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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mmm, not bad! the concept of this book was definitely unique, as i'd never thought about what it'd be like if you saw yourself on a missing poster. cooney does an amazing job building and using suspense throughout the novel. the plot was thrilling, as everything was so fast paced. i actually felt jaine's fear, anxiety, and confusion through the writing and her daymares, so much so that i wasn't able to put the book down (and finished it in one sitting B)).i will say that i wasn't big on the whole high school romance thing between jaine reeve or the stereotypical characters (the focus on suburban middle class, boy obsessed best friend, the main character who has a crush on the boy next door, the overprotective parents, etc). i do acknowledge that this book was first published in 1990, and there may not have been a push for unique and diverse characters and plots at the time, so i tried not to focus too much on this, but it did take away from the book a bit for me personally. i do still recommend this book overall, as it is a thrilling and (in my opinion) very classic mystery novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Claudia recommended this book to me, and when I checked it out at the library, I expected an easy read. I thought wrong. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, metaphorically, and left me hanging off a cliff by a single thread at the end. I absolutely have to get my hands on the sequel!
It was a good read. Finished it in one day. Quite enjoyable but sometimes I could not stand Janie. She keeps complaining over & over again with the same things.She acts like she 4 years old, ugh.
Oh dont get me started with her attitude towards her biological family. How could you even say that about them even if you dont fully know them. They're your parents, REAL parents.
To be honest this book could have ended quicker if they did not brag the story line so much to end up basically at the same place they started with it. It could have ended half way though the book. Sometimes the writing in this book was confusing to understand, I would have to re-read a part to understand it since its written from Janie point of view but differently.
I dont know if I'm going to continue reading the series, to be honest I might not but we will see.
Oh dont get me started with her attitude towards her biological family. How could you even say that about them even if you dont fully know them. They're your parents, REAL parents.
To be honest this book could have ended quicker if they did not brag the story line so much to end up basically at the same place they started with it. It could have ended half way though the book. Sometimes the writing in this book was confusing to understand, I would have to re-read a part to understand it since its written from Janie point of view but differently.
I dont know if I'm going to continue reading the series, to be honest I might not but we will see.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Clever premise that's a bit "out there" but a high level of attention has been paid to making it emotionally grounded. Cooney even takes care to mention that the moral panic about stranger danger kidnaping is largely made up, a hard thing to do in a book whose premise is about just such an unlikely event!
I avoided this book when I was the right age for it because of the branding that made it look like a horror novel, but it's really actually pretty low-key mystery where most of the action is going to school, talking to friends, being freaked out, etc. Not that it isn't its own kind of horror when you think maybe your parents have a Hidden Life and you were kidnapped for Possibly Nefarious Purposes, but it's definitely not, like, gory or ghosty anything.
This is also definitely an influence for one of my favorite Baby-sitters Club books, Claudia and the Great Search, down to the "library microfiche" scene.
I avoided this book when I was the right age for it because of the branding that made it look like a horror novel, but it's really actually pretty low-key mystery where most of the action is going to school, talking to friends, being freaked out, etc. Not that it isn't its own kind of horror when you think maybe your parents have a Hidden Life and you were kidnapped for Possibly Nefarious Purposes, but it's definitely not, like, gory or ghosty anything.
This is also definitely an influence for one of my favorite Baby-sitters Club books, Claudia and the Great Search, down to the "library microfiche" scene.