Vera Brosgol’s past graphic novels include Anya’s Ghost and the enjoyable Be Prepared. Her new novel explores some of the same territory, but in a spookier, darker way and for a slightly older teen age group.
The beginning of this story is heartbreaking. Jane has just been orphaned, but in flashbacks we see that her parents were distant, cold, and critical. Because she’s a woman, she can’t inherit her parents’ estate, and her snide cousin will chuck her out.. It’s a large gloomy dark house on a hill, but it’s all she knows. In the first few pages, the hits keep coming—the townspeople whisper behind her back, the mean girls bully her, even her family cat doesn’t like her. Her only value to anyone is to be married, and her parents weren’t even able to arrange that before they died. At least her friend Peter treats her with decency, although he doesn’t have such great parents either. Peter can’t seem to do anything right for his bullying fisherman father who physically and verbally bullies him. Jane asks him if he’ll marry her— she’ll inherit the estate and Peter will never need to touch a fish again. But before that happens, Peter is kidnapped by a mermaid in the swamp!
No one believes her except the old woman who runs the Cronery in the village. As crones usually do, her face belies that she knows more than she’s letting on. (p.71: “I didn’t say I cared; I said I could help you—and YOU said you’d pay me anything I wanted.”) She gives Jane a magic elixir to breathe underwater, a magic stone to allow her to walk along the bottom of the ocean, and a shawl to keep her warm.
So, Jane sets off on her quest to find Peter. In the meantime, life is looking up for Peter! With three beautiful mermaids who beg for his attention and see to his every need, how could it not? But what is the price both Jane and Peter will have to pay?
Vera Brosgol’s story reads like a mash-up of gothic romance and Celtic Sea folk tales. There’s a bit of the Tarzan tale thrown in for good measure. Just like in a fairy tale, Jane uses her considerable smarts to bargain and trick her way into finding the Mermaid Village. The pacing, framing, and story flow show Brosgol’s mastery of graphic novel storytelling. The expressions of the characters are particularly well done. Readers will be easily able to follow along as Peter and Jane have adventures and, ultimately, decide what type of people they want to be and what will make them happy.
There’s a lot of messaging about gender roles and physical appearances and discussions about feelings that make this title perfect for teens. What are the messages that our parents give us? How does that make us decide who we want to be? Characters are written so that they’re more than two-dimensional, with undertones and non-verbal language that teens will grasp. The art makes the title seem like it would go in the middle readers section, but I think the title fits better in YA because of the darkness of some of the story. (Like on p. 161: Jane says, “Look, I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the best I’m going to do. I’m too short, too fat, bad hair, thin eyelashes.” P. 204: Peter finds that after he marries the mermaid, he’ll be eaten. P. 232: Jane’s parents blame her for her brother’s apparent drowning.) The darkness is lit with the same kind of sardonic humor that her previous books have, though, so it’s solidly a 13 and up book.
There are no explicit adult themes or violence though, despite how the mermaids talk about how gross eating eyeballs is. There are no depictions of eating people, but there are many depictions of sharp mermaid teeth. It’s a solid addition to the YA section for teens who are trying to figure out who they want to be.
Plain Jane and the Mermaid
By Vera Brosgol
First Second, 2024
ISBN: 9781250314857
Publisher Age Rating: 10-14
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
