No one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar - a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey - she felt overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl - it was she. How could it possibly be true?

Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, but as she begins to piece things together, nothing makes sense. Something is terribly wrong. Are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson really Janie's parents? And if not, who is Janie Johnson, and what really happened? ( )

Janie Johnson is sick of being ordinary. She's a 90s kid. When she looks at a milk in the cafeteria, she recognizes herself as a little kid on the carton. Her family has secrets and she's scared to death about what she might uncover. She falls for the boy next door. She keeps the milk carton and a journal. The knowing and wondering tears her apart. She spends a lot of time in tears. The ending comes abruptly leading into the next volume.
Felt like it hasn't aged that well. ( )

I read this book and the sequel years and years ago and decided to reread it to see if it held up. It didn't.

Firstly, this ends on a major cliffhanger, which I always hate - especially since this was originally a standalone. (The author eventually turned it into a series of 5 books.)

Secondly, Janie's boyfriend is obsessed with getting her to have sex with him. I definitely did not remember all the sexual references in here. Her boyfriend pretty much has no personality apart from this fact.

And Janie herself is annoying and self-centered. I hated that the author made Janie's boyfriend her "real" best friend, and her female friends were more or less ignored.

Not to mention, the writing is incredibly repetitive. ( )

Janie sees a picture on a milk carton of a missing girl. She is convinced that it is her. The more she digs into things the more convinced she becomes. She finally talks her boyfriend into driving to New Jersey where she believes her biological parents live. As they watch the house, a school bus pulls up and several children with red hair, like her own, get off the bus. Janie decides she must confront her parents with all the evidence she has gathered. ( )

This was so good that as soon as I finished reading this one, I ordered all the rest in the series! It's about a 15 yr old girl named Janie Johnson who while she was drinking a carton of milk at lunch stopped when she saw the missing child picture on it. It was her. This book follows her struggle as she tries to figure out what to do. I highly recommend this book! So good! ( )