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Janie Johnson #2
Whatever Happened to Janie?
How could it possibly be true? But it is true. As Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl on the milk carton, she was overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl - it was herself. . . .
With the mystery of her kidnapping now unraveled, Janie's story continues and the nightmare is not over. No one can bring back or relive the twelve years gone by. The Spring family wants justice, but who is really to blame? The Johnsons know that they must abide by the decisions made, but it's difficult to figure out what's best for everyone.
Janie Johnson or Janie Spring? Who is she? Certainly there's enough love for everyone, but how can the two separate families live happily ever after?
With the mystery of her kidnapping now unraveled, Janie's story continues and the nightmare is not over. No one can bring back or relive the twelve years gone by. The Spring family wants justice, but who is really to blame? The Johnsons know that they must abide by the decisions made, but it's difficult to figure out what's best for everyone.
Janie Johnson or Janie Spring? Who is she? Certainly there's enough love for everyone, but how can the two separate families live happily ever after?
217 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
638 people are currently reading
5021 people want to read
About the author
Caroline B. Cooney
128 books1,756 followersCaroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 873 reviews
May 2, 2020
When she returns to her birth family, her sister looks her in the eyes and says, “You are scum.”
Kids can be ice cold.
Kids can be ice cold.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2016
Seeing this one through my adult eye-view, it's a little bit easier to empathize with Janie. As a kid, I thought she was such an ungrateful brat. And seriously, when they contacted her birth family in the last book, what did she think was going to happen? They were going to tell the Johnsons, whose daughter Hannah KIDNAPPED HER from them, "Yeah, we don't want her back. You can keep the daughter who was kidnapped from the shopping center at age 3. We have four other kids, we know you'll love and take care of her like you've done in the past, when we thought she was being tortured/raped/killed, etc. Might as well not even bother." YEAH RIGHT - didn't think so! But thinking about it from Janie's perspective, the Springs are asking a lot of a fifteen year old kid. They basically want her to turn on the people she spent almost her entire life with and believed were her parents, and want her to pretend the last twelve years never happened. Insta-Jennie coming right up, just forget that other family kiddo. As someone who has come to believe that who you end up turning into as an adult is something of nature AND nurture, it made me empathize with Janie. It's not like they spent 12 years torturing/abusing her -- they believed she was their granddaughter, the child of their lost-to-a-cult daughter. They treated her as a precious piece of something they thought was gone forever. I also better understand the anger on the part of both Stephen and Jodie Spring, who have seen firsthand the damage of not knowing what happened to their sister (and living with parents who were trying to prevent another worst case scenario). Overall, fairly realistic for a look at what might happen when a teen kidnap victim is returned to her biological family. Except for the ending, which would never happen in a million years.
March 2, 2019
I feel terrible when I give books bad reviews, but I made unpleasant faces so many times while reading this book that it became a 1 Star for me. I’m surprised by the reviews and that not many people seem to have been bothered by a couple of the things that irked me:
1. The copying and pasting of lines from book 1 into book 2 that aren’t even important and just take up space.
2. Reeve sounds like a terrible person. His one track mind showed up in the first book, but I let it slide because he was wrapped up in a new relationship, he was in a situation that nobody would know how to respond to or support, and he was young. But throughout book 2 it becomes apparent that he cares more about her body than he does her. It’s ridiculous that he is made out to be so wonderful when his character promotes poor behavior and morals. “Love,” said Reeve firmly, “does not involve talking.” W.T.F. And “firmly?” How dominant. I would have been out of that Jeep so fast! Not a great influence for young, impressionable people.
3. Underlying tones of racism. Race and skin color were mentioned in totally irrelevant ways for no apparent reason, and while searching and asking around for Hannah in a soup kitchen Stephen whispers to Jodie “We don’t have to ask half of them, anyway.” When Jodie asks why he says “The black half aren’t Hannah.” Which Jodie replies to with “Got it.” This was not necessary to the story line and didn’t even make sense because the question they were asking, while showing a photo, was if anybody had seen Hannah. The question wasn’t “Are you Hannah.” If this isn’t at least subconscious racism, it’s poor story telling.
4. This sentence: “She was a girl and did not mind when her tears spilled over.” Wow. What a blow to any young male who is comfortable enough with himself to cry without shame. Way to be sexist and shame young males while putting girls into a neat, uniform box.
There were many other things that bothered me about the characters and plot line, but these are the key factors I haven’t seen discussed much. Did anybody else have these thoughts/feelings during the reading of this book?
I will continue the series just because I hate stopping in the middle of one, and maybe the author was just in a slump. I did enjoy the first book of the series.
1. The copying and pasting of lines from book 1 into book 2 that aren’t even important and just take up space.
2. Reeve sounds like a terrible person. His one track mind showed up in the first book, but I let it slide because he was wrapped up in a new relationship, he was in a situation that nobody would know how to respond to or support, and he was young. But throughout book 2 it becomes apparent that he cares more about her body than he does her. It’s ridiculous that he is made out to be so wonderful when his character promotes poor behavior and morals. “Love,” said Reeve firmly, “does not involve talking.” W.T.F. And “firmly?” How dominant. I would have been out of that Jeep so fast! Not a great influence for young, impressionable people.
3. Underlying tones of racism. Race and skin color were mentioned in totally irrelevant ways for no apparent reason, and while searching and asking around for Hannah in a soup kitchen Stephen whispers to Jodie “We don’t have to ask half of them, anyway.” When Jodie asks why he says “The black half aren’t Hannah.” Which Jodie replies to with “Got it.” This was not necessary to the story line and didn’t even make sense because the question they were asking, while showing a photo, was if anybody had seen Hannah. The question wasn’t “Are you Hannah.” If this isn’t at least subconscious racism, it’s poor story telling.
4. This sentence: “She was a girl and did not mind when her tears spilled over.” Wow. What a blow to any young male who is comfortable enough with himself to cry without shame. Way to be sexist and shame young males while putting girls into a neat, uniform box.
There were many other things that bothered me about the characters and plot line, but these are the key factors I haven’t seen discussed much. Did anybody else have these thoughts/feelings during the reading of this book?
