age group: 14 and uprating:7
Janie Johnson lives an average life: friends, school, great parents... or so she thinks. Everything changes when she recognizes her own face on a milk carton reporting children missing years ago. From there, everything goes downhill. The only explanation for the carton is that Janie has been kidnapped... by her parents? Puzzle pieces begin fitting together when she realizes that she doesn't look anything like her parents, or that her earliest pictures she can find of herself was when she was 5 years old.
Suspenseful and intriguing, The Face on the Milk Carton was not what I expected. Naturally, I was caught by the title of the book. It pulls the reader along, allowing them to be caught up in Janie's world turned upside down. I often found myself asking what I would do if I found out that I had been kidnapped. Cooney's writing style is filled with visual metaphors that make reading almost a sensory experience.
Meant for mid-teens, The Face on the Milk Carton had some elements I only suggest to the older crowd. Though there are no actual immoral scenes, the behavior is implied. I enjoyed the mystery and unveiling Janie's kidnapping, but I find books by Margaret Peterson Haddix to be a safer option.
