Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAIDS by Vera Brosgol
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Courtney Hague

How does a graphic novel hold up against the Newbery criteria? PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAIDS by Vera Brosgol definitely hits some of the high points in the Newbery criteria. I think it especially shines in its Delineation of Characters and its Development of Plot.
First, the characters in PLAIN JANE are well constructed. Jane appears at first glance to be a mild-mannered young orphan who lacks the looks or charm to get a husband to maintain her lifestyle after her parents’ untimely death without a male heir. But as the book progresses we see Jane through a different lens as we learn about the unfortunate accident that took her brother and the verbal abuse that she endured from her mother. We see Jane grow as a person as she learns that maybe she is still desirable and lovable even though society has told her differently. We also have Mr. Whiskers, the helpful seal who turns out to be a selkie, whose depth of character is shown as he slowly reveals his true self to Jane. Even each of the mermaids, our ostensible villains, with their various personality traits are given depth of character.
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The plot of this graphic novel also has depth that surprised me. The way that Vera Brosgol shows and tells us plot points early in the story that eventually come full circle is masterful plotting. From showing us the begrudgingly helpful woman in the city who turns out to be a long lost mermaid sister to showing us pictures of Jane’s lost brother foreshadowing his return, Brosgol manages to show us where this story is going without actually giving too much away even in the beginning. I loved how she slowly reveals the horrors that the mermaids have planned for Peter long before the mermaids actually tell Peter what is going to happen. This graphic novel reads like a fable about being true to yourself. And that theme, as well as the theme of loving yourself, runs smoothly through this graphic novel with Jane, Peter, and the mermaids themselves all needing to learn this one lesson in order to get the happily ever after at the end of the story.
PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID shines in terms of Newbery criteria in many ways but especially in terms of characters and plot. Will it hold up against the other books that have been published this year?
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock
About Emily Mroczek-Bayci
Emily Mroczek (Bayci) is a freelance children’s librarian in the Chicago suburbs. She served on the 2019 Newbery committee. You can reach her at emilyrmroczek@gmail.com.
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I book talked this one vigorously to my 7th graders this fall as a dark, vicious mermaid story and have had a lot of interest. It definitely meets the criteria of “The book displays respect for children’s understandings, abilities, and appreciations” as middle school tastes right now are tending toward 1) romance and 2) DARK. Beyond my appreciation for Jane’s character, I think the selkie character was depicted expertly, especially while he was a seal ~ the facial expressions were so vibrant and his personality shone through. While author’s notes may not get as much attention from youth readers or be a part of Newbery consideration (are they??), I do believe that the information in this one does add to the overall quality of the book – when I read it to my students they were rapt. In addition, the process pages at the back of the book are a rich resource for young artists to have as examples. I would love for this book to be one of our top 5.
I have been MIA on this blog for a bit because school really took over, but I’ve been reading the posts today! I will say this is the one book on the list that my 6th graders have passed around and really enjoyed. To me, I’m not sure it stands up as best book of the year but it does certainly meet the criteria for characters and setting! The art really drew me in. If my students were voting this would definitely be their choice so far, but I did only just get the rest of the list to put in my room last week so they haven’t had time to read through them all yet.
Courtney, I agree that Vera Brosgol did a successful job in foreshadowing and showing us where the story was going without giving much away in the beginning. (I actually really didn’t see Jane’s brother’s survival coming!) The plot was evenly paced and actually kept me on my toes the entire time! Some fantasy titles, whether graphic novels or prose, have a lull where readers sometimes ask “ok what are we even supposed to be doing here?” because the author either takes a while to get to the destination or kind of strays. But Vera Brosgol didn’t do that at all, I felt on track the entire time. The characters were also well fleshed-out and the art was simple, yet vivid at the same time. The theme was also clear, but it just….felt a bit too didactic? This one is kind of like THE FIRST STATE OF BEING for me. Checks all the boxes, but…. it’s just up against steep competition, and I’m not sure it makes the top 5 for me.
I love that we are living in a time where graphic novels are getting the love they deserve. This graphic novel really packs a punch with interesting and well drawn out characters and a fun plot that is full of action and surprises. I feel like I am coming from more of an old school place or have missed blog entries about how the art of a graphic novel or other work being considered plays into the book as a whole. I feel like at one time, many years ago, the illustrations were not part of the discussion, but in a graphic novel it is hard to separate that out. While there is certainly a lot of dialogue that keeps the plot moving, there are also many panels that do not have text but they are important as well. An example of this would be the ending of the book. If a reader wasn’t really paying attention to the details there, and details given in the book before he or she might not understand what happens at the end.
Some highlights in the book for me was when Peter was storming away from Jane and started to say “She’s lucky I’m not superfi…” right before he hears and then sees the beautiful mermaid. So clever. The relationship between Jane and Mr. Whiskers around pg. 140 was a lot of fun. I also loved the banter between Mr. Whiskers and Peter as they were trying to escape on pg. 288.
Brosgol really knocked it out of the park with this one – great plot, great characters, and the theme was well done. I didn’t find this as didactic as The First State of Being.
The more I read the comments and ponder the pros and cons of each book the less sure I am of my top 5. Great discussions and great competition.