I will continue the series just because I hate stopping in the middle of one, and maybe the author was just in a slump. I did enjoy the first book of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2018
This is the 2nd book in the Janie Johnson series, and I loved it just as much as the 1st! In this book, Janie/Jenny is being forced to cut off ties with the family and friends she has spent her whole life with to move in with her rightful family. As you can assume, things don't go very well. Janie/Jenny does not adjust easily into this new life. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
May 3, 2021
*spoilers*
Deeeeep loooong sighhhhh. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I always end up doing this to myself?
This book was actually very insulting to my intelligence. I actually went a couple days debating if I should take a long break from it (even though I was so close to finished) because it really made me that angry. This is the type of book that will make you hate reading, even if you love reading.
I love how this is supposed to be about how “Kidnapping Is Bad”, and yet, the character who GOT kidnapped is literally treated the worst.
This book should’ve just been called Spring Superiority. Or Victim-Blaming Vicinity. Or Gaslighting Galore. I don’t like being gaslighted (or gaslit, whichever it is). Telling me over and over again that it’s “selfish” to not want to be yanked out of your home and dropped into a house of strangers? Bye.
Alright. Like with Speak, it’s once again time for me to take off my nostalgia goggles and acknowledge a couple of things about this book:
-It is repeatedly claimed that THREE-YEAR OLDS are responsible for their own abductions………………….
-Apparently abduction is actually legal It’s legal when the Springs do it. Sometimes it’s not, but sometimes it is—mixed signals.
-The two oldest siblings are literal monsters who one minute pretend to be friendly, then the next act like spoiled rotten bullies. They repeatedly wish violence on Janie (Janie. NOT Jennie) because she isn’t throwing herself at their golden feet. For which we’re then supposed to feel sorry for them. Yeah, this TOTALLY isn’t a family of psychos…
-This and the previous book are supposed to be about how “Kidnapping Is Bad” and “Cults Are Bad”, and yet, both messages are wildly contradicted within this little book. Oi.
-The Springs are genuinely one of the most narcissistic, demented, hypocrisy-driven, self-fucking-absorbed, honest-to-god SOCIOPATHS I have ever read about. They are on the same level as the Richies in Thunderwith and the Farradays in Night Road. Oh dear.
-You’re apparently supposed to “try” to be happy in the place you’re being held prisoner, and if you’re not, you’re just not trying hard enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯¯ It can’t be that *THEY’RE* doing anything wrong or anything…………………….
This is not a nuanced situation. It’s pretty cut and dry. Anyone with a minimal amount of braincells and a side of empathy, knows that ripping away a 15-year old from the two loving parents she grew up with since she was 3 (who committed no crime, might I add), AND away from her friends/school/town/state/ENTIRE LIFE essentially, and THEN additionally, expecting her to be happy about it, is so psychologically DAMAGING, literal child abuse. How is this LEGAL? Apparently, like I said, abduction and child abuse are in fact, both legal. It doesn’t matter that this family orders pizza. It doesn’t matter that they make her sit through stupid sports games. It doesn’t matter that they try to make small talk. They’re still STRANGERS to her. Strangers can be polite. I’ve met plenty of polite ones. That doesn’t mean you get to forcibly make me leave my life behind and live in their home, doing everything their way. And CERTAINLY, it doesn’t mean I immediately feel comfortable with hugging and kissing them, and calling them Mom and Dad. Are you out of your mind? Furthermore, I also started thinking while reading this book, What if Janie had already had preexisting problems to deal with—such as autism? Or severe social anxiety? Both of which I have, so I guess that’s why I thought that. But Jesus—this would be an excruciating nightmare for people like me. I cannot IMAGINE how utterly hopelessly in despair I would be. I’d probably kill myself.
The irony is not lost on me that while these 2 books were trying to make a commentary about kidnapping and cults, both were loudly on display in this one. We’ve gone over the kidnapping aspect, now let’s get to the cult one: Janie is literally expected to change her name. She’s expected to change everything about herself. She’s supposed to start calling strangers her “sister” and “brother” and “father” and “mother”. Isn’t this EXACTLY what cults do to people?? Strip you of everything in your past life, give you a new identity, and expect you to just roll with it? And gaslight you into believing this is “all for your own good”? Then react angrily when you aren’t able to adjust???
They literally throw a CHAIR at her. Then the “dad” has the ever almighty GALL to be like, “Your poor parents are suffering, but no, you can’t call them and comfort them.” And then directly after that, we’re supposed to believe the son-of-a-bitch was being LOVING. These books have such a deeply disturbing definition of “love”. How twisted.
List of things this psycho-ass family does, whilst the book repeatedly tells us they’re a good family:
-Throws chairs
-Guilt trips
-Wishes to stuff somebody in an oven
-Victim-blames a 3-year old
-Wishes said 3-year old would’ve been tortured and killed
-Wishes to run over someone with a “nail-tired truck”
-Threatens to stab someone in their sleep
-Won’t allow the person they kidnapped to even talk to her parents when they’re in distress
-Accuses someone who just wants to go home that they only like the “bigger house” and “not having to wait in line for the bathroom”
-Tells her she deserves she deserves to be dead (THEN AFTER THIS, SHE SAYS HE’S BEEN A GOOD BROTHER, AND SHE’S THE ONE WHO’S DESTROYING A FAMILY. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME)
That should say it ALL right there.
But Janie’s the bad guy, right? This poor, poor family, the poor, poor Springs…this book contains horrible gaslighting to the reader about what’s actually going on. Like I said, it deeply insults my intelligence. I couldn’t get through a page without getting angry. I actually Google’d my library how much it would cost to not return a book, because I wanted to just throw this in the trash. But then I decided, I’m not going to pay a single penny for this piece of shit.
Then I got slightly relieved when Janie finally left these deranged shitstains, and yet, the next chapter is about them 😫😫😫 Jesus. You NEVER get a break from the Springs. The whole entire BOOK is about them. UGH.
These people have ZERO EMPATHY OR REGARD FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S SUFFERING. The whole thing is just all about their own sick wants, and thinking they’re the only victims in anything. And the book REPEATEDLY tells us this is true, and that Janie (or Jennie) is somehow the bad guy. It’s GASLIGHTING. That’s not what I read, that’s not what happened. STOP it.
