the plain janes (graphic novels challenge #2)

[erin]

the outcast crowd - the new girl, the smart girl, the jock girl, and the wannabe actress. in this graphic novel by cecil castellucci and jim rugg, all of these high school "rejects" are named jane. when main jane, who the story follows, lived in the city, a bomb went off where she was hanging out. though jane was uninjured physically, she cut off and dyed her hair and visited a john doe who was injured in the bombing. she looks through his sketchbook, the only thing he had on him, and she turns to art to help her get through her shock and confusion. her parents, much to jane's dismay, moved to the suburbs.

jane begins school at buzz alrdin high where she refuses invites to hang out with the "cool" kids and instead tries to make friends with the janes at the rejects table. though they aren't interested in her at first, the four janes end up as the P.L.A.I.N janes - people loving art in neighborhoods. this secret club uses art to save themselves from the dissapointments and pain of high school.

i read this novel in just a few hours and really enjoyed it. i like the idea of using art to make life interesting and i love the friendship the girls form - it's something everyone going through high school needs.