Title: Whatever Happened to Janie?

Author: Cooney, Caroline B.

Book Preview:

Janie Johnson, now Jennie Spring, never thought anything like this would ever happen.  She was kidnapped, and now she is going back to live with her real parents.  Janie’s “new” family are strangers to her.  To make it even worse, she is not allowed to talk to her “other” parents.  How can she make it through all this pressure?

Rating:

This book had a very interesting introduction. It gets right to the point, as it does in its sequel. I like that in a book. Most books you have to read quite a few chapters before it even gets to the point! Since it doesn’t do that, it’s not boring.

The description was really good, especially when the author explains what Jenny’s family looks like, or when she explains the feelings of the characters. There was only one problem: it constantly repeated events and sayings.

The events were awesome! My favorites are when Jenny’s sister gets lost in New York, or when Jenny pushes her real dad away. That was very shocking!

The characters were also very interesting. Their feelings change throughout the story. For example, one minute Reeve (Jenny’s boyfriend) wants to do something, then the next minute, he doesn’t. Like the sequel, it can get kind of confusing.

The ending is very exciting and surprising! I really liked how the author holds the reader in suspense. But when you reach the ending, you are kind of sad that it’s all over!

This book is totally a "page-turner". You can’t put the book down. I found myself very tempted to read the last few chapters to find out what happened!

The lesson is very important. You should listen to it. The real-life lesson is: never give up! Janie does this throughout the whole book. [Kaity]