For Jodie to call ANYONE else a spoiled rotten brat, is like for Lisa Snyder to call someone else a child abuser. And, for the Springs to claim they “love” Janie, is like for Lisa Snyder to claim she was trying to “protect” her kids. Oh. And there’s also a part where Jodie calls homeless people “the dregs and disasters of humanity.” What a TRULY wonderful human being she is. This is when the book for some reason turns into “Stephen and Jodie’s Adventures”, in which they go to New York City and are shocked that there are people there. They walk around for a while sulking, and then leave. NO reason whatsoever for that waste-of-time little subplot.
Final thoughts: FUCK Jodie and Stephen, and all of their beastly, violent, psychotic ways. Fuck the Springs. Fuck the repeated forcing-down-my-throat that they are not the bad guys, when they are. Fuck the victim-blaming, and Janie repeatedly narrating that she’s the one at fault. Fuck the Stockholm Syndrome that eventually ensues. Fuck the fact that they literally make her parents and her own boyfriend from home betray her too. Fuck everything.
Frankly, I’d have preferred for this book to turn into the Amityville Horror.
Deeeeep loooong sighhhhh. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I always end up doing this to myself?
This book was actually very insulting to my intelligence. I actually went a couple days debating if I should take a long break from it (even though I was so close to finished) because it really made me that angry. This is the type of book that will make you hate reading, even if you love reading.
I love how this is supposed to be about how “Kidnapping Is Bad”, and yet, the character who GOT kidnapped is literally treated the worst.
This book should’ve just been called Spring Superiority. Or Victim-Blaming Vicinity. Or Gaslighting Galore. I don’t like being gaslighted (or gaslit, whichever it is). Telling me over and over again that it’s “selfish” to not want to be yanked out of your home and dropped into a house of strangers? Bye.
Alright. Like with Speak, it’s once again time for me to take off my nostalgia goggles and acknowledge a couple of things about this book:
-It is repeatedly claimed that THREE-YEAR OLDS are responsible for their own abductions………………….
-Apparently abduction is actually legal It’s legal when the Springs do it. Sometimes it’s not, but sometimes it is—mixed signals.
-The two oldest siblings are literal monsters who one minute pretend to be friendly, then the next act like spoiled rotten bullies. They repeatedly wish violence on Janie (Janie. NOT Jennie) because she isn’t throwing herself at their golden feet. For which we’re then supposed to feel sorry for them. Yeah, this TOTALLY isn’t a family of psychos…
-This and the previous book are supposed to be about how “Kidnapping Is Bad” and “Cults Are Bad”, and yet, both messages are wildly contradicted within this little book. Oi.
-The Springs are genuinely one of the most narcissistic, demented, hypocrisy-driven, self-fucking-absorbed, honest-to-god SOCIOPATHS I have ever read about. They are on the same level as the Richies in Thunderwith and the Farradays in Night Road. Oh dear.
-You’re apparently supposed to “try” to be happy in the place you’re being held prisoner, and if you’re not, you’re just not trying hard enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯¯ It can’t be that *THEY’RE* doing anything wrong or anything…………………….
This is not a nuanced situation. It’s pretty cut and dry. Anyone with a minimal amount of braincells and a side of empathy, knows that ripping away a 15-year old from the two loving parents she grew up with since she was 3 (who committed no crime, might I add), AND away from her friends/school/town/state/ENTIRE LIFE essentially, and THEN additionally, expecting her to be happy about it, is so psychologically DAMAGING, literal child abuse. How is this LEGAL? Apparently, like I said, abduction and child abuse are in fact, both legal. It doesn’t matter that this family orders pizza. It doesn’t matter that they make her sit through stupid sports games. It doesn’t matter that they try to make small talk. They’re still STRANGERS to her. Strangers can be polite. I’ve met plenty of polite ones. That doesn’t mean you get to forcibly make me leave my life behind and live in their home, doing everything their way. And CERTAINLY, it doesn’t mean I immediately feel comfortable with hugging and kissing them, and calling them Mom and Dad. Are you out of your mind? Furthermore, I also started thinking while reading this book, What if Janie had already had preexisting problems to deal with—such as autism? Or severe social anxiety? Both of which I have, so I guess that’s why I thought that. But Jesus—this would be an excruciating nightmare for people like me. I cannot IMAGINE how utterly hopelessly in despair I would be. I’d probably kill myself.
The irony is not lost on me that while these 2 books were trying to make a commentary about kidnapping and cults, both were loudly on display in this one. We’ve gone over the kidnapping aspect, now let’s get to the cult one: Janie is literally expected to change her name. She’s expected to change everything about herself. She’s supposed to start calling strangers her “sister” and “brother” and “father” and “mother”. Isn’t this EXACTLY what cults do to people?? Strip you of everything in your past life, give you a new identity, and expect you to just roll with it? And gaslight you into believing this is “all for your own good”? Then react angrily when you aren’t able to adjust???
They literally throw a CHAIR at her. Then the “dad” has the ever almighty GALL to be like, “Your poor parents are suffering, but no, you can’t call them and comfort them.” And then directly after that, we’re supposed to believe the son-of-a-bitch was being LOVING. These books have such a deeply disturbing definition of “love”. How twisted.
List of things this psycho-ass family does, whilst the book repeatedly tells us they’re a good family:
-Throws chairs
-Guilt trips
-Wishes to stuff somebody in an oven
-Victim-blames a 3-year old
-Wishes said 3-year old would’ve been tortured and killed
-Wishes to run over someone with a “nail-tired truck”
-Threatens to stab someone in their sleep
-Won’t allow the person they kidnapped to even talk to her parents when they’re in distress
-Accuses someone who just wants to go home that they only like the “bigger house” and “not having to wait in line for the bathroom”
-Tells her she deserves she deserves to be dead (THEN AFTER THIS, SHE SAYS HE’S BEEN A GOOD BROTHER, AND SHE’S THE ONE WHO’S DESTROYING A FAMILY. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME)
“Janie was actually slightly surprised Stephen hadn’t killed her.”Page 162.
That should say it ALL right there.
But Janie’s the bad guy, right? This poor, poor family, the poor, poor Springs…this book contains horrible gaslighting to the reader about what’s actually going on. Like I said, it deeply insults my intelligence. I couldn’t get through a page without getting angry. I actually Google’d my library how much it would cost to not return a book, because I wanted to just throw this in the trash. But then I decided, I’m not going to pay a single penny for this piece of shit.
