Whatever Happened to Janie?

by Caroline B. Cooney

Overview

As Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl on the milk carton, she was overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl—it was she. How can it possibly be true? But it is.

With the mystery of her kidnapping now unraveled, Janie's story continues, and the nightmare is not over. No one can bring back or relive the 12 years gone by. The Spring family wants justice, but who is really to blame? The Johnsons know that they must abide by the court decisions made, but it's difficult to figure out what's best for everyone.

Janie Johnson or Jenny Spring? Who is she? Certainly there's enough love for everyone, but how can the two separate families live happily ever after?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385742399
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/22/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	24,756
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

CAROLINE B. COONEY is the bestselling author of more than 30 young adult books, including the million-copy plus bestseller, The Face on the Milk Carton.

Table of Contents

Editorial Reviews

The sequel to The Face on the Milk Carton explores the trauma of a kidnapped adopted child returned to her birth parents. ``The power and nature of love is wrenchingly illustrated,'' wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)q

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The outcome of The Face on the Milk Carton is disclosed in this book about fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson, kidnapped at three, returning to live with her birth parents as Jennie Spring. The effects of this move on Jennie/Janie, both sets of parents, and the sisters and three brothers in the Spring household are painfully revealed. The unravelling of the mystery of the kidnapping is sometimes gripping, if far-fetched, and the reader may grow impatient with the unrealistic expectations everybody has of everybody else. Finally a satisfactory decision and resulting action occur, which should have appropriately ended the book. But no, an incredible trip to the bowels of New York City by the older brother and sister to find Hannah, the kidnapper, weakens the work considerably. It will still be of interest, though, to readers who like to read about identity, kidnapping, and family relations.

The ALAN Review - James E. Davis

Gr 7-10-- Cooney's The Face on the Milk Carton (Bantam, 1990) involved a 15-year-old girl who discovers she had been kidnapped when she was 3. Those left hanging by the ambiguous ending to that story will want to read this sequel in which Janie goes to live with her biological parents and four siblings. Although all of the family members are eager to include her, she's determined to remain emotionally aloof. Finally, Janie asserts her desire to return to her adopted family, and her biological parents love her enough to let her go. The strength of this book is that all of the parties are easy to empathize with. They are well-rounded characters with quirks and annoying qualities, yet all have compassion for ``the other guy,'' even while feeling their own pain. The suspense centers around the question of which family needs Janie more and which she will choose. There is no clear answer to her dilemma since both love her and have suffered through no fault of their own. While Janie ultimately puts her own feelings first by choosing the family that is ``real'' to her, the stage is set for future changes of heart and perhaps another sequel. Meanwhile, this book won't gather dust on the shelf. --Jacqueline Rose, Southeast Regional Library, NC

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