In a novel that never quite lives up to its gripping premise, a high-school student discovers that her much-loved parents may in fact be her kidnappers. After Jane Johnson sees what seems to be her own face as a three-year-old displayed on a school lunch carton, she is plunged into a series of flashbacks: memories of long-forgotten childhood experiences that reinforce her sudden suspicion that she may have been kidnapped. As the underpinnings of her secure world slip, she clings to Reeve, the boy next door, with whom she is falling in love. Her parents' explanation (they are her grandparents; her mother abandoned Jane to return to a cult) proves unsatisfactory, pushing Jane toward emotional collapse until--with the help of Reeve and his sister--she finds a way to face the situation rationally. Cooney's original plot and satisfying resolution are marred by Jane's interminably overwrought analysis of her condition, and by a love interest that is more tacked on than intrinsic. Nevertheless, a real page-turner. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A milk carton portrait causes a 15-year-old girl to question her true identity; citing the novel's ``strong characterizations and suspenseful, impeccably paced action,'' PW added, ``The roller-coaster ride Jane experiences with her emotions is both absorbing and convincing.'' Ages 12-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Up to her fifteenth year, the most Jane Johnson had to worry about was her boring name. She loved her parents, despite their overly cautious approach toward her growing up; had friends; and generally liked herself. Then the picture of a missing child on a school milk carton triggers flashbacks to long-buried memories of Jane as a child--the milk carton child, in fact. Is she the missing Jennie Spring, snatched from her family years before? Or is she simply Jane, who doesn't like her name? There's a good bit of melodrama in the plot (a cult-influenced mother and a pair of nervous grandparents hiding from the Hare Krishna), as well as a sort of half-baked romance. But Cooney does not give in to facile resolutions, and her depiction of Jane's personal quandary, while not rendered with depth, seems real enough as it follows the girl's struggle to make sense of what's happened and to balance her feelings for the couple she knows as her parents with her curiosity about the family to which she once belonged. Gr. 7-10. ~--Stephanie Zvirin

Gr 7-10-Alyssa Bresnahan brings to life the character of 15-year-old Janie Johnson, a teenager whose typical angst is compounded when she discovers her picture on a milk carton as a missing child. Searching for the truth behind the kidnapping consumes Janie as she tries to maintain the balance between the craziness of her discovery and the teenage world of school, dates, and friends. Bresnahan deftly portrays each character, creating a unique voice for each. The sense of terror that develops in Janie is exhibited by the rising tension in the narrator's voice. Read equally well is the part of Janie's parents-their voices changing during the course of the story from professional and upbeat to wary and defeated. The progression of the characters complements the piece nicely. While the pace of the recording remains steady, it is slightly too slow and tedious at times to accompany this suspenseful tale. However, this does not outweigh the value of Caroline B. Cooney's excellent story (BDD, 1996) which has been a favorite read for young teenagers, an IRA-CBC Children's Choice Book, and the subject of a television special. The popularity of the book will cause this recording to leap off the shelves.-Diana Baker Freeman, Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Having recognized her own face on a milk carton depicting a child kidnapped ten years earlier, Janie begins to unravel the mystery of her birth. A reasonably believable plot, lots of action, romance, and sufficient tension combine to make a fast-paced suspense tale. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.