Then I got slightly relieved when Janie finally left these deranged shitstains, and yet, the next chapter is about them 😫😫😫 Jesus. You NEVER get a break from the Springs. The whole entire BOOK is about them. UGH.
These people have ZERO EMPATHY OR REGARD FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S SUFFERING. The whole thing is just all about their own sick wants, and thinking they’re the only victims in anything. And the book REPEATEDLY tells us this is true, and that Janie (or Jennie) is somehow the bad guy. It’s GASLIGHTING. That’s not what I read, that’s not what happened. STOP it.
For Jodie to call ANYONE else a spoiled rotten brat, is like for Lisa Snyder to call someone else a child abuser. And, for the Springs to claim they “love” Janie, is like for Lisa Snyder to claim she was trying to “protect” her kids. Oh. And there’s also a part where Jodie calls homeless people “the dregs and disasters of humanity.” What a TRULY wonderful human being she is. This is when the book for some reason turns into “Stephen and Jodie’s Adventures”, in which they go to New York City and are shocked that there are people there. They walk around for a while sulking, and then leave. NO reason whatsoever for that waste-of-time little subplot.
Final thoughts: FUCK Jodie and Stephen, and all of their beastly, violent, psychotic ways. Fuck the Springs. Fuck the repeated forcing-down-my-throat that they are not the bad guys, when they are. Fuck the victim-blaming, and Janie repeatedly narrating that she’s the one at fault. Fuck the Stockholm Syndrome that eventually ensues. Fuck the fact that they literally make her parents and her own boyfriend from home betray her too. Fuck everything.
Frankly, I’d have preferred for this book to turn into the Amityville Horror.
Read
June 3, 2015"What normal decent person swaps families as easily as a pair of ice skates?" says fifteen year old Janie Johnson, or should I say Jennie Springs. In the first book, The Face On the Milk Carton, Janie recognizes her face on a milk carton as a three year old girl who was taken from a mall in New Jersey twelve years ago. She finds out that her parents are really her adoptive parents and Janie Johnson was kidnapped before she even met the Johnson's. So who's to blame? It's Hannah. Hannah Javensen, the Johnson's daughter. She came home one day from the cult with a little girl who she claimed was hers and left her to the Johnsons to raise and take care of as their "granddaughter". But the Johnsons were totally unaware that they weren't actually related. Janie was not Hannah Javensen's daughter. With the mystery of this kidnapping now unraveled, Janie's story continues in the sequel Whatever Happened to Janie?. She goes to live with her biological parents, the Springs, and their four children as they discover more information about the women responsible for the separation of their family. Caroline B. Cooney's gripping novel Whatever Happened to Janie is just as engaging as the first one because of how the author gets the reader to connect and feel for Janie and her family.
Shallow is one word not to use to describe Janie. For example, when Janie meets her real parents for the first time in twelve years, she reacts how any other average fifteen year old girl would. The Springs are complete strangers to her and she is not just going to go by Jennie, call them mom and dad and say "I love you" in a day.
In addition, this book as an extremely engaging plot and really hooks you to want to read more all throughout the novel. The Face on the Milk Carton ends in a cliff hanger so the reader wants to go on to the sequel to find out what happens next. You just can't turn away from the book because you want to know if they ever find Hannah, if Janie ever starts to enjoy her real family in New Jersey, what happens to her boyfriend Reeve, and does she ever see the Johnson's again?
Another good element of the book is how much the reader will connect with the characters. For example, I felt bad for Mr. and Mrs. Springs when Janie wasn't trying her hardest to fit in with the family. She just made her decision that she wanted to be Janie Johnson and not Jennie Springs and they were devastated. The author does a good job making the reader feel like they are there going through all of this with Janie. You can feel the pull on both sides. The Springs have had one less daughter for twelve years and were beyond excited to have her back. But the Johnsons, on the other hand, know Janie as their only child and now are losing her like Hannah and have no idea what they did wrong. The Johnsons were full of desperation, which they showed when Janie said her last goodbyes. "Janie hugged her father one last time, her father said nothing, just kissed his beloved daughter. A single tear came down his cheek, taking its time, finding every wrinkle and crack." But after a shocking decision made by Janie, the feelings reverse.
With its original characters, gripping plot, and satisfying ending, Whatever Happened to Janie is a great read for anyone who enjoys some mystery.
December 14, 2007
I don't remember what happened to Janie, but knowing Caroline B. Cooney , it was something excessively dramatic.
May 12, 2020
Whatever Happened to Janie, aka "How You Shouldn't Introduce a New Child to a Family."
When Janie is ordered to go live with her new family, Janie's old parents just kind of give up. They don't say anything like, "You'll always be our daughter in our hearts. We know it's going to be difficult, and we are sorry you are in this situation. We want the best for you. We love you. We'll always be here for you." Nope; they just quit on poor old Janie cold turkey. They didn't even drive her to New Jersey. They had someone else that she didn't know take her, on the most traumatic day of her life. WTF?
Janie's new family is also unsympathetic. Hey, here's all your new family, all at once, all in one day. Here's your bedroom with your new sisters. Here's your new jerky older brother, and two new younger brothers who don't really have any purpose in the story. Here's your new school! Why couldn't she have a week or two off, just to acclimate to the new family? To hang out with her new parents by herself for a while?
Couldn't they have:
1. Had a meeting with just Janie and the new parents at first, or just Janie and her new mom?
2. Then had a meeting with Jodie one-on-one?
3. Then had a meeting with Stephen?
4. Couldn't she have finished the school year at her old school, then spent a few weekends with the Springs until they got used to each other?
5. Are there no therapists for the families to sit down with and talk about the process, and boundaries, and for Janie talk through things?
The new family expects an awful lot from a 15-year-old whose life just did a 180. She's supposed to come in, change her name, change her school, change her friends, and change her family, and she has to do it all while smiling, being respectful, acting like she's always been one of them and never had any other experiences, while also pretending her previous life doesn't exist. She's told she can't even call her old family. How is this not cruel? Why does it have to be all or nothing?
