The Face On The Milk Carton Analysis

Janie Johnson, a casual, curious, and confident teenage girl, gets a quite unexpected turn during her freshman year in high school when she sees herself in a “kidnapped at a young age” ad. In this novel, Janie must decide if she should believe or even act upon this ad. This draws readers in because many young adults face hard situations daily, and struggle to do the right thing. The Face on the Milk Carton is challenged due to its sexual content and challenge of authority, according to http://thefaceonthmilkcartonisawesome.weebly.com/. Caroline B. Cooney’s The Face on the Milk Carton should be placed on an optional ninth grade reading list because although it contains mature content, ninth grade readers can learn how to say no to the temptation …show more content…
In The Face on the Milk Carton, Janie loves her parents. They have raised her since she was little, and they love her. However, Janie quickly realizes that her parents are not truly who they seem to be, “He loves me she thought. How could love arise from a crime like kidnapping?” (Cooney 71). There are not many teenagers who have been secretly kidnapped, but there are many teens who have been lied to for most of their life. Young adults and ninth grades can relate to Janie because Janie’s parents set the example of being loveable people, but they are the ones who hide the biggest secrets. In this novel Janie sees her parents as lovable and trustworthy, however as the readers, we see that her parents have lied and deceived her. Many adolescents can relate to this because no matter how nice someone may seem, they could be the best liar someone has ever met.Throughout this novel, Janie begins to question who her parents are, and how she should feel, “Why am I fine? How could Mother and Daddy do it? Are they monsters?” (Cooney 70). Janie begins to question who she is, along with who her parents are. This creates conflict between Janie and her parents, which many teens can relate to. When a person realizes that someone is not who they say they are, people can quickly start to judge themselves, and throughout the book, this is what Janie begins to do. As many teens question themselves they form themselves into an image of who they think that they should be, rather than who they truly are. As Janie tries to cope with herself she tries to change her name, her personality, and everything about herself, this is a daily struggle for many teens. The Face on the Milk Carton should not be challenged because it sets a good example of the many internal conflicts that teenagers deal with on a day to day basis in real