By Caroline B. Cooney
This is one of those what if books. Could this really happen? How would you react? This is a very believable tale in which one young girl, Jane Johnson, happens to recognize herself on the side of a milk carton that illustrates abducted children. Jane lives in a small town on the east coast of the United States, and by all accounts is a happy and beloved daughter of doting parents. She has a great group of friends and an older neighbor boy for company. But the image on the milk carton begins to haunt her.
Haunt her to the point that she begins to have daymares aka memories. Jane could never imagine her loving parents kidnapping a child, so is torn on how to proceed. She finally, fesses up to her neighbor, Reeve, her worries. But Reeve has other things on his mind, as he is emotionally attracted to Jane and wants to begin a relationship. Jane goes to extreme lengths to discover the truth, even skipping school and traveling to New Jersey in search of the Spring family. She immediately recognizes her siblings but has Reeve drive away, not sure how to proceed.
Jane confronts her parents about missing pictures of a young Jane, birth certificate etc. and they explain how Jane came to be with them. Their daughter Hannah had brought Jane to them, with a story about Jane being their Grandaughter. She believes them until the evidence continues to pile up against their story. Reeve calls his older sister, who is studying to be a lawyer and they eventually confront Jane's parents, and decide that their daughter Hannah had abducted a young Jenny Spring. The story ends on a cliffhanger as to what becomes of Jane.
This is a very entertaining tale, gives a great deal of insight told from the perspective of a young, confused girl. I would rate this story a 4 out of 5 and encourage anybody fifth grade up to pick up a copy.
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