None of the adults in the book actually try to help Janie adjust, cope, or work through the situation. She's just thrown into her new family to do what they want, while her old family completely shuts down and she feels like she has to rescue them. She's 15. She's been through extraordinary trauma twice, and no one is helping her out.
The book also fluctuated so much it was hard to keep track. Sometimes Janie would get along with her new siblings, then they'd hate each other and say extremely mean things, then she'd hug her new dad (when he yells at her?). Then she wanted to move back to her old family.
And the boyfriend! Yikes! What a creep he turned into.
And what was with Jodie and Stephen running off to New York? The book didn't even end with the main character. The last chapters were all about two fairly unlikeable teenagers going off on a goose chase.
When Janie is ordered to go live with her new family, Janie's old parents just kind of give up. They don't say anything like, "You'll always be our daughter in our hearts. We know it's going to be difficult, and we are sorry you are in this situation. We want the best for you. We love you. We'll always be here for you." Nope; they just quit on poor old Janie cold turkey. They didn't even drive her to New Jersey. They had someone else that she didn't know take her, on the most traumatic day of her life. WTF?
Janie's new family is also unsympathetic. Hey, here's all your new family, all at once, all in one day. Here's your bedroom with your new sisters. Here's your new jerky older brother, and two new younger brothers who don't really have any purpose in the story. Here's your new school! Why couldn't she have a week or two off, just to acclimate to the new family? To hang out with her new parents by herself for a while?
Couldn't they have:
1. Had a meeting with just Janie and the new parents at first, or just Janie and her new mom?
2. Then had a meeting with Jodie one-on-one?
3. Then had a meeting with Stephen?
4. Couldn't she have finished the school year at her old school, then spent a few weekends with the Springs until they got used to each other?
5. Are there no therapists for the families to sit down with and talk about the process, and boundaries, and for Janie talk through things?
The new family expects an awful lot from a 15-year-old whose life just did a 180. She's supposed to come in, change her name, change her school, change her friends, and change her family, and she has to do it all while smiling, being respectful, acting like she's always been one of them and never had any other experiences, while also pretending her previous life doesn't exist. She's told she can't even call her old family. How is this not cruel? Why does it have to be all or nothing?
None of the adults in the book actually try to help Janie adjust, cope, or work through the situation. She's just thrown into her new family to do what they want, while her old family completely shuts down and she feels like she has to rescue them. She's 15. She's been through extraordinary trauma twice, and no one is helping her out.
The book also fluctuated so much it was hard to keep track. Sometimes Janie would get along with her new siblings, then they'd hate each other and say extremely mean things, then she'd hug her new dad (when he yells at her?). Then she wanted to move back to her old family.
And the boyfriend! Yikes! What a creep he turned into.
And what was with Jodie and Stephen running off to New York? The book didn't even end with the main character. The last chapters were all about two fairly unlikeable teenagers going off on a goose chase.
April 21, 2011
In some ways, this is actually better than the first book, The Face on the Milk Carton. Janie's been told she has to go live with her birth family, and this opens up the delightfully awful complexity of what family really is. Being a person who staunchly opposes the idea that "family" only means the people who share your DNA, I really like that Cooney took the time to examine this. Your blood family will always be a part of who are you, even if you haven't known them most of your life, but they aren't it. Sometimes, you're needed elsewhere, by other people, and that may hurt everyone involved, but it can hurt marginally less if there is a reason to be part of another family, a family of different definitions.
I also give absolute props to Cooney for the last five or so pages detailing the journey to New York for Hannah, who has done so much to ruin their lives. Although the storyline on how they got there is a bit weak, the things that are said about humanity and life and choices are just fabulous; true gems in a YA novel can be hard to come by, but this is one of them. A marvelous sequel, and one I'm very glad was written with such lack of fear of Very Big Topics.
I also give absolute props to Cooney for the last five or so pages detailing the journey to New York for Hannah, who has done so much to ruin their lives. Although the storyline on how they got there is a bit weak, the things that are said about humanity and life and choices are just fabulous; true gems in a YA novel can be hard to come by, but this is one of them. A marvelous sequel, and one I'm very glad was written with such lack of fear of Very Big Topics.
April 21, 2022
“The cop was a black man. His skin seemed more solid than white skin would.”
^^ It’s the perpetuation of harmful racialized myths for me. 🙄🙄🙄
I basically only read this because I was waiting for the Magical Readathon to start on April 1st and I needed something mindless and short to read. This is technically a reread as I read this series when I was 11 or 12. And whew. This has not aged well. The sex negative attitudes, the negative way sex work is discussed, the harmful racial stereotypes, and the heavy handed morality lessons were *not 👏🏾 for 👏🏾 me 👏🏾*
^^ It’s the perpetuation of harmful racialized myths for me. 🙄🙄🙄
I basically only read this because I was waiting for the Magical Readathon to start on April 1st and I needed something mindless and short to read. This is technically a reread as I read this series when I was 11 or 12. And whew. This has not aged well. The sex negative attitudes, the negative way sex work is discussed, the harmful racial stereotypes, and the heavy handed morality lessons were *not 👏🏾 for 👏🏾 me 👏🏾*
December 30, 2020
You read stuff like this and you can kinda understand the culture of the late 80's early 90's that led to the convictions in the Central Park jogger case or the 90's Crime Bill passing. There is absolutely no nuance. Hannah was in a cult because she had parents who didn't teach her religion so she had no values and then she stole a baby and became a prostitute and that's what she deserves. It's like the weirdest after-school special you could imagine. This is similar to books like Go Ask Alice because it's supposed to be a story about teenagers but it's really a bizarre PSA that randomly gives you stats and advice about kidnapping, safe sex, and cults.
This was slightly more interesting than the first book only because there were more POVs which I liked. But also it was just so much worse. The writing was terrible and awkward and the characters didn't act like real people. And if they were real people I would hate them. Some gems we have are:
UMMMM What the fuck? I cannot fully process this paragraph. If there is someone out there who thinks like this I do not want to ever meet them. Also, he's 18 and saying this about a 14/15-year-old girl.
Ahh yes because everything can be solved if you are raised right. And by raised right I mean Catholic.
This is a father talking to his daughter about her adoptive parents. He's supposed to be a good guy I think. I don't even know.
