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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I remember first hearing about The Face on the Milk Carton back in the late '90s when I was in elementary school. The premise (teen girl discovers she was kidnapped as a young child) was interesting, but I wasn't actually interested in reading it. Recently I've been getting into YA mystery and suspense books, and was disappointed to find that there actually aren't that many out there that have been published recently. Whenever I looked for books in the genre, I kept seeing The Face on the Milk Carton listed. I probably never would have read it, but I somehow ended up with it after obtaining a whole bunch of books and thought that I may as well read it, since I have it. I'm not totally sure what I expected, honestly. I never thought that it would be good - even my 5th or 6th grade self didn't think it would be - but I didn't realize how truly bad it would be. I mean, I read a ton of non-quality literature (as well as some that are quality) and they're generally entertaining. This book was just worse than I expected.
I guess a lot of reviewers here have fond memories of reading this in the '90s, but since I just read this for the first time this year while in my 20s, I have no sentimental attachment to The Face on the Milk Carton. It was just so bad. The writing was seriously atrocious. Caroline B. Cooney seems really obsessed with metaphors and there were hundreds in this book. Seriously. Some pages contained about 15 different metaphors and similes - some in the same sentence! And worst of all, there were a lot of mixed metaphors. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was actually happening in the story, which is sort of laughable, considering how little actually happens in this story. You'd think that a book that promises to be a teen thriller would actually be thrilling, but it's not. It's not even 200 pages, but a lot of them seem unnecessary. Speaking of the writing, I weirdly couldn't tell who the intended audience of this book is. Janie, the protagonist, is 15 but I can't see many actual teens enjoying this book. The writing is extremely simple. On the other hand, there are a number of sexual scenes in here that seem inappropriate for preteens.
Perhaps some of the flaws could have been overlooked if the characters were at all engaging, but they were not. Obviously our protagonist Janie was going through a lot, but she was just too wishy-washy. I got tired of her whining early on. And other than being totally weak-willed, Janie doesn't have much of a personality. The other characters aren't much better. Janie's best friend, Sarah-Charlotte is the worst. I guess it's a point in Janie's favor that she sort of agrees. But Sarah-Charlotte is hardly alone in her terribleness; Janie's sort-of-boyfriend Reeve is seriously awful. He's a senior to Janie's sophomore, and is a controlling, manipulative bastard. He spends most of his time putting her down (and not in a flirty way) and pressures her to go further sexually than she's ready for. Somehow, as readers, we're just supposed to accept this relationship, but I was totally skeeved out.
Lastly, this book ends on a total cliff-hanger. Apparently the sequel(s) was planned from the beginning, so if you want to know what happens, be prepared to read the sequel. I think I got one or two of the sequels along with this first book, but I don't feel particularly inclined to read them at the moment. I wasn't expecting this book to be good, but it was worse than I expected. According to some other Goodreads users this text is being used in some schools and for the life of me I cannot figure out why. 1 out of 5 stars.
I guess a lot of reviewers here have fond memories of reading this in the '90s, but since I just read this for the first time this year while in my 20s, I have no sentimental attachment to The Face on the Milk Carton. It was just so bad. The writing was seriously atrocious. Caroline B. Cooney seems really obsessed with metaphors and there were hundreds in this book. Seriously. Some pages contained about 15 different metaphors and similes - some in the same sentence! And worst of all, there were a lot of mixed metaphors. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was actually happening in the story, which is sort of laughable, considering how little actually happens in this story. You'd think that a book that promises to be a teen thriller would actually be thrilling, but it's not. It's not even 200 pages, but a lot of them seem unnecessary. Speaking of the writing, I weirdly couldn't tell who the intended audience of this book is. Janie, the protagonist, is 15 but I can't see many actual teens enjoying this book. The writing is extremely simple. On the other hand, there are a number of sexual scenes in here that seem inappropriate for preteens.
Perhaps some of the flaws could have been overlooked if the characters were at all engaging, but they were not. Obviously our protagonist Janie was going through a lot, but she was just too wishy-washy. I got tired of her whining early on. And other than being totally weak-willed, Janie doesn't have much of a personality. The other characters aren't much better. Janie's best friend, Sarah-Charlotte is the worst. I guess it's a point in Janie's favor that she sort of agrees. But Sarah-Charlotte is hardly alone in her terribleness; Janie's sort-of-boyfriend Reeve is seriously awful. He's a senior to Janie's sophomore, and is a controlling, manipulative bastard. He spends most of his time putting her down (and not in a flirty way) and pressures her to go further sexually than she's ready for. Somehow, as readers, we're just supposed to accept this relationship, but I was totally skeeved out.
