Plain Jane and the Mermaid
by Vera Brosgol (Author)
Jane is incredibly plain. Everyone says so: her parents, the villagers, and her horrible cousin who kicks her out of her own house. Determined to get some semblance of independence, Jane prepares to propose to the princely Peter, who might just say yes to get away from his father.
It's a good plan! Or it would've been, if he wasn't kidnapped by a mermaid. With her last shot at happiness lost in the deep blue sea, Jane must venture to the world underwater to rescue her maybe-fiancé. But the depths of the ocean hold beautiful mysteries and dangerous creatures. What good can a plain Jane do?
From Anya's Ghost and Be Prepared author Vera Brosgol comes an instant classic that flips every fairy-tale you know, and shows one girl's crusade for the only thing that matters--her own independence.
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Publishers Weekly
Brosgol (Be Prepared) upends "The Little Mermaid" and sets it against a Dickensian backdrop in this tongue-in-cheek fantasy graphic novel. Most people-including her own parents-only give Jane Brown the time of day when making cutting remarks about her freckles, pale skin, and weight. When her parents are killed in a runaway fish cart accident, orphaned Jane’s only hope for stability is to secure her dowry through marriage. But her proposal to blond-haired, blue-eyed fisherman Peter is disrupted when a mermaid kidnaps him. Aided by a cranky selkie she rescues from captivity, a mysterious elderly woman, and a lobster pod, Jane ventures to the ocean floor, where she narrowly escapes death from poisoning, a water demon, and a mermaid’s murderous rage. In her efforts to save Peter, Jane uncovers untapped confidence, realizing that she is more than her looks and that she can decide her own future, especially when she finds her long-lost brother Jamie living among the selkies and restores him to the family’s estate with wildly satisfying results. This rollicking tale of an insecure girl finding her strength and breaking from tradition is another triumph for Brosgol.
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
A pride-filled treatise and a charming riff on fairy tales.
Review quotes
"Few writers can communicate the teenage mind as astutely or with such wit as Vera. This book captures themes of beauty, love, and finding oneself, and exposes the lies we tell ourselves and the truths we won't admit. Nothing plain about it." —LeUyen Pham
"This rollicking tale of an insecure girl finding her strength and breaking from tradition is another triumph for Brosgol." —Publishers Weekly
JUV008080 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Fantasy