This is just so incredibly racist. Saying Black people have different skin/bodies than white people? That’s so fucked up. This guy later goes on to say someone deserves to be homeless so?
This was slightly more interesting than the first book only because there were more POVs which I liked. But also it was just so much worse. The writing was terrible and awkward and the characters didn't act like real people. And if they were real people I would hate them. Some gems we have are:
"But then Reeve was new enough to shaving that he still thought standing in front of the mirror and using that razor was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Sex would be better, but sex was harder to get than razors."
UMMMM What the fuck? I cannot fully process this paragraph. If there is someone out there who thinks like this I do not want to ever meet them. Also, he's 18 and saying this about a 14/15-year-old girl.
Janie shook her head, "Daddy said that we weren't a religious family and she probably didn't know much about that. He said that another time and age, Hannah would probably have become a nun and spent her life meditating and praying, but that nobody in our family knew anything about praying and nuns and the Bible, so it didn't come up.
Ahh yes because everything can be solved if you are raised right. And by raised right I mean Catholic.
You seem to think you're the only one suffering. Let me tell you something young lady Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are suffering ten times more than you are. Their real daughter Hannah is a criminal and a hooker and God knows what else when they had you, they could pretend otherwise but now they don't have you and they have to face the truth.
This is a father talking to his daughter about her adoptive parents. He's supposed to be a good guy I think. I don't even know.
Jodie's cop was a black man, built extremely wide, as if his shoulders had come from some other mold entirely than Stephen's. His skin seemed more solid than white skin would; in fact, he's entire body seemed more solid. His muscles went all the way through.
This is just so incredibly racist. Saying Black people have different skin/bodies than white people? That’s so fucked up. This guy later goes on to say someone deserves to be homeless so?
April 30, 2023
3,5*
Even though the characters and the way they behave might not have aged well, I was again captivated by Janie and her story.
It is almost like reading a true crime thriller or watching a documentary of a real kidnapping and it had all my attention. So much so that I could not put it down and read it in just one sitting.
Definitely loved to see what happened after book one and I can not wait to get my hands on book 3.
Even though the characters and the way they behave might not have aged well, I was again captivated by Janie and her story.
It is almost like reading a true crime thriller or watching a documentary of a real kidnapping and it had all my attention. So much so that I could not put it down and read it in just one sitting.
Definitely loved to see what happened after book one and I can not wait to get my hands on book 3.
October 21, 2013
Three-year-old Jennie Spring was kidnapped by the daughter of the Javenson family. The Johnson family who was originally the Javenson’s renamed Jennie to Janie Spring. Janie has been told she is allergic to milk so she never paid much attention to milk, but one day at school she takes her friend, Sarah-Charlotte, milk carton and discovers the missing little girl’s face and believes that it could be her possibly. She doesn’t believe it at first and thinks it might be a mistake but then she starts to think and slowly starts to put the pieces together. Now she knows it’s her. She wants to met her real parents in New Jersey, but she doesn’t want to upset or leave her parents that she only knew or existed for twelve years. She wants to make everyone happy, but how will it feel to leave her old friends and boyfriend and move to a whole new, different environment with different people. How about a living with new parents and three other brothers and a sister. She doesn’t know what to do. There are to many decisions to make. What will she do next? Who will she live with? Caroline B. Cooney does a great job with this book by putting lots of mysteries and twists in it. While she is unraveling the kidnapping mystery in the book she puts you in the book and makes you feel as if you are the character and makes you feel apart of this book. I enjoyed this book
January 31, 2011
Even better than the first book.
The first one was about finding answers to mysteries. This one is about finding a different kind of answers. Answers to things like "what now?" and "how do we go on?"
Questions that never have simple answers.
And this book doesn't pretend the answers are easy, and presents real people, who are awful to each other even when they are trying hard not to be.
The first one was about finding answers to mysteries. This one is about finding a different kind of answers. Answers to things like "what now?" and "how do we go on?"
Questions that never have simple answers.
And this book doesn't pretend the answers are easy, and presents real people, who are awful to each other even when they are trying hard not to be.
July 26, 2021
reading for Teen Creeps but i might go ahead and read the next one. (can't remember if i ever read that one as a kid.)
i just need these families to go to therapy! eesh!
i just need these families to go to therapy! eesh!
May 22, 2019
Good but not great
Read
April 19, 2023Again, this felt like a product of its time, and a lot of the characters were frustrating once again. I really don't like Reeve and how he's painted as some sweet boyfriend when it seems like all he thinks about is sex and is frustrated when Janie wants to talk to him about her living situation when they finally see each other again.
But I was also just really stressed out about how the Springs were treating Janie and not even trying make her comfortable in her new home with things she might already know and like. They didn't ask her about her favourite foods or give her much privacy, and everyone just expected her to get along with them right away. She was kidnapped at 3, not 13. She doesn't know this family at all. Everyone is like "oh you can talk at 3, you can form memories", but does anyone actually remember much once they grow up? I have two extremely vague memories from when I would have been 3-4, and most of my more solid (but still quite vague) memories are from much later when I started school. Of course she barely remembers her family. And mostly I couldn't believe they wanted to call her Jennie still, instead of Janie. Like, I know that's who she was to them in their thoughts for the last 12 years, but she's never known herself with that name. It's so weird they felt like forcing it on her, and that she sort of accepted that.
But I was mostly sympathetic to Janie, being stuck in such a new and unfamiliar situation. I do feel bad for her birth parents and siblings, but what could they expect really, having her move back in and cut off her friends and the family she grew up with? It was going to be a difficult process.
Anyway I know this is a children/YA book that I'm reading as an adult so I don't want to be too harsh. And yet. For such an interesting story things could have been fleshed out a bit better I think.
But I was also just really stressed out about how the Springs were treating Janie and not even trying make her comfortable in her new home with things she might already know and like. They didn't ask her about her favourite foods or give her much privacy, and everyone just expected her to get along with them right away. She was kidnapped at 3, not 13. She doesn't know this family at all. Everyone is like "oh you can talk at 3, you can form memories", but does anyone actually remember much once they grow up? I have two extremely vague memories from when I would have been 3-4, and most of my more solid (but still quite vague) memories are from much later when I started school. Of course she barely remembers her family. And mostly I couldn't believe they wanted to call her Jennie still, instead of Janie. Like, I know that's who she was to them in their thoughts for the last 12 years, but she's never known herself with that name. It's so weird they felt like forcing it on her, and that she sort of accepted that.
