 | In the lunch room at the reject table transfer student Jane finds her tribe: three other girls named Jane. Main Jane encourages them to form a secret art gang and paint the town P.L.A.I.N.--People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. But can art attacks really save the hell that is high school? |
Monday, January 19, 2009
Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci, Jim Rugg, Jared K. Fletcher
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• Explosion Last Spring Metro City
ReplyDelete• Things on Jane’s mind during explosion: missing math test, how her mother was going to be mad at her and how she’d dropped her purse
• Dropping her purse meant her favorite lipstick, Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Red—discontinued, lost forever
• Amongst madness, right in the pavement was a dandelion—symbol of survival
• First thing post-explosion—cut off hair and dyed it black in parents’ salon while they were asleep and couldn’t say no.
• Moved to Kent Waters
• High School: Buzz Aldrin High School
• Jane starts school six weeks late
• Jane thinks Cindy’s name was Zoe or Kim
• Four Janes: Jane, Jane, Jayne, and Polly Jane
• Screen Names: MainJane, BrainJayne, SportyJane, and TheaterJane
• TheatreJane/Jane is an actress/comedienne
• Jane’s city friends describe her place as arty
• Her friends suggest she emancipate herself; her haircut could constitute child abuse
• Her parents are hairdressers
• Jane thinks Odysseus was a coward to hide in a wooden horse
• Jane goes to a Dadaist exhibit mention in sketchbook
• Sketchbook cover says Art Saves
• TheatreJane’s audition: wears a fake nose, plays Cyrano de Bergerac to “show her full range”; ends up on stage crew
• School play is Grease
• SportyJane/Polly Jane: alternate on the soccer team; benchwarmer of every team
• Main Jane mascot the moon with the cheerleaders
• TheatreJane makeup: incognito- an ancient makeup technique to blend in with the night
• Jayne: The most beautiful thing about pyramids the design mimics the natural geometry of a mountain
• The trick with the pyramid is to tilt blocks slightly inward
• They built pyramids on a lot when a strip wall was to be built with sign “Think big, Think P.L.A.I.N.”
• Students ask for potato pyramids
• P.L.A.I.N.- People Loving Art In Neighborhoods
• Polly Jane’s favorite teams: Modo from Sweden, Manchester United, Yomiuri Giants
• Death attracts TheatreJane on a deep level
• Brain Jayne/Jayne: Science Fair season: last year project “Can People Echolocate?”, won state; this year: “Does the universe sing?”
• Requirements for Science Club: 4.0 Average and All AP Science Classes
• Dishwashing liquid in town fountain; 10 liters; “Bubbles are P.L.A.I.N.”
• Jane: “Hopeless is lying in a bed with a ringing in your ear and trying to forget the screaming”
• Things that make Jane jump: loud noises, sounds she can’t identify, helicopters and sirens
• Outside animal shelter, they leave stuffed animals “Adopt a Pet”
• Gift wrap things “PLAIN packages are best”
• Replica of Solar System: Jayne’s idea; school=earth, statue of Buzz Aldrin=moon
• Jane’s Mom calls the Police for the Solar System incident
• In the message bottle tree are instructions like dance, give someone a hug, play sports
• When caught sneaking out, TheaterJane tells her parents she was compelled to reenact the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet
• Things MainJane knows about Daman: wears vintage jeans, takes Home Economics, doesn’t stay after school, says thank to lunch lady, early for class, wears sweaters well
• Damon lives in Martinsville
• James, President, Secretary, and Treasurer of Queer Club
• Officer Sanchez calls projects art attacks
• Consequences: juvenile record that may not be expunged, possible detention at a juvenile facility, definite community service
• The Janes put gnomes in front of the police station
• Jane’s mother claims the art attacks caused Jane’s post-traumatic stress
• Jane’s last name is Beckles
• Ms. Miko is the Guidance Counselor
• Jeanne French for Jane
• Famous Janes mentioned:
o BrainJayne/Jayne: Austen, Goodall, Jane’s Addiction, Jane Magazine, Weidin, Campion, Lady Jane, Calamity Jane, Fonda
o TheatreJane: Jeanne D’Arc, Eyre
o SportyJane: Fun with Dick and Jane, Me, Tarzan, You, Jane
• Puts hat and scarf on extinguisher “City Works, PLAIN but beautiful”
• Couldn’t have coffee with Damon because was afraid there was a bomb in the trash can
• Students are to sing at twelve noon
• James starts the singing
• Punishment for singing: curfew
• Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”
• SportyJane’s crush- Isaac—captain of basketball team
• BrainJayne sets IP to untraceable; hacker trick taught by Melvin; sends mass email for Buzz Aldrin High teens at 9:00 PM to dance
• Pin say: “I’m so glad, I’m PLAIN.
• Jane faints after return to sender message
• Damon takes Jane to Metro City
• John Doe’s Room 123; real name Minoslav Raminski, alive, Poland
• Punishment for going to Metro City: No afterschool activities, friends over, going out, phone calls, TV, or computer
• Kent Waters Cancels Clock Tower Ball Drop—because of declared state of emergency & don’t want mass assemblies.
• Ball dropped filled with glitter and paint
• Jayne’s advice: “Eat Chocolate. It releases the same chemicals as love in the brain
• Make sock monkeys to get people to donate to Fire Dept
• Cindy’s full name Cynthia Sanchez
• Bell Tower says “A Life without PLAIN is Boring/Happy New Year’s”
• Damon drops the ball
• Officer Sanchez doesn’t believe Jane’s confession because the attacks were too labor-intensive to be a girl