Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol (review)

Reviewed by: Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol April Spisak Brosgol, Vera Plain Jane and the Mermaid; written and illus. by Vera Brosgol. First Second, 2024 [368p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250314864 $22.99 Paper ed. ISBN 9781250314857 $14.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-7 It is hard for Jane to be confident when her entire life has been filled with people who incessantly tell her she's plain, forgettable, unattractive, and has little value as a girl, especially a single one. Jane has ingenuity and determination, however, and when her parents die and their house is going to a male cousin, Jane decides to quickly find a husband so she can keep her home. The beautiful Peter, whom Jane has admired from afar for years, seems an ideal choice, until a mermaid lures him away. Jane is as bold as she is clever, and she heads underwater to bring Peter back. Thus begins the true artistic and narrative heart of this graphic novel, as parallel adventures of Jane, joined by an unexpected selkie, and of Peter, contending with [End Page 276] three devious (and dangerous) mermaid sisters, play out in a lush, deep-sea setting. The ocean is a worthy playground for color with wild, often clashing shades of marine life sharing space with shadowy blues and blacks of watery depths. While more earthy, muted tones mark the landlocked nineteenth-century setting. Jane's open, expressive face easily carries the story through wordless sections, and her sharp honesty is immediately endearing. In a vulnerable and memorable author's note, Brosgol describes her use of various elements of water-bound folklore and her own experiences treading water in a proverbial ocean of impossible and demoralizing beauty standards.