Plain Jane Tagalong and the Magic Diary (NOVEL)
Children/Young Adult; General Fiction (including literary and historical); (Market)
Born and raised in the small prairie town of Lanigan, Saskatchewan, Jane Smith had to be the most awkward girl around. She had reached an age when her parents were allowing her to experiment with make-up, and all the boys around her were becoming more attractive as each day passed. Especially Todd. He was her biggest secret crush. Unfortunately, Jane was too shy to do anything about it.
It did not help matters that all her friends now had boyfriends, but Jane still did not. It seemed to her that she was forever cursed to be single in this small prairie town where she was nothing more than an ugly duckling next to all the pretty and sociable girls.
When Jane was not following her friends around from the movie theatre to the hockey rink, learning the latest juicy gossip from them, and silently adoring her biggest crush, she was alone in her bedroom writing: letters to her Chinese penpal, diary entries, and the beginnings of a romance novel. She often dreamed about her first love and first kiss. Alas, this was a dream she feared would never come true, so she also wished for a new start and a whole new life for herself.
Little did Jane know that her creative hobbies were the very thing that would make these dreams come true. Little did she know she was capable of magic!
Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Prose: 7 out of 10
Character/Execution: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7.50 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: In Plain Jane Tagalong and the Magic Diary Claire creates an intriguing parallel between a young teenager's feelings of insecurity and an impending union strike that threatens to rock her small town.
Prose: Exposition can sometimes be heavy handed; Claire’s storytelling would only be strengthened by weaving more information into the dialogue.
Originality: By mirroring Jane’s internal apprehensions and the broader circumstances unfolding within her community, Claire creates a fresh take on coming-of-age stories.
Character/Execution: Middle grade readers will relate to Jane’s feeling’s of insecurity. Creating sharper delineations between the supporting characters would help readers likewise connect more deeply to them.
Date Submitted: April 08, 2024