Title: The Face on the Milk Carton
Author: Caroline B. Cooney
Review: It's September, it's 2020, don't we all need something a little frightening to read? This book was listed online at my local Barnes and Noble and the cover looked interesting. Have to admit that I'd never even heard of it. I picked it up, vowing to read it only after midnight to get the full horror/thriller experience that the cover promised. And, it was good. But it was not necessarily something that I had to read after midnight. Because, it wasn't very scary. Within the first few pages, Janie Johnson recognizes a toddler picture of herself on a school lunch milk carton and the story sets off; her journey to discover whether or not her loving parents kidnapped her as a toddler. I found the sudden flashbacks she began remembering to be a bit unrealistic, but having - thankfully - never been in the situation myself, I do not know the psychology of such an event. The characters, especially the friends, like Sarah-Charlotte, felt flat and one-dimensional. It is a rather short book, and as a result not much time is spent setting the scene, giving backstories, etc. The secondary plot with Reeve is not nearly as interesting as the kidnapping story, so the teenage romance and sexual overtones of certain scenes seem a bit out of place or at least unnecessary. I was not expecting that it was a series with an ending that would leave me hanging - so be prepared to hunt down the next book (and the books after that one), because even if it's not necessarily a piece of great literature, it has a thrilling pace and a writing that would keep many teens coming back for more. Lots of dated 80s' technology references, too, which personally only adds to the charm. A fun, quick read for some October afternoon.
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