Over two decades after the Janie series began with The Face on the Milk Carton (1990), Cooney concludes the thriller-romance saga of kidnapped Janie Johnson. Janie, having balanced living with both her "real" family and her kidnap family, looks forward to the anonymity of college, only to discover that a true-crime writer wants to revive the ordeal in a book. Although her heart is still with Reeve, the boy next door who betrayed her, she begins to date Michael--who is actually stalking her as a researcher for the crime writer. Dumping Michael, she falls back into Reeve's waiting arms. In a romantic proposal scene at the airport, they decide to marry immediately. With much rehashing of back story and Janie's endless wrestling over which boy she loves, the pace drags until the heart-pounding final pages. Janie, for all she has been through, is shallow and saccharine--a throwback to decades ago. Janie's wedding plans and multiple professions of faith in God give the book an explicit Catholic tone. Kidnapper Hannah Javensen's character, expressed in the interspersed chapters that explore her mental instability, has more psychological depth. Fans who have wondered whether Reeve and Janie's love endures and whether the kidnapper is caught will want this final piece of the puzzle. (Fiction. 12-17)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 7 Up-Cooney wraps up her popular thriller romance series that debuted more than 20 years ago about a young girl who discovers her face on a milk carton, setting in motion a series of rollercoaster events that affected many lives. In this installment (Delacorte, 2013), Janie Johnson/Jenny Spring is still walking the tightrope between her "real" parents and the parents who raised her for most of her life and is desperately trying to figure out who she is. Narrator Alyssa Bresnahan has a difficult task, as Cooney moves the viewpoint from character to character in order to present the whole story. She conveys the confusion and frustration of Janie/Jenny using a higher pitch and alternating volume as she goes from shy and fearful to strong and joyful. Bresnahan tackles each of the secondary characters including Jenny's brothers and sister, both sets of her parents, on again off again boyfriend Reeve, and the unstable kidnapper Hannah who started it all. Each voice has a unique quality and the character comes through clearly thanks to the narrator's use of tone, pitch, and volume. Those unfamiliar with the series will still be able to follow the plotting as Cooney continually refers back to past events. However, after listening to this engrossing tale, they are sure to want to discover how it all started. Cooney has also included a bonus short story, "What Janie Saw," that fans of the series will embrace with gusto.- Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Years after seeing her own face on a milk carton, twenty-year-old Janie is still struggling with her identity, and her kidnapper is still on the loose. Tension is diluted by clunky references to computers and smart phones, and the wedding planning that dominates Janie's attention may not appeal to young readers. Devoted fans of the saga will be most invested in this conclusion. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Readers who have followed Janie/Jennie's story since The Face on the Milk Carton (1990) will be eager to learn how the series concludes in this fifth book. Ever since Janie recognized her face on a milk carton and dealt with the media aftermath, she has been eager for anonymity, and she sees her chance to blend in as a college student in crowded New York City. But her new life is threatened when a famous crime writer starts hounding her relatives and threatening to publish a book. There's one person Janie can turn to, though her ex, Reeve. Chapters alternate between Janie's former kidnapper, Hannah, who is seeking revenge on the parent thief, and the main narrative, which switches its third-person point of view between Janie, her siblings, and others. The revolving cast of characters will keep readers interested, as will Janie's search for identity. And while the thriller elements never reach a truly exciting climax and the culprit behind the tell-all isn't entirely believable, loyal followers will see this novel through and make sure Janie gets the happy ending she deserves. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Face on the Milk Carton was a New York Times best-seller and became a movie on Lifetime. Fans will be eager for this finale.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist

The fifth and final installment of Janie Johnson's story brings the series that started more than two decades ago with The Face on the Milk Carton to a highly gratifying close. Janie-who in high school discovered that the family that raised her was not the one she was born to-is now in college, keeping her complicated past to herself to make a fresh start in New York City. When a true-crime author wants to use Janie as the subject of his next book, a complex chain of events propels her back into the arms of her onetime boyfriend, Reeve. Meanwhile, Janie's long-ago kidnapper, Hannah, embarks on a vengeful quest. Quick, short scenes and plenty of crosscutting between numerous characters' points of view keep the story moving with breathless momentum. Cooney generates a compassionate and thorough sense of closure by interweaving brief updates on nearly every individual-teenager or adult-that has appeared in the series. Though there's never much doubt that Janie, Reeve, and Hannah will end up where they ought to be, it's a treat to watch them get there. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.