InThe Face on the Milk Carton, Caroline B. Cooney tells Janie Johnson’s story from the limited omniscient point of view. This straightforward approach allows Cooney to focus on Janie, to give the reader access to Janie’s thoughts, and to provide glimpses of the flashbacks that occur in Janie’s mind as she remembers her life before the age of three.

The protagonist is a high school sophomore who, thinking her life is dull, seeks to add “personality” by changing the spelling of her name from “Jane” to “Janie.” Eating lunch in the school cafeteria with her friends, she looks at a milk carton and sees a photograph of herself when she was three years old. The name beneath the picture, however, is Jennie Spring, and the information states that she was reported missing by a family in New Jersey.

Although she loves the Johnsons, Janie begins to gather clues about her early life. Her mother acts strangely when Janie needs her birth certificate to get a driver’s license and passport. There is also the absence of any baby pictures of Janie. Finally, in an attic trunk, she finds the polka-dot dress shown in the missing person photograph.

When Janie confronts the Johnsons, they tell her that rather than being their daughter, she is their granddaughter. Their daughter Hannah, who was brainwashed by a cult, came home one day with her own daughter, young Janie. When Hannah left to rejoin the cult, she left Janie behind. Fearing that the cult would come to take Janie away, the Johnsons changed their name and, with the help of an attorney, moved, leaving no forwarding address.

While wanting to believe the Johnsons, Janie cannot forget the information from the milk carton. Skipping school, she persuades her boyfriend Reeve to drive her to the New Jersey town where the Spring family lives. There she watches as the Spring children arrive home and are greeted by their mother. Janie and the Springs have the same red hair. Putting together the information from her flashbacks, Janie realizes that she was once part of this family.

As she learns more about the past, she realizes that the Johnsons did not kidnap her from the Springs; Hannah did. Torn between her love for the Johnsons and the pain that she knows the Spring family has suffered, Janie writes detailed notes about what she has found and sinks into despair. She even blames herself for the kidnapping. Her refusal to tell the Johnsons drives a wedge between her and Reeve, and they break up.

Events come to a head when Janie puts her notes in an envelope that she has addressed to the Springs. When she finds the clip in her notebook broken and the envelope missing, Janie realizes that someone may find the letter and mail it. She turns to Reeve, who contacts his sister Lizzie. Although it is Lizzie who, along with Reeve and Janie, tells the Johnsons the entire story, it is Janie who places the phone call to the Springs that ends the novel.

The main role of the setting in this novel is to highlight the comfortable and secure upper-middle-class life that Janie Johnson enjoys. Her suburban Connecticut neighborhood exudes a sense of tradition that accommodates growth.

The Johnson's neighborhood featured a mix of architectural styles. Initially, it was a street lined with substantial older homes that had front porches, spacious attics, and trees that shed a million leaves every fall. Over time, each side lot was developed. Modern ranches and charming little Cape Cods were nestled between the old brown-shingled houses. Janie's own home was an older house that had been dramatically modernized with large glass windows replacing dark, hidden rooms.

A typical New England autumn serves as the seasonal backdrop, complete with piles of leaves in the street gutters waiting to be collected. Activities like a Saturday tailgate picnic before a football game and a drive into the countryside to admire the fall foliage contrast with the chaotic colors in Janie's turbulent mind, indicated in italic print.

Inside, her mind whirled. It was like having a color wheel for a brain. When it slowed down, things were distinct, like primary colors: I have a mother and father . . . I have a childhood . . . I was not kidnapped . . . kidnapping means bad people . . . I don't know any bad people . . . therefore I am making this up.

But when her mind sped up, the colors blended dizzily. That is me on there. I, Janie Johnson; I was kidnapped.

The author focuses most of her efforts on developing Janie's psychological landscape, using a third-person limited omniscient point of view to explore the country of the mind.

One of the most effective writing techniques Cooney uses in this mystery-filled, suspenseful narrative is the use of flashbacks into Janie's memories. The incident with the milk carton triggers a vivid recollection of the dress the little girl is wearing. "She remembered that dress . . . how the collar itched . . . remembered the fabric; it was summer fabric; the wind blew through it . . . remembered how those braids swung like red silk against her cheeks."

These flashbacks, often indicated by Cooney with italics, are usually triggered by an event or object in the present. For instance, as Janie and Reeve are about to enjoy ice cream sundaes, she recalls her abduction at the mall when a woman with "long straight cascading hair" lures her with an ice cream sundae. Janie refers to these flashbacks as daymares, "a nightmare taking place in the day." Alongside these daymares, Janie makes other disturbing discoveries. There are no photos of her before the age of five, not even a baby picture. Her parents refuse to give her the birth certificate she needs to get her driver's license. When Janie finds the polka-dot dress from the milk carton photo hidden in the attic, Frank and Miranda are forced to reveal everything they know about her past. More flashbacks follow, including memories of two babies in a kitchen and a man with a red mustache holding her close enough for her to tug on it—later confirmed to be her younger twin brothers and her red-haired father. These events propel the plot forward, leading Janie to contact the Springs.

