Plain Jane and the Mermaid is a 2024 fantasy graphic novel by Vera Brosgol. It won the 2025 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids.
Plot After the sudden death of her parents, Jane must find a husband or lose her home. She becomes engaged to the vain fisherman Peter, but must venture into a dangerous underwater world with the help of a selkie when he is kidnapped by a mermaid.
Reception The book received largely positive reception, including starred reviews from the Horn Book, the School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.
Kirkus Reviews described the book as an "explicit response to society’s valuing of beauty and contempt for its absence, especially when it comes to girls and women."
Samantha Puc of The Beat stated that the novel was complex, concluding that the book was a "brilliant fairytale that dismantles several toxic tropes, but leans into others."
+ Awards and honors for Plain Jane and the MermaidYearAward/HonorResultRef.2025Eisner Award for Best Publication for KidsWonAmerican Library Association's Great Graphic Novels for TeensTop TenRise: A Feminist Book ProjectTop Ten2024Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table's Best Graphic Novels for ChildrenTop Ten
References