The Face on the Milk Carton

Early in the novel, 15-year-old Janie seems flighty and passive. She has “a habit of leaping into hobbies with tremendous enthusiasm for a few months and then abandoning them forever” (27). For instance, Janie buys notebooks at the start of each school year but “rarely made more than a page of entries before the assignment notebook was misplaced or the diary became dull” (140). Even Janie’s appearance suggests a lack of persistence. She struggles to maintain her “mass of hair” (5), “a wild, chaotic mane of red curls glinting gold” (2).

When Janie discovers her photo on the milk carton, she reacts erratically. She alternates between fearful, guilty responses and confrontational ones, embracing Frank and Miranda one moment and pushing them away the next. Because the novel’s narrator presents Janie’s thoughts, her confusion impacts the novel’s pace and mood. The novel accelerates when Janie takes actions to investigate her kidnapping but slows when Janie feels too uncertain to act. Janie’s dreamy, scattered thoughts create a mood of unpredictability.

By the end of the novel, Janie has become slightly bolder and more assertive. She insists that Reeve drive her to New Jersey to find the Spring family’s home, and she finally dials the number from the milk carton.