Graphic Novel of Choice - The Plain Janes

I have just finished reading "The Plain Janes" by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg. Entirely black and white, this novel follows the basic layout of most comic books. The graphics boxes, arranged to follow the rule of thirds, are slightly larger than those generally seen in comic books however. Three to six boxes fill a page on average and text bubbles are used for dialogue. Throughout the book, the boxes are usually arranged horizontally on one page and then vertically on the complimenting page. This allows for organization of the story, while still keeping it visually interesting and varied. It also helps to emphasize the importance of particular events and draw the eye away from events that may be slightly less important to the overall comprehension of the story. 

For this novel, the graphic aspect was a huge selling point of the story. Honestly, had the story been presented as a traditional novel, I probably wouldn't have stuck it out. It's a pretty basic plot line of a young girl triumphing over social norms and discovering herself in the process. AKA the plotline of virtually every other book written specifically for teenaged girls. The drawing style is fairly basic, using block-y shapes and not a TON of really specific details. A lot of detail isn't really necessary though because the point is still made effectively. The novel is printed in black and white, I would assume for cost purposes, considering the book is marketed towards teenaged girls who generally aren't huge graphic novel readers. Its also produced by an indepentent publishing company without unlimited resources. I didn't find this to be a deterant to the story though. It was a fairly basic story complimented by fairly basic drawings and design. Text placement was very straigh forward and clearly mapped out, which made the story easy to read.