Lastly, this book ends on a total cliff-hanger. Apparently the sequel(s) was planned from the beginning, so if you want to know what happens, be prepared to read the sequel. I think I got one or two of the sequels along with this first book, but I don't feel particularly inclined to read them at the moment. I wasn't expecting this book to be good, but it was worse than I expected. According to some other Goodreads users this text is being used in some schools and for the life of me I cannot figure out why. 1 out of 5 stars.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Written in 1990 and it shows. No character was interesting and the plot was very basic . I kept reading because I wanted resolution and there is no resolution even at the end. Wish I could get the time back that I spent reading this. Lots of harmful language that I would not want any teen today reading as well.
TW- Fatphobia, diet culture/ weight obsession, transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, kidnapping
TW- Fatphobia, diet culture/ weight obsession, transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, kidnapping
Great opening that sets up the story really well, and the book then slowly reveals things throughout, although a few more secrets revealed would have been nice. The end though felt really rushed and you are left with this non-ending, for a set up to a second book in the series.
I hadn't heard of this book until recently. It's always a nice surprise to find an old book to experience. It gives a chance to read ideas that were before their time, or may not be around anymore. This book was definitely an experience. I have a love-hate relationship with it. The writing style can't be described as anything less than awful. The first few chapters seem to have an obsession with milk, mentioning it every couple of sentences-and how every character feels about it. It's really not important that we know how much Sarah-Charlotte enjoys a glass of milk with her cookies. The word 'gold' (or other forms of it, ie. golden) are also constantly mentioned. It's as if the author only had that one 'G' page from the dictionary, with the rest of the letters nowhere to be found. It gets tiring. It's repetitive.
The characters were unrealistic. No two teenagers are the same, but the way Janie (the main character) handles the situation she is in is far more purposeful drama than realistic teen girl. I found it very difficult to connect with her, and as the book progressed I found myself pushing her away instead of being engaged with her narrative.
The book takes almost 200 pages to tell a story that could be done well in far less than that-and by the end of it you're almost wishing it would just end. However, once the book does end it's left on a cliffhanger. To give credit to Cooney where it is due, this is the only thing that made me want to continue reading the series. Investing the time I did into the book to not get a satisfying conclusion was not something I was happy with. The critic in me wanted to see if Cooney could deliver the sort of story that would make its mark on history as a true classic, rather than just a story resented by teenagers that had to study it in school.
Overall, the book was slow, unrealistic and almost gave me a headache making it to the end (which is a problem for such a short book.) Excellent idea, bad execution.
Edit: despite this review, I continued to read the other books in the series. The problems mentioned here seem to be fixed, or at least get better. The characters progress and by the end I find myself actually wanting to continue reading. I would give the overall series 3 stars. I will review each book individually at a later date.
The characters were unrealistic. No two teenagers are the same, but the way Janie (the main character) handles the situation she is in is far more purposeful drama than realistic teen girl. I found it very difficult to connect with her, and as the book progressed I found myself pushing her away instead of being engaged with her narrative.
The book takes almost 200 pages to tell a story that could be done well in far less than that-and by the end of it you're almost wishing it would just end. However, once the book does end it's left on a cliffhanger. To give credit to Cooney where it is due, this is the only thing that made me want to continue reading the series. Investing the time I did into the book to not get a satisfying conclusion was not something I was happy with. The critic in me wanted to see if Cooney could deliver the sort of story that would make its mark on history as a true classic, rather than just a story resented by teenagers that had to study it in school.
Overall, the book was slow, unrealistic and almost gave me a headache making it to the end (which is a problem for such a short book.) Excellent idea, bad execution.
Edit: despite this review, I continued to read the other books in the series. The problems mentioned here seem to be fixed, or at least get better. The characters progress and by the end I find myself actually wanting to continue reading. I would give the overall series 3 stars. I will review each book individually at a later date.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't know how many times I read this as a child, and when my daughter picked it up I knew I had to give it another read.
This mystery hooked me in my younger years, the complexity of what Janie has to go through to discover who she truly is was mind boggling. Now, as a parent, this book is equally chilling as I experience Janie's story from the side of what it would do to me if one of my children went through this.
Still so good. And yes, there are still paperboard milk cartons at school.
This mystery hooked me in my younger years, the complexity of what Janie has to go through to discover who she truly is was mind boggling. Now, as a parent, this book is equally chilling as I experience Janie's story from the side of what it would do to me if one of my children went through this.
Still so good. And yes, there are still paperboard milk cartons at school.
~*~*~*~ RE-READ REVIEW ~*~*~*~
This holds up over the years. It's a horrifying story and the way Cooney writes keeps the pages turning.
This holds up over the years. It's a horrifying story and the way Cooney writes keeps the pages turning.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes