Title: The Face on the Milk Carton

Author: Cooney, Caroline B.

Book Preview:

Janie Johnson thought she was living the perfect life, until she saw the picture of the missing girl on the milk carton.  Was it really her?  She has a loving mother and father.  They would never kidnap anybody.  Would they?  Suddenly her whole life was turned upside down.  Is she imagining things, or is it true?  Janie won’t rest until she finds out!

Rating:

This book had great details, especially when Janie’s parents explain to her what a cult is, or when Janie is raking leaves with her neighbor, Reeve. I could really picture the scenes in my mind. That made the book even better.

It was very hard to pick a favorite event. There were so many good ones. I guess I’ll choose when Janie actually notices the missing girl on the milk carton. She was so shocked. I also like how the events were surprising. You always thought one thing would happen, but something totally different happened. That was cool.

The introduction was great! It didn’t rush into things, but it didn’t take forever to get to the point. Very few books are like that. And I’ve read a lot! This was great!

Unfortunately, this book was only somewhat organized. It repeated events and statements constantly! If I were the author, that is what I would have changed. It sort of got annoying.

The characters were enjoyable. I definitely liked how they would change throughout the story. But when they changed, you couldn’t tell who was talking or who was who without names. I think the author didn’t change this because she wanted to express their feelings.

I could never put the book down! It was a definite "page-turner". WARNING: Never read this before bed. You will be up all night! [Kaity]

This book had great descriptions because it was always making comparisons to something else or was describing how the person feels. One part said, "The class was filled with clicking of keyboards, and moans of students making errors." There were some inappropriate things in this book to but they were still described well.

This book did not have a good introduction. It started off boring. It took five or six chapters before I got interested in the book. It made me feel like I should have chosen another book instead. The beginning was so boring it made me stop reading it for a while. It wasn't until Janie started to find out the mystery and her real identity, then it got better.

The Face on the Milk Cartoon kept my interest in some parts, but in the first five to six chapters where really boring. These chapters could have been reworded and then they would have made more sense. If this had changed than this book would have kept my interest.

There are two main characters, Janie and Reeve. One thing that I did not like about Janie is that she cried too much. Janie had to cry about 10-15 times in this book. Every time something bad happened to her or when her mother told her something she would cry. The author should have cut some of the crying out. An example is when Janie was sitting on the couch with her mom and dad and she started to cry for no reason. Reeve would always be there in the right place at the right time. Reeve was a big factoring this book. He helped Janie find out her real identity, and find out what the dress was doing in here attic.

The ending was the best part of the book because it got more into the mystery. At the very end Reeve and Janie were about to solve the mystery. This book is the kind of book I like because they don’t have a real ending. [Mike]

This book had great detail. In fact, that is why I liked the book. For example: Lizzie’s green wool dress had a narrow waist and a very full skirt draped down to the carpet; she looked like a tent in which little children would like to play house. It drew a clear picture in my head.

The beginning was very interesting. It made me want to keep reading. I like that the beginning didn't just start jumping into the events before you even knew who was who. It got off to a great start.

The characters were very interesting, too. They had many emotions that you could feel. I also could see what they looked like in my head.

The book had many exciting events, but there was a few to many because the events were very repetitive. That is what I would have changed. The author just kept repeating the events because she wanted to make sure you understood what was happening. But I don't think that it was not necessary.

The book was a real page-turner. I could barely put it down. It really got me thinking "What will happen next?!".

The ending was excellent! It left me hanging to read the next book. I suggest that everyone who reads this book, should read the next book, Whatever Happened to Janie. [Rachael]