graphic novel - The Plain Janes

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci
After Jane is knocked to the ground by an explosion in Metro City, her parents drag her to the safety of the suburbs. At her new high school, Jane resists making friends. She doesn’t want to talk about what happened. The only person who can understand is another young man who was hurt in the explosion – but John Doe is lying unconscious in a Metro City Hospital. Jane mails letters to him, and reads his notebook, and feels comforted. She’s inspired by his drawings in his notebook to make art in her new town. When she sees an ugly new strip mall being built, Jane convinces three other misfit girls, all named Jane, to help her create art in public places. But will art be enough to save Jane, or will this only make everything worse?

Sometimes I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover, but I was amazed at how wrong I was in this case. I was expecting a fun flirty teen story and instead found a terrorist attack on the very first page. Don’t be fooled by the cute girl legs on the front of this graphic novel – these girls are each complicated individuals and this book is guaranteed to make you think. Although these four girls are in a secret club called P.L.A.I.N., they are anything but plain Janes!

I read the whole thing twice, but graphic novels are rarely paginated! probably about 50 pages.