The Face on the Milk Carton

By: Caroline B. Cooney

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

When 15-year-old Janie Johnson sees her own face in the missing children box on a milk carton, her world begins to blur. Was she kidnapped when she was a baby? Who are her parents? And who are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson? Janie’s search for the answers will lead her back 12 years into memories of another house, another family, another life. Her questions threaten to destroy the love she feels for her parents and the security they have given her. But it is a search she cannot ignore.

The Face on the Milk Carton has been extremely popular ever since it was first released. An IRS-CBC Children’s Choice Book, it also has been made into a frequently-aired television special. Recorded Books is proud to offer an unabridged recording of this riveting story that takes on new drama and urgency through Alyssa Bresnahan’s stirring narration.

©1990 Caroline B. Cooney (P)1998 Recorded Books

Sexualizes An Otherwise Interesting Story

Girl rambles throughout the book between the story and her 15 year old sexual thoughts and actions with her boyfriend.

Interesting BUT

This story is very serious in content and how it rates being a children story does not make sense. There is no real ending and you have to read the follow on story to find out the rest if the story which makes me mad. Finish the book and if i like the characters and style of writing I may purchase the next one.

Great Story ever!!

This story kept me at the edge of my sit, trying to figure out what really happen. it is a really heartbreaking story!!

Another great book from my past

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this audiobook to a friend. It has so many twists and turns as it is a psychological thriller for YA's. I read it as a YA in the early 90's in book form but got more out of it in audiobook form this time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Reeve was my favorite character I think because he just was kind and helpful to his neighbor Janie. Janie was also a favorite because she was a main character with some serious depth to her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Of course it was but again, just like the last one I read, I had to sleep and eat among other things in life that draw you away from books.

Any additional comments?

I think the narrator could have been better. I mean she was good but Janie's friends voices were slightly confusing as they overlapped occasionally.

Wuuuuuut

I'm honestly still stunned. I thought the end of the book may have been a joke. It ended right as the book was getting good. Now I have to figure out if I want to pay for the sequel and risk it being the same, or never know what happened to any of the characters 😑

great story

At first it was kinda awkward but then it was leaving me on the edge.of.my.seat!

Very Abrupt Ending

This story has a good plot however there isn't much to draw the reader in or deeper. Then it just stops with an abrupt "the end".

Unimpressive, would not recommend

This book was recommended to me by a few co-workers to use with some of my reluctant reader students. There were several issues for me such as the book could have been half the length and actually said more, much of it was similar to eavesdropping on a series of vapid (even for extremely immature high school girls ) conversations, the ending disappointed every student as well as myself and definitely made us not want to read the sequel, it gave an inaccurate depiction of the Hare Krishna movement, etc. All in all, very disappointing and I would not recommend this although not for the reasons most of the other critical reviews state. It is just flat out not a well-written book

Dated

When Janie sees her face on a milk carton advertisement for missing children, she learns she was kidnapped as a toddler. With the help of her neighbor and crush, she sets out to learn about her biological family.

Written in 1990, I enjoyed seeing the teens use the card catalog in the library and that she didn't have a cellphone or computer. Her research entailed more than googling. Parts of THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON felt dated, not technology wise, but in terms of the characters' interests and how they related to each other.

While the story was interesting the characters, pacing and writing were mediocre.

A Good Listen

In which Janie finds a milk carton and says/thinks the word “milk carton” a bajillion times until you forget the meaning of the words and assume it’s just random syllables. But really, Janie finds a milk carton that has a child that looks just like she did when she was younger printed on the back. Janie spends the rest of the novel wondering if she was kidnapped and if she was kidnapped, would she be willing to leave the only parents she had ever know?

Okay. I “listened” to “The Face on the Milk Carton” when I was, what, 14-years-old. I remember thinking that the characters were so grown up and cool! I had the biggest crush on Reeve and thought that Janie was in the right for withholding information from everyone because who wants to tell their parents (or fake parents) something so big?!

Listening to the novel now? Well, of course it’s going to feel different. I’m 30 now, and so I’d know who to tell and what to do if something like this were to occur. I’ve lived my life a good 15 more years than Janie now. Still, I could feel my juvenile sense of apprehension about telling people you are conflicted with—should the parents be trusted, are they actually the parents, are they bad people? I can also remember the obsessive thoughts that could cloud anybody’s mind when faced with such an ordeal. Heck, I still have to deal with the constant flux of worries I have to sort out at the end of the day. Stuff like that can really take the joy out of something.

So, what am I trying to say? Well, “The Face on the Milk Carton” aged a bit. Some won’t understand cassette tapes or the minor pop culture references. But in the end, the novel is able to delve into the mind of a “15-year-old” and pull out the fears, thoughts, hopes, and dreams concerning Janie. It may not be perfect, but it was a good read either way.

(PS: The narrator was fine! Think, this was recorded back in 1999. Try listening to some of Alyssa Bresnahan's stuff now and she sounds way different, The point is, give this a chance.)

Abrupt End

I found the premise of the story quite interesting but was surprised it finished as it did.

I realise now there is a second book but in reality think this could have one story - felt a bit cheated .