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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Interesting idea of having a teenager find out she was kidnapped and that her parents weren’t her parents, but it would have been better if Janie was a bit more independent and not so hung up on Reeve. That whole relationship seemed forced and unnecessary. Characters weren’t very well developed nor very interesting. The story ends on a cliffhanger, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series at this time.
For some reason, I didn’t read this book when I was younger. I remember it being on my radar which is why I picked it for a kid-lit choice. I didn’t realise it was more of a YA read. I used to love Caroline B. Cooney’s writing which is another reason why I wanted to pick it up.
It centres around Janie, who realises her face is on a milk carton. The milk carton shows children that have been kidnapped. Janie can’t believe that the people she calls her parents could have kidnapped her. Then she starts to put pieces together. She wonders about her birth certificate, photos and her past. The explanations that her parents give don’t sit right with Janie and she tries desperately to unravel the truth.
This book barely took me any time to read at all. It’s less than 200 pages, so it’s easy enough to whip through. It’s action packed too. I feel like there could have been much more made of the plot. The plot itself is terrifying and exciting, but I didn’t really get that from the writing.
I am glad I read this book, but I personally don’t see myself carrying on with the series. I was a little surprised by the writing, I used to really love the author’s writing, as I mentioned. However, I think there are far superior YA books out there now. I do think this book is worth reading for an interesting plot line… I would just not expect too much.
It centres around Janie, who realises her face is on a milk carton. The milk carton shows children that have been kidnapped. Janie can’t believe that the people she calls her parents could have kidnapped her. Then she starts to put pieces together. She wonders about her birth certificate, photos and her past. The explanations that her parents give don’t sit right with Janie and she tries desperately to unravel the truth.
This book barely took me any time to read at all. It’s less than 200 pages, so it’s easy enough to whip through. It’s action packed too. I feel like there could have been much more made of the plot. The plot itself is terrifying and exciting, but I didn’t really get that from the writing.
I am glad I read this book, but I personally don’t see myself carrying on with the series. I was a little surprised by the writing, I used to really love the author’s writing, as I mentioned. However, I think there are far superior YA books out there now. I do think this book is worth reading for an interesting plot line… I would just not expect too much.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review (and others) can be found at My Full Bookshelf Reviews
I saw this book one time at a friend's house and it immediately piqued my interest. Recently, I found it at my library and remembered that I had wanted to read this a couple years ago, so I got it...and finished it in a few hours. This was definitely my kind of book.
What made me unable to put this down was the whole idea the story was built around. There are kidnappings, kisses, andlactose intolerance cults. This book has EVERYTHING. And it's packed into 190 pages, so there really isn't a boring moment at all.
Is it kind of unrealistic? Yep. Does Janie really need to just ask her parents what happened instead of just freaking out all the time? Kinda. BUT I DIDN'T CARE. I was eating up every word; it was like a soap opera where you know perfectly well that this would almost never happen but you simply don't care, because it's so addicting.
Am I reading the next books? Heck yes, I'm getting them as soon as I come back to my library. It's true, this book wasn't literary genius, but it was fun to read.
I saw this book one time at a friend's house and it immediately piqued my interest. Recently, I found it at my library and remembered that I had wanted to read this a couple years ago, so I got it...and finished it in a few hours. This was definitely my kind of book.
What made me unable to put this down was the whole idea the story was built around. There are kidnappings, kisses, and
Is it kind of unrealistic? Yep. Does Janie really need to just ask her parents what happened instead of just freaking out all the time? Kinda. BUT I DIDN'T CARE. I was eating up every word; it was like a soap opera where you know perfectly well that this would almost never happen but you simply don't care, because it's so addicting.
Am I reading the next books? Heck yes, I'm getting them as soon as I come back to my library. It's true, this book wasn't literary genius, but it was fun to read.
Ok, I'm hooked! I need to find out what happens to Janie. This is an interesting book with lots of twists - kids will enjoy Janie's spunk, Reeve's sweetness and Janie's parents love for Janie. Sexual innuendos.
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I first read this book when I was about 12 years old (and have re-read it a good 4-5 times) and instantly fell in love with the story and its characters. Caroline B. Cooney's writing was captivating to my 12 year old self and still is 7 years later.
I happened upon a link recommending books to 12-13 year old reluctant readers. This series was one, and also one available at my library. I figured I'd give it a read. It went quickly, but it was short ... the book itself is a little older (1990), at one point she asks for a dime to use a pay phone. Definitely dated! ;)
I liked the story okay, I can see it is one that many teenage girls (even in a happy home) might have a fantasy about. I'm sure I probably would have enjoyed this more when I was a young girl. As an adult, the voice of the protagonist was quite annoying, eye-rolling at times. Really random thoughts too.
There were some editing issues ... not sure if this is reflective of the printed book, or just the digital edition, but it needed another pass with the proofreader.
It was a cliff-hanger ending (well, not leaving me on the edge of my seat, but in an annoying, open-ended kind of way) and I do think I'll continue, especially as I think the voice changes in the next companion book.
I liked the story okay, I can see it is one that many teenage girls (even in a happy home) might have a fantasy about. I'm sure I probably would have enjoyed this more when I was a young girl. As an adult, the voice of the protagonist was quite annoying, eye-rolling at times. Really random thoughts too.
There were some editing issues ... not sure if this is reflective of the printed book, or just the digital edition, but it needed another pass with the proofreader.
It was a cliff-hanger ending (well, not leaving me on the edge of my seat, but in an annoying, open-ended kind of way) and I do think I'll continue, especially as I think the voice changes in the next companion book.
This was probably one of the first mysteries I ever read. I would love to reread it because I just remember loving it!
I almost didn’t read this because of some of the reviews, but I had an hour to kill and it’s a fairly small book. It was a quick read, don’t be mistaken, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The premise is intriguing: a lactose intolerant teenage girl steals her friends’s milk carton at lunch and finds her own face staring up at her, from when she was three and apparently kidnapped. Throughout the story, she goes back and forth between trying to figure out if there’s any truth behind the image to adamantly denying it to herself due to her very good home life with loving parents. After finishing, I immediately went to my local library to find the other books in the series and am looking forward to finding out exactly what happens to Janie.