The Face on the Milk Carton

I don't like the way it's written at all. I only read a little bit it managed to irritate me in these short few pages. One moment we're talking about the main character, next it's about college and her friends, then for a short moment it's about her finding out she's probably been kidnapped, but then it drags along about how her body is moving on its own, then there's this Reeve guy(?), and then we're talking about her possibly being kidnapped again?? What the fuck am I supposed focus on?

2.0 ★
this was painful to read, the writing is so bad it hurts. i just wanted to find out what really happened to her and i had to go through the pits of hell to do it... not sure it was worth it. i found out about this book on a subreddit where people are looking for a book based on what they remember, and it seemed so interesting when i first found the post. they also mentioned they teach this in some american schools and i wanted to see what they read. worst mistake i could make. this seems like something 4th grade me would write, when i didn't know any rules of writing and mentioning things without explaining them. my god, i still can't believe i read this

In a lot of respects, this is pretty dated–like first of all does any school have milk in cartons anymore? and if they do, they definitely don't have missing children? The fat-shaming and food obsession actually isn't dated exactly–that shit's still all over contemporary YA–but it's still gross.

STILL at its heart there is just something so compelling about the core premise of this!

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-78-the-face-on-the-milk-carton/

I can't believe I haven't read this book until now. I was so sucked in to this book I couldn't put it down until I was finished. This was an amazing story that really tugged at my heart for everyone involved - for both sets of parents and the teen-aged girl caught in the middle. It did seem vaguely familiar and I know I must have seen the movie on TV (or parts of it) when I was younger. This book was very well written so that you can really imagine the characters and feel the anguish they were feeling. I wish I had had the opportunity to read this book when I was a teen. I was actually newly married and on my own by that point but had I been still at home I would not have been allowed to read it or watch it since my parents were very religious and strict. According to Wikipedia, “The book was number 80 on the most frequently challenged books in the US for 1990-1999 and number 29 for 2000-2009.” Apparently it was banned in Texas but I'm not sure if it was banned anywhere else. The reasons it was challenged was for sexual content (which was never carried out) and challenging authority. This is one of those things were I believe each parent should make the decision what their own kids can or cannot read. A high school student should certainly be able to read this book. I would have let my boys read it and plan to ask them if they want to (they are through school)

I was in the sixth grade. We were having one of those Scholastic book orders that made reading so exciting. This book caught my attention. What could be more captivating than a book about a kid finding out they're kidnapped?!! I begged my mom to order it and she did. Shortly thereafter, the book was in my hands, and suddenly I was ashamed. I was a boy on the verge of junior high school. I watched sports, liked cars and video games. I was too cool for a book with a pig-tailed girl on the cover.

Some time later that year, this kid named Joey mentioned the book. He was cool. He asked if I'd read it. Was this a trap? “I have a copy—but only because my mom wanted to read it,” I said. He said he'd read the book and it was awesome, that I should definitely read it. Again, part of me wanted to read The Face on the Milk Carton, but I really didn't have time for it. I was going to get a Z shaved on the side of my head, work for Ferrari, and sing backup for Bobby Brown: I was way too cool for books.

I wish I'd listened to Joey. I probably would've liked this book more as a twelve year old than as a thirty-five year old. That being said, I was surprised by how much I did enjoy the novel as an adult. No, it's not some great work of literature. But what it is is captivating. I was enthralled by what Janie would do. I was pulled in, reading chapter after chapter in a single sitting. Was I captivated enough to read the rest of the books in the series? No. Nevertheless, The Face on the Milk Carton was a wonderful ride of adolescent “what ifs.”

One thing that surprised me about this novel was the amount of sex. Had I read it back in grade school as was the original plan, I probably would've been ashamed and confused by what I'd read. In my opinion, The Face on the Milk Carton is more a young adult novel than a child's story. Damn Scholastic for trying to corrupt my youth!

And what's up with Janie's lactose intolerance? It's constantly being mentioned. Girl cannot consume dairy without dire consequence. Apt condition to have given the title? Perhaps. But what kind of pizza is this girl eating? Does heated cheese somehow not qualify as dairy? How does the writer and the editors miss this contradiction?

Despite its flaws in logic and storytelling, The Face on the Milk Carton was a great adventure. I didn't learn anything, I wasn't moved by the condition of these characters, but I was entertained. And if that is the point of this book, then the author succeeded. Thanks, Joey. It took over twenty years, but you finally convinced me.