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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
DNF. A great concept but bad execution. This books could be cut in half if she had just called the tip line. Such a small book but it was taking me days to read because I was just so bored. DNFed because it felt like a waste of time. Probably a lot more interesting if you’re a child
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was on a road trip with my husband when I learned that the Face on the Milk Carton series was apparently not a Thing for middle school boys in the early 90s the way it was for girls, so we immediately listened to it on the drive. I had remembered things from other books that I had thought happened in the first, but it's much shorter than I anticipated it being. I had also forgotten what a gross little shit Reeve is. Every year that I age, I'm more and more thankful that I went to an all girls' high school.
Much like Murder at Vassar, it's very strange reading books set in the past in a time period you lived through that are so far removed from today's reality. Like finding a dime and a pay phone to call home, grabbing the last map at a gas station to figure out where you're going, not being able to call Dad because he's at the soccer field and of course doesn't have a phone in his pocket. So surreal to be fully immersed in the story that way.
Much like Murder at Vassar, it's very strange reading books set in the past in a time period you lived through that are so far removed from today's reality. Like finding a dime and a pay phone to call home, grabbing the last map at a gas station to figure out where you're going, not being able to call Dad because he's at the soccer field and of course doesn't have a phone in his pocket. So surreal to be fully immersed in the story that way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Cults
I first read this book when I was in 5th or 6th grade, and have always found the premise excellent. How would you feel if you found out there were mysterious circumstances surrounding your upbringing and your parents might not be your real parents? That is what happens to Janie, and as a young teen this was both a frightening and slightly alluring idea for me.
this is painfully awkward. like... the writing style is cringey at best and it’s so obvious that the author has no idea how a teen talks because what fifteen year old calls her mother ‘mommy’ and flings herself into their arms every five minutes because she loves her mommy so much? also why did janie and her friends talk as though they live in the 18th century? “oh let us not do that!” “yes, let’s!”
why was there so much fucking giggling, too? like? every single chapter someone is giggling. and there’s nothing funny even going on. jesus christ.
can someone actually tell me the point of reeve please? because the dude makes NO sense. he was irritatable, condescending and just plain needy the entire book. both and he and janie had literally ZERO chemistry yet they were always all over each other??? like ew.
also, reeve being the douchebag he is, kept getting annoyed whenever janie spent her time thinking of the fact that she had been kidnapped instead of him? like... calm down dude. finding out that the people who you thought were your parents actually aren’t is a bit of a huge deal and i’m sorry, but your un-sucked dick is not.
this book is just filled to the brim with irrelevant content. like what was the fucking point of janie and reeve taking the six hour long drive to new jersey just to look at a door if she had no intention of knocking on it? who has that kinda gas money to waste? the dude cleans out people’s garages for pocket money, he sure ain’t funding this cross state road-trip. jesus someone save me.
let’s not even talk about the the ending!!!! it’s a shambles — an honest to god train wreck. there’s too many people talking and too much pointless trash going on.
“are we ordering a pizza, mommy? no? you’re calling my birth parents out of the blue? the ones who think i’m dead? maybe being used as a sex slave these past twelve years? okay!!”
ALSO WHO LET THIS BITCH LIZZIE BE IN CHARGE OF SORTING THIS MESS OUT? SHE’S NOT EVEN AN ACTUAL LAWYER YET?
why haven’t they called the fucking cops?
why is everyone so fucking stupid?
why did i even read this?
why was there so much fucking giggling, too? like? every single chapter someone is giggling. and there’s nothing funny even going on. jesus christ.
can someone actually tell me the point of reeve please? because the dude makes NO sense. he was irritatable, condescending and just plain needy the entire book. both and he and janie had literally ZERO chemistry yet they were always all over each other??? like ew.
also, reeve being the douchebag he is, kept getting annoyed whenever janie spent her time thinking of the fact that she had been kidnapped instead of him? like... calm down dude. finding out that the people who you thought were your parents actually aren’t is a bit of a huge deal and i’m sorry, but your un-sucked dick is not.
this book is just filled to the brim with irrelevant content. like what was the fucking point of janie and reeve taking the six hour long drive to new jersey just to look at a door if she had no intention of knocking on it? who has that kinda gas money to waste? the dude cleans out people’s garages for pocket money, he sure ain’t funding this cross state road-trip. jesus someone save me.
let’s not even talk about the the ending!!!! it’s a shambles — an honest to god train wreck. there’s too many people talking and too much pointless trash going on.
“are we ordering a pizza, mommy? no? you’re calling my birth parents out of the blue? the ones who think i’m dead? maybe being used as a sex slave these past twelve years? okay!!”
ALSO WHO LET THIS BITCH LIZZIE BE IN CHARGE OF SORTING THIS MESS OUT? SHE’S NOT EVEN AN ACTUAL LAWYER YET?
why haven’t they called the fucking cops?
why is everyone so fucking stupid?
why did i even read this?
I liked the premise of this book, but just like Reese in the story, I was very fed up with the main character, Janie, and her constant back and forth. I understand the predicament she was in required the confusion in her life, but it was very drawn out and overall just left me irritated. I will not be continuing with the series.
This reads like it should have been a short story instead of nearly 100 pages. The writing was extremely repetitive but has almost zero payoff. I know there are multiple books in this series but I will not be reading them.
I first read this in junior high, or maybe earlier, and it's one of the few teen books that I actually read as a teen (I don't think teen lit was the thing it is now back then). I read it again for the Teen Reading Challenge, and for some reason, the story was still crystal clear in my memory, even 20 years later. Maybe it helped that I saw the made-for-TV-movie, too. In spite of all the teen angst, it's still a pretty original story, even today.
read as part of the assigned curriculum of 12th grade
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No