janes, who are:
Jane - DramaticJane
Jayne - BrainJayne
Polly Jane - SportyJane
Jane - MainJaneTogether they form a group called P.L.A.I.N. - People Loving Arts in neighborhoods. They perform some random acts to make people think and appreciate the world around them and the beauty we can see every day but not notice.

The story is great. It has a message every high school student and maybe every adult could learn from. It is incredibly well written and Jim Rugg did an amazing job illustrating the story. I have a feeling this will become one of those books I read annually because there will be more I can get from it each time I read it.

Books by Cecil Castellucci:
Boy Proof (2005)
The Queen of Cool (2006)
Beige (2007)
The P.L.A.I.N. Janes (2007)
Janes in Love (2008)
Geektastic (Editor & Contributor 2009)
Rose Sees Red (2010)
Grandma's Gloves (2010)
First Day On Earth (2011)
Odd Duck (2013)
Tin Star (2014)
Stone in the Sky (2015)
The Plain Janes 3 in 1 (2020)

...

Music By Cecil Castellucci
Twist Her - Nerdy Girl (1996)
Whoever - Cecil Seaskull (1998)

A Visual Bibliography for Cecil Castellucci
Author profile interview with Cecil Castellucci
MINX Graphic Novels:

The P.L.A.I.N. Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (May 2 2007)
Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Marc Hempel, and Sonny Liew (Jun 6 2007)
Clubbing by Andi Watson and Josh Howard (July 11 2007)
Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm (Aug 1 2007)
Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike Carey, Louise Carey, and Aaron Alexovich(Sep 12 2007)
Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich (Nov 7 2007)
Burnout by Rebecca Donner (Jun 24 2008)
Water Baby by Ross Campbell(July 8 2008)
The New York Four by Ryan Kelly (July 22 2008)
Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci (Sep 23 2008)
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki (Oct 14 2008)
Token by Alisa Sheckley (Nov 4 2008)

All Nighter by David Hahn (Unreleased)
Janes Go Summer by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (Unreleased)