But I was mostly sympathetic to Janie, being stuck in such a new and unfamiliar situation. I do feel bad for her birth parents and siblings, but what could they expect really, having her move back in and cut off her friends and the family she grew up with? It was going to be a difficult process.
Anyway I know this is a children/YA book that I'm reading as an adult so I don't want to be too harsh. And yet. For such an interesting story things could have been fleshed out a bit better I think.
June 8, 2023
3.5⭐️
January 21, 2015
Janie Johnson's whole life changed when she found out she is the girl on the milk carton. And now Janie has to go live with her birth family in New Jersey.
Living in New Jersey with her real family, Janie has to become Jennie Spring and Janie doesn't know if she can. Since she was three and half, she has been Janie Johnson.
Janie doesn't want to hurt the Springs or the Johnsons. But it seems, whatever choice she makes it will hurt one of her families.
I would say it has been at least 10 years or a little more since I read The Face on the Milk Carton and so I don't remember every detail of the book. But I do remember greatly enjoying the book and it became one of my favorites. I'll eventually give it a re-read sometime.
I didn't know it was a series until about 4 years ago and I found the second book at a library book sale. It took me a while to read it, but I finally have and I am glad I did.
I remember the first book was quite emotional and this one is, too. I think maybe even more so than the first book. The story is seen through not only Janie's point of view, but others as well.
In some ways I think I liked this better than the first book. Janie must live with her birth family and this brought up another emotional struggle for her. She now knows she was kidnapped, but does not blame her parents (the Johnsons) they really believed Janie was their granddaughter. But they raised, they loved her and took care of her. Biological or not. Janie considers them her parents.
And her birth parents, her siblings, Janie can see in appearance and otherwise, they are her biological family. But she did not grow up with them and despite the many similarities, they feel like strangers to her.
Janie does realize she cares for her birth family and doesn't want to hurt them. But she doesn't want to hurt her parents, the people who raised her. And no matter what choice she makes, Janie realizes it will hurt one of her families.
I felt for Janie and she could have been nicer at times, but I think how she acted was understandable too. She was in the middle of all this; had two sets of parents that both love and want her. I really feel a lot was expected of her, especially by her birth family. I understand they wanted her back, she is their daughter after all. But to me, it seems if as they expected her to move in with them and be part of the family like for the past twelve years she hadn't lived with someone else. Like nothing ever happened.
Her two older siblings annoyed me a bit. While I understand they were in pain, they were mean at times (I think even meaner than Janie. At one point her brother Stephen told her she deserved to be dead). They felt Janie wasn't trying hard enough to be part of the family and they definitely let her know it.
The other thing that annoyed was Reeve. He is upset she is gone, but mostly his point of view is about how much he wants her. I wish his point of view hadn't been like that.
And I think this book really explores the topic of family. Sometimes family isn't just biological. Family, in my opinion, is anyone who truly loves and cares about you. Janie realizes this also.
I really enjoyed this and the only reason I am not giving this five stars is the reasons mentioned above. Besides that, I think I actually liked this more than the first book. I give this four and a half stars.
Living in New Jersey with her real family, Janie has to become Jennie Spring and Janie doesn't know if she can. Since she was three and half, she has been Janie Johnson.
Janie doesn't want to hurt the Springs or the Johnsons. But it seems, whatever choice she makes it will hurt one of her families.
I would say it has been at least 10 years or a little more since I read The Face on the Milk Carton and so I don't remember every detail of the book. But I do remember greatly enjoying the book and it became one of my favorites. I'll eventually give it a re-read sometime.
I didn't know it was a series until about 4 years ago and I found the second book at a library book sale. It took me a while to read it, but I finally have and I am glad I did.
I remember the first book was quite emotional and this one is, too. I think maybe even more so than the first book. The story is seen through not only Janie's point of view, but others as well.
In some ways I think I liked this better than the first book. Janie must live with her birth family and this brought up another emotional struggle for her. She now knows she was kidnapped, but does not blame her parents (the Johnsons) they really believed Janie was their granddaughter. But they raised, they loved her and took care of her. Biological or not. Janie considers them her parents.
And her birth parents, her siblings, Janie can see in appearance and otherwise, they are her biological family. But she did not grow up with them and despite the many similarities, they feel like strangers to her.
Janie does realize she cares for her birth family and doesn't want to hurt them. But she doesn't want to hurt her parents, the people who raised her. And no matter what choice she makes, Janie realizes it will hurt one of her families.
I felt for Janie and she could have been nicer at times, but I think how she acted was understandable too. She was in the middle of all this; had two sets of parents that both love and want her. I really feel a lot was expected of her, especially by her birth family. I understand they wanted her back, she is their daughter after all. But to me, it seems if as they expected her to move in with them and be part of the family like for the past twelve years she hadn't lived with someone else. Like nothing ever happened.
Her two older siblings annoyed me a bit. While I understand they were in pain, they were mean at times (I think even meaner than Janie. At one point her brother Stephen told her she deserved to be dead). They felt Janie wasn't trying hard enough to be part of the family and they definitely let her know it.
The other thing that annoyed was Reeve. He is upset she is gone, but mostly his point of view is about how much he wants her. I wish his point of view hadn't been like that.
And I think this book really explores the topic of family. Sometimes family isn't just biological. Family, in my opinion, is anyone who truly loves and cares about you. Janie realizes this also.
I really enjoyed this and the only reason I am not giving this five stars is the reasons mentioned above. Besides that, I think I actually liked this more than the first book. I give this four and a half stars.
May 20, 2013
Whatever Happened to Janie is the continuation of a young girl finding out that she was kidnapped at 3 years old. You go thru her emotions of leaving the only family she ever knew to coming back to the family that missed and thought the worst of what happened to Janie. I liked the second one so much better. It shows the struggles of all families that we may never think about. It was a story that reasonated with me in that my parents divorced at a young age and I went to live with my dad. I did however, move in with my mother when I was the same age as Janie and I reasonated well with all those emotions. It was a very sureal time and the story showed the pain of both families. It also showed the love of letting go. Love is never forced. Love is most revealed when there is freedom and I am looking forward to the next book to see how that love flourishes for both families.
