Story+Elements

Title- The Face on the Milk Carton Author-[|Caroline B. Cooney] Plot- 15 year old Janie Johnson never paid much attention to the missing children on the milk cartons, until one day she sees a face that she recognizes, it was her! She had been kidnapped at 3 years old from a shopping mall in New Jersey. But how could it be? Her mother and father are just loving ordinary parents- or are they? Soon everything is becoming a big, twisted mystery for Janie. Nothing makes sense, and she is soon very confused. Are her parents really her parents, or are they kidnappers? Why doesn't she remember being kidnapped? The secret of the milk carton is starting to ruin Janie's formerly great life. Who is Janie, and what really happened? Theme- The theme of this book is self discovery because Janie does not know who she is, who her parents are, and she does not even know what her real name is. She has gone crazy under the stress of trying to figure out the secrets of her life by herself. Another theme in the book is friendship, because first Janie thinks that Sarah Charlotte was her best friend, but then why didn't she tell Sarah Charlotte the secret of the milk carton? Reeve was only a friend, but when Janie started dating Reeve, she feels closer to him than to Sarah Charlotte, so who is really the friend she depends on on? Janie does not know who her real friends are and who to tell about the kidnapping problem.

Main Characters- The main characters are: Janie- She is the one who sees her own face on the milk carton. Reeve- Helps Janie with her secret and is her next door neighbor. Janie's Parents- Are they really Janie's parents?

Settings: The book does not describe the setting, probably a mid western town, it is highly likely that the setting was took in Pennsylvania or somewhere in New York since it took 4 hours for Reeve and Janie to drive to New Jersey.