The Plain Janes

Castellucci, Cecil. The Plain Janes. Ill. by Jim Rugg. New York: DC Comics, 2007.

After being injured in a bomb attack in her native Metro City, Jane and her parents move to suburbia where Jane’s parents feel safer about living. Jane becomes bored and avoids being friends with the “popular” crowd and instead actively seeks out the friendship of three social outcasts, also named Jane. At first, Jane is met with a frosty reception by the other Janes, but eventually wins them over with her idea to develop P.L.A.I.N. or People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. Together, the four girls commit “art attacks” in order to get people to stop and take notice. After a few of the attacks, the student body begins to rally around the idea, while the local authorities are anxious to stop the perpetrators. Jane also deals with her overbearing mother, continues to write to a John Doe (also hurt in the bombing) and manages a new love interest, all while trying to make a statement in the culturally conservative new town.

In Janes, author Castellucci makes an effort to let the reader know that an dramatic event has had a effect on its main character, forever changing her perspective. In doing so, she allows the reader to understand the foundation in which Main Jane stands on, giving the character the ability to keep the momentum from the initial change go on and grow throughout the graphic novel. By making this decision, Main Jane is fully realized character, with the reader understanding her motivation and history. This attention to character development is imperative for this age group, but the in-depth rendering only seems to be extended to the main character, Main Jane. Other characters within the book, specifically the other Janes, read as caricatures or stereotypes. While their characters are given specific qualities and well-defined traits, the definitions serve to pigeon-hole the characters. Jesse Karp comments on this in Booklist: “The book has its share of stereotypes – the science geek…the irrepressible gay teen.” Even so, having such detailed depictions of supporting characters only serve to highlight the attention that went into developing the main character.

Illustrations within the novel lend well to the stark, dark and foreboding nature of the work. The terrorist attack in which Jane was injured lingers over the whole novel; the black and white illustrations are a reminder of the bleak beginning of Jane’s transformation. By making the illustrations an accompanying element of the text, instead of the focus, allows the reader to engage with the text first, then view the pictures fully. The illustrations, devoid of any color, are afforded the ability to be severe, supporting the gravity of the text. Jane’s mother becomes overprotective and worried after the attack, checking in with Jane constantly. Jane says, “Mom doesn’t see the beauty in anything any longer. She only sees the danger. I want her to stop worrying and love the world again, because if she can, then I can.” Words that carry such weight should be supplemented by illustrations that also carry substance and significance, which this novel does effortlessly.

Book jacket found on: http://www.comicbookbin.com/theplainjanes001.html

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

It was Christmas Eve when her big sister went crazy and now Cookie (as she is referred to) is dealing with the fallout of her older siblings’ sickness. Cookie’s father and mother are fighting with more frequency and her sister’s empty bed is a constant reminder that her sister is no longer herself. She is hesitant to tell her friends about what has happened, because she is afraid of how they will react. When she does let them know they act concerned; then it is revealed that they are making fun of her and her sister, passing notes about what Cookie had told them in confidence. Cookie has a great dislike of visiting her sister in the asylum where she is staying and is confused by her sister inability to get better. Eventually, Cookie figures out there is a new normal in her life. She makes a new friend, finds a boyfriend and her home life with her parents begins to stabilize. While things will never be like they were, things can get better from what they were at the beginning.

In her first verse novel, Sones creates a world in which poetry comes to the forefront easily and logically. Using poetry in a linear format, she relates the story of a girl dealing with the mental breakdown of her sister (which is based on the author’s own experiences). The poems differ in length, format, rhythm, tone and sound. All of these elements help to increase the forward movement of the reader as they follow along with the story, giving them little pause to become bored or uninterested. What is most striking is the emotion conveyed throughout the work; the reader feels the complex emotions that Cookie deals with in the poems. From uncertainty about how her friend will treat her once they know the truth about her sister (“If I told them that my sister’s nuts/they might act sympathetic/but behind my back/would everyone laugh?”) to her fears about ending up like her sister (“If I stay/any longer/than an hour/I’ll see that my eyes/have turned into her eyes”), Cookie’s voice and emotions are the focus of the work. The reader gets the voice of the character through the poems, not just words and phrases. It does seem, however, that taken out of the context of the collection, the poems may be difficult to understand.

In a verse novel, the idea of organization is of utmost importance, as each poem leads to another conclusion or enlightment. The way that the poems are put together in the work is done is such a way that the reader can immediately engage and follow the story. Kirkus Reviews notes the power of the collected poems, stating, “[i]ndividually, the poems appear simple and unremarkable…[c]ollected, they take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale.” The topic of the novel is made clear through the tone and style of the poems and the language used supports the work. It truly feels as if a teen is relating their issues to the reader, not as if it is forced by the author for a work.

Book jacket found on: http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/cgi-bin/vlib.sh?enqtype=RLIST&rlist=45&doc=doctype.teen

Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, Shannon & Dean. Rapunzel’s Revenge. Ill by Nathan Hale. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.

In this graphic novel, the story of Rapunzel is retold and reinvented, with the classic elements of the story remaining intact. Rapunzel is a young girl living with her very strict mother behind a wall that separated her from the rest of the world. As she grows up, her curiosity of what lies behind the wall becomes greater. One day she decides that she will find out what is on the other side of the wall and when she does she is quite shocked. Her surroundings are green and lush, but the rest of the land governed by her mother is bleak and desolate. She finds slaves getting water and realizes she knows one of them. This female slave is, in fact, Rapunzel’s real mother. Rapunzel was taken from her because her husband had stolen some lettuce from the garden owned by the evil woman who Rapunzel knew as her mother. Upon learning this Rapunzel confronts her “mother”, who then traps her in a tree far beyond the reach of wooded floor. Years ago by and Rapunzel grows, as does her hair. Once it is long enough, she uses her long locks to free herself from her tree prison. After escaping, she runs into Jack (who we later in find out is Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk), who becomes her traveling companion. The duo traverses the land in hopes of stopping the evil mother and freeing the real one from captivity. Along the way, they meet the various inhabitants of their homeland, each with a different perspective. Finally, Rapunzel is victorious over the evil mother (but not before her hair is chopped off), is reunited with her long-lost mother and finds a love companion in Jack.

What makes this story more interesting than a regular written version is the fact that striking pictures are included. In fact, some of the panels in the novel are truly without words, meaning that the picture speaks for itself. Reading a story in this way, the graphic novel version, will also be more intriguing to some children that may be uninterested in reading a chapter book. It is an easy way to introduce a longer story to some readers that could be overwhelmed or intimidated by chapter books. Kirkus Reviews agrees with this assessment saying that the “art…provides a snazzy counterpoint to the text.” Tina Coleman in Booklist also comments about Nathan Hale’s art saying that it “matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape.” The use of pictures in telling the story also makes the reader feel like they are reading a more adult work, rather than just a picture book. This feeling can give the reader a sense of accomplishment.

Transforming a traditional story can be difficult, but the authors do a lovely job of incorporating the old elements of the story with new fantastical ones. They do not forget the essence of the story, but they make sure to give Rapunzel her own voice and identity. School Library Journal’s Cara von Wrangel Kinsey comments that “the dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original.” By making this effort, the reader is shown that Rapunzel is not a victim or passive, but rather an active participant in her destiny. Dialogue between the characters is humorous which lends to ease of readability. The authors and illustrators truly work together in order make the new Rapunzel and her journey come to life.


Book jacket found on: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2009/08/joint-review-rapunzels-revenge-by-shannon-hale.html