Pain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgal

Eisner Award Winner
A New York Times Best Children’s Books of the Year
An NPR Best Book of the Year

Pull up a chair by the window, listen to the waves, and dive into a fairy tale unlike any you’ve read before.

From Vera Brosgol, the acclaimed author of Anya’s Ghost and Be Prepared, comes an instant-classic graphic novel that takes every fairy tale you thought you knew and turns it gloriously upside down.

Jane is plain. Everyone says so, her parents, the villagers, and her truly horrible cousin who boots her right out of her own home. So Jane hatches a plan: propose to the princely Peter and finally win a little independence. A solid plan, really.

Or it would have been. If Peter hadn’t been kidnapped by a mermaid.

Now Jane must plunge into the ocean depths to rescue her maybe-fiancé, a world full of shimmering beauty and genuinely dangerous creatures. But what good is a plain Jane down there in the dark and salty deep?

Quite a lot, it turns out.

With lush, expressive artwork and a sharp, funny heart, this is the kind of book you finish in one cozy sitting and then immediately hand to a friend. Perfect for young readers and grown-up graphic novel lovers alike.

Already a fan of Vera’s work? Be sure to look for her novel Return to Sender, too.

Come browse, come linger. We think this one’s a keeper.

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