Julie’s comment about the closing panels of PLAIN JANE is great example of how challenging it can be to view graphic novels through a Newbery lens. The sequence of events that happen in those pages can be seen as an author’s creation: the author decides what Jane will do once she returns, and her actions provide an inspiring resolution of the books’ themes and events. And we can look at that as “text” in its broadest interpretation, indicating meaning and content within a story, rather than actual words. But it’s the illustrator (the same person in this case) who conveys those events.
One exercise I try sometimes is to imagine how things would work if the illustrations were just average. Showing the same stuff, but without much artistry. If it seems like the overall impact would be close to the same, then maybe it really is the author side that matters most. In that case, we might say that the strong resolution comes mainly from the text.
On the other hand, if we look at the real illustrations and decide that yes, we need these particular images, or ones equally skillful, in order for the resolution to work this well…then maybe we can’t ascribe enough of the book’s success to “text” (even in its broadest definition). Jane’s facial expressions, Jamie’s fishy/human characteristics, the setting of the village and the seaside…does the impact of all those come through mostly the illustrator’s artistry? Is it what she drew (which could be seen as text) or how well she drew (which would be illustrations)? With the best books, of course, it’s usually some of both, which brings me back to my favorite word when thinking about graphic novels and the Newbery: challenging…
Thought this was definitely one of the best graphic novels of the year. I like the book talking suggestions above–I may point this out to our many middle schoolers looking for something after Coraline as a thematically similar read alike.
Eli (kid reader) wanted to share these ideas:
I think it’s pretty good but I also think for it to be the best the mermaids need to start off weaker and develop more irregular powers. I think it’d need to be a longer book to do that. I think the characters are well developed but they should put more backstory in it because it would be cool if on a backstory page on the picture if the mermaid was seen as a small detail.
Plain Jane and the Mermaid was so much fun to read the second time around! I loved the plot and the art makes this book shine! It’s cool to see a graphic novel on the Mock Newbery List. I loved how Jane confronts Loreley about what she really sees in the mirror – and to see Jane stand up for herself. I liked Mr. Whiskers – and I loved that the brother was alive – and how he was kind of a wild child! The plot had twists and turns that I didn’t see coming – which makes for a compelling read. While this felt like a modern folktale, the writing and panels didn’t make this graphic novel feel didactic. This is high contender on my Newbery Top 5 List.
Vera Brosgol created such a really impressive visual world. The plot and setting were excellent, but really driven by incredible imagery and amazing color choices. The back matter, and coloring process notes were great, because the color elements really shifted the story for my (the brown sepia of Janes past, the black and grey panels of the Lorley mermaid.) Overall the colorist and illustrator created something really special. While I thought the text was great, was it enough to drive the story? There were multiple pages where the story and plot were driven completely by images.
Looking at the Newbery rubrics, I think that definition 1. “Contribution to American literature” indicates the text of a book. Does the writing work without the pictures? Do they match? Complement each other? There is some incredible storytelling in this format that can be considered “superior or having lasting artistic merit,” but I think the Newbery rubrics call for a text heavy GN to reach the podium (MEXIKID, 2024.)
PLAN JANE AND THE MERMAID is great for that elementary school early reader grade 3+. It is up there in my top GN format for 2024 but I felt that LUNAR NEW YEAR LOVE STORY (Yang/ Pham) and UPROOTED had text that was so full, the images were a complement.
There is this space from picture books to middle grade and YA visual stories that is now being filled and so popular. I think it is time for the ALA to consider adding a GN/image format medal to the annual Youth Media Awards to recognize its literary merit with its own set of rubrics.
I agree with you that graphic novels should probably have a category / medal all their own because the format is unique and in I feel like we are comparing apples to oranges. This happens a bit with nonfiction vs fiction for Newbery consideration but even more so with graphic novels.
Quade- I also loved UPROOTED an also CONTINENTAL DRIFTER. They seemed much more rich to me than this one.
I absolutely adored this book! I’ve recommended it to my graphic novel lovers and haters alike. I have several staff who are very against reading graphic novels, but have managed to convince a few to try this one to positive results. I would love to see another graphic novel ascend to the heights of the Newbery medal like New Kid did!
Here’s part of my GR review of this (which I loved!): This was delightful (and occasionally terrifying). Poor Jane, who’s been taught her only value is in the beauty she lacks, finds that she’s got a backbone and resolve worth ten (or more) gorgeous mermaids. The main characters (other than the vain mermaid) have depth and layers, and none of them are perfect (but much more perfect than the vain mermaid). The story moves at a good pace, and the illustrations are colorful and beautifully done, while retaining their edge. Lots of great lessons here, and hope for girls to look more than skin-deep for their value.
This is going to be a sure fire winner with my graphic novel fans. I am VERY excited to start recommending it.
Firstly, as Vera herself says in her Author’s Note, it combines so many of the fantasy loves of the ocean: mermaids, selkies, etc. Plain Jane and the Mermaid is a perfect summertime read. However, this book is a discussion on beauty: true beauty, how we define beauty, and how striving for beauty can ultimately be destructive.
While people would automatically assume that books about body image equals to the interest of girls, I beg to differ. Especially since Peter is a joint protagonist with Jane and Peter himself has his own opinions on body image. It’s important because how we see ourselves, and how we perceive others’ ways of seeing us, is not subjective to one gender. It truly is gender neutral….which is something I greatly enjoyed and makes this book worth considering,