August 5, 2017
This book was good as the first. You can't wait to see what happens, you feel emotionally torn like Janie... it's a book series that explores difficult emotions and the reality that there is so much complexity to any issue. You have to do what's best for you, even if it's not best for the majority. There aren't awards for suffering and that suffering hurts the people you're trying to protect... that in any reality, there are Multiple considerations to consider...
Like book1, I'm desperate to immediately start the next.
Like book1, I'm desperate to immediately start the next.
December 16, 2022
It probably didn't help that I read this out of order, but I thought it was just a stand alone novel. The main character is moody and dramatic, which got annoying quickly. Instead of being happy over being with her real family she is a constant state of indecision about going back to the kidnappers or staying. This book got boring very quickly and I found myself struggling to read this. Would not recommend.
February 2, 2020
Janie (Jenny) has gone to live with her birth parents. This is a major challenge for all involved. I'm glad the series is continuing so that we can understand the adjustments from all of the people in this difficult situation.
April 16, 2024
Whoops read the second book instead of the first one but I checked out the first book and it looked boring so glad I read this one also this series does not need to contain 6 BOOKS CAROLINE!!! Damn but yeah it's a good book
January 11, 2025
I don't know what I was hoping for, but I don't feel the need to continue on with this series.
May 17, 2024
The story had more depth to it than the original. I really liked that chapters were told from the perspective of different characters.
June 30, 2022
I decided to read this book after reading The Face on the Milk Carton and it left on a cliff hanger. This installment was a bit better than the first, but it had some graphic lines about what the Springs want to violently do to certain people. It was so random and did not really fit the full feel of the book. Was it worth the read? Yes. Am I going to read the next installment? Yep, sure am.
June 25, 2024
Book 2! In The Face on the Milk Carton, Janie Johnson discovered that she was actually Jennie Spring...and in Whatever Happened to Janie?, she's forced to reckon with the truth of her identity when she is sent to live with her biological family.
This was the book of the series that most fascinated me as a kid, I think partly because I also had Twice Taken, in which Brooke discovers that she's actually Amy—the victim of a parental abduction—and is sent to live with her biological mother. (Oh gosh, I'm going to have to reread that now too. I loved that book.) That's a single book rather than a series, and plotwise it has the most similarities to this book, with the girls living with the parents they were taken from and having to wrestle with complex and messy feelings and new lives that they neither asked for nor particularly want. Twice Taken always struck me as markedly more realistic, for a number of reasons, but I was also fascinated by just...the physical differences between Janie's life as a Johnson and her life as a Spring, I guess. Cooney is really good about bringing in specific details about objects to give the reader more of a visual, and even years later I think of Janie squashing her life into her newfound sister's room and the personalized 'Jennie' objects that her family has gotten for her (and that she doesn't want).
The ending of the book is not, I think, super realistic—again, I think Twice Taken had it more right there. But as a nostalgia read? This holds up.
This was the book of the series that most fascinated me as a kid, I think partly because I also had Twice Taken, in which Brooke discovers that she's actually Amy—the victim of a parental abduction—and is sent to live with her biological mother. (Oh gosh, I'm going to have to reread that now too. I loved that book.) That's a single book rather than a series, and plotwise it has the most similarities to this book, with the girls living with the parents they were taken from and having to wrestle with complex and messy feelings and new lives that they neither asked for nor particularly want. Twice Taken always struck me as markedly more realistic, for a number of reasons, but I was also fascinated by just...the physical differences between Janie's life as a Johnson and her life as a Spring, I guess. Cooney is really good about bringing in specific details about objects to give the reader more of a visual, and even years later I think of Janie squashing her life into her newfound sister's room and the personalized 'Jennie' objects that her family has gotten for her (and that she doesn't want).
The ending of the book is not, I think, super realistic—again, I think Twice Taken had it more right there. But as a nostalgia read? This holds up.
December 14, 2012
I gave four stars to the first one, this one managed to blow me away.
After contacting her real parents, Janie is sent to live with them without contacting home for at least three months. Once there, she is nothing like they expected. Everyone expected her to be happy to be back, instead she acts depressed and wants her old parents back. Her real parents, the Springs, try to compromise, but the problem is the little things like apple juice instead of orange juice in the morning and being expected to respond to Jennie instead of Janie.
The best part abut this book was that there was no way it was going to work out, and you knew that from the start. So in the end when Janie deided what to do, you know that it was what she really would do. And you could tell that the author was doing her best to get into Janie's shoes. And Janie's relationships with those around her seemed real, there was great character development.
I literally couldn't put this book down, and therefore almost killed myself on the street while not paying attention. A quick, one day read, but very complex and it makes you want more. I can't wait to read the next one!
After contacting her real parents, Janie is sent to live with them without contacting home for at least three months. Once there, she is nothing like they expected. Everyone expected her to be happy to be back, instead she acts depressed and wants her old parents back. Her real parents, the Springs, try to compromise, but the problem is the little things like apple juice instead of orange juice in the morning and being expected to respond to Jennie instead of Janie.
The best part abut this book was that there was no way it was going to work out, and you knew that from the start. So in the end when Janie deided what to do, you know that it was what she really would do. And you could tell that the author was doing her best to get into Janie's shoes. And Janie's relationships with those around her seemed real, there was great character development.
I literally couldn't put this book down, and therefore almost killed myself on the street while not paying attention. A quick, one day read, but very complex and it makes you want more. I can't wait to read the next one!
February 24, 2018
I feel like I have invested myself enough into the series that I have to keep reading. Although, I did find myself enjoying the second book in this series much more than the first. There was still quite a bit of whiplash emotions, highs and lows, and quite a bit of them petty and ridiculous. I found myself wondering, what would I have done in this crazy situation? When I was fifteen, I felt like I was a grown up and should be able to make my own decisions. In fact, I moved out when I was fifteen. However, now that I am over ten years old than that I know that I knew very little of the world. In the end, I still would have reacted so differently than Janie. So incredibly differently. I am having a really hard time relating to any of the characters which I think may be my main hangup.
We will see what the third book brings.
We will see what the third book brings.
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