The Face on the Milk Carton (Page 137-184)

Title: The Face on the Milk Carton
Author: Caroline B. Cooney
Page 137- 184

Summary
About two months had passed, Janie’s life “returned” back to normal. Taking with friends and dating her boyfriend seem natural. But, in reality, Janie’s conscience stills bothered her more and more as time goes by. All the stress was building up by the secret that caused the short break up of Janie and Reeve. The main cause of the verbal fight between the couple was that Reeve told his older sister about her situation. Without his girlfriend’s consent, the furious Janie took all her stress out to him. For that short time period (of 2 weeks), Janie came to her senses and reflected the fact that the secret must be divulge. After the conciliation of the teens, Reeve told Janie the discovery his sister found. The truth the big sister found was that Hannah stole her; her “parents” were actually innocent. That part could be considered to be the resolution. The anguish Janie felt disappeared and her courage returned to tell her parents about her secret. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson’s reaction were logical. They could not believe the fact her precious daughter did that to Janie’s family and herself. At the end, Mrs. Johnson decided to contact the Springs about Janie being with her. Mrs. Johnson said, “If I could have any wish, it would be that no parent on this earth ever suffered a missing child” (Cooney 180). She felt guilty to have someone else’s child. Therefore to stop the suffering of another mother, Mrs. Johnson was fine to return Janie to her real home. Even though, Janie preferred to stay with the Johnsons. The book concluded with Janie on the phone calling the Springs. The dénouement was, “Hi. It’s..your daughter. Me, Jannie” (Cooney 184).

Quote
“In the velvety silence of the room Janie, Lizzie [Reeve’s older sister], Reeve, her mother, and her father listened to the telephone ring in New Jersey” (Cooney 184).

Reaction
Throughout the book, Cooney uses suspense to make the reader even more interested in the story. The outrageous plot of a girl being kidnapped is extreme. In addition, the denouement ended with a hangover. Due to the fact, there is a sequel, which makes most people to keep reading her novellas. Her writing style is just full of suspense and mystery. The quote above supports my statement. Quotes like this keep the reader in tension. The quote was taken in the occation where the Johnsons were contacting the Springs. To me, “velvety silence” has a huge connotation that makes me think of the silence of a haunted house. The book is just full of many connotations that make the people wonder what will happen next.

I rate this book 4.9/5-too much suspense almost gave a heart attack ;). (Recommend this to bibliophiles who love the genre of mystery)