Reeve's character serves not only as a confidant for Janie but also as her first romantic interest. Their mutual attraction, highlighted by a lingering kiss amid the seclusion of mountainous leaf piles in their front yards, provides a brief, pleasurable distraction from the serious issues in the narrative. Although they do not consummate their relationship, they come close enough to feel each other's heartbeats. On their way back from New Jersey, where Janie confirms her connection to the Springs from a distance, they rent a motel room but ultimately resist the temptation. Humor alleviates the psychological and physical tension of these scenes as they argue about who will drive back to Connecticut.

"I don't think I can drive," said Reeve once they were in the Jeep.

"Well, I can't, not in this traffic."

"You want driving experience, take it."

Neither of them wanted driving experience. They desired a different kind of experience altogether. "Start the motor," said Janie. "Believe me, it's running," said Reeve, and they giggled desperately.

Cooney depicts them as endearing teenagers with healthy libidos. The blend of mystery, suspense, and romance crafted by this skilled author makes for an engaging read. The Face on the Milk Carton received recognition as an IRA-CBC Children's Book Choice.

Almost every child has, at some point, imagined that the parents they live with aren't their real parents. Whether it's due to a secret adoption or an abduction, this is a common childhood fear that Janie faces.

"I don't want to know," thought Janie. "Because... because why? Does something deep inside me already know? But why now? Why something like your real family, and the moment you were taken from them?"

For a moment, Janie recalls a folk tale where a fairy child, or changeling, is swapped with a human baby from its unsuspecting family. This fear is deeply ingrained in the human psyche, making the possibility of it happening a captivating story for readers of all ages.

Hiding Janie's true identity strains her relationship with the Johnsons. Throughout this ordeal, she often vows never to trust them again. She becomes a victim of their secrecy, much like Miranda and Frank Johnson are victimized by their daughter's deceit. Hannah deceives her parents, claiming Janie is her daughter and their granddaughter. Bringing Janie to them is the first positive act in Hannah's troubled life. Despite having all the advantages of an upper-middle-class lifestyle, she rejects these comforts because others don't have the same opportunities. While wanting to rid herself of worldly possessions seems noble, fleeing home to join a cult and kidnapping Janie shows she has gone too far. She also implicates her parents in this crime without their knowledge. Frank Johnson tries to explain what a cult is to Janie.

"A cult is a religious group with extremely strict rules for its members. The Hare Krishna movement swept across America like wildfire in the sixties and seventies, Janie. It attracted people of all ages, both hippies and conservatives, from the East Coast to the West Coast. And it attracted Hannah. She met a group of young people who told her that if she became a Hare Krishna, she would be purified. It would no longer be her fault that she had so much because they wouldn't allow her to have anything. She would be saved. When she was sixteen, she fell on her knees and begged to be allowed to join them."

Hannah escapes and joins a cult, marrying one of its members, which brings immense sorrow to the Johnsons. They feel like they have failed as parents. However, when they get another chance to care for their grandchild, they willingly sacrifice their identities, much like individuals entering a witness protection program. Hannah turns them into fugitives; their only comfort is the child they assume is their grandchild. Their pain doubles when they discover Hannah's betrayal and face the possibility of losing a child for the second time.

Cooney shows compassion for these parents who have endured such heartache but seem unable to escape this cycle, especially when Janie's true identity is confirmed as Jennie Spring in the final pages of this first novel in the trilogy. Watching a child or adolescent like Hannah, who cannot be saved from her obsessions while parents stand by helplessly, must be one of the deepest sorrows of the human experience.

Crafting a successful sequel is a tough task for any author, especially when the original novel, The Face on the Milk Carton, is rich with mystery, suspense, and romance. The follow-up, Whatever Happened to Janie?, follows Janie (now called Jennie) as she adapts to her biological family. The court upholds the Springs' legal rights, and everyone respects the decision, leading Jennie to live with her long-lost family. Sharing a small room with her sister Jodie, dealing with her older brother Stephen's anger and resentment, and witnessing her real parents' heartbreak as she struggles to accept them, all contribute to the novel's intense and painful atmosphere. The FBI's ongoing search for Hannah brings Jennie, Jodie, and Stephen together as they explore the darker sides of New York City in search of this elusive figure. This sequel was honored as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

The potential return of Hannah in the final installment, The Voice on the Radio, adds a layer of mystery. Readers might feel let down by college freshman Reeve, who gains fame as a radio personality at Janie's expense. Reeve unintentionally becomes the host of a weekly show where he recounts Janie's traumatic experiences from the past few years. These broadcasts, termed "janies," attract a large audience, gaining popularity beyond the campus near New York City. Janie moves beyond her self-pity, which dominated the second novel, as she reacts to Reeve's betrayal after hearing a "janie" herself. Another mysterious figure may have also heard the "janies," as a cryptic caller reaches out to Reeve during his show. The looming presence of Hannah adds a chilling suspense to the story.

"Caroline B. Cooney." June 1999. Online Internet http://www.dellbooks.com/ teachersbdd/caro.html. This source provides a brief glimpse into Cooney's childhood, highlighting her fond memories of reading series such as The Hardy Boys and Cherry Ames, Student Nurse.

"Caroline B. Cooney." Something about the Author, Volume 80. Edited by Kevin S. Hile. Detroit: Gale, 1995, pp. 55-57. This reference offers a concise evaluation of notable works by Cooney up until the publication date.