74 pages • 2 hours read
Caroline B. CooneyThe Face on the Milk Carton
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1990A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 16-18
Chapter 16 Summary
Janie hosts a movie night for Reeve, Sarah-Charlotte, and her friend Jason. The foursome shares popcorn and plays Trivial Pursuit. Sarah-Charlotte pretends that one of the game cards has a question about the milk carton. She wants to know why Janie carries it in her notebook. Miranda brings sandwiches for the friends and says that she, too, wonders about the milk carton. Janie feels scared to answer. Reeve creates a distraction for Janie. She runs upstairs to destroy the milk carton but decides to hide it under her mattress instead.
Janie continues to write in her notebook, theorizing about her kidnapping. She discusses the theories with Reeve when he takes her to an arcade. Reeve grows impatient with her constant preoccupation. Janie wonders how Frank and Miranda could have avoided learning about Jennie Spring’s kidnapping.
Janie attends an awards banquet. Her father receives a trophy for his coaching job. Janie feels proud of her father and touched by her parents’ love for her, but she also thinks about how the Springs must worry about her: “The only way to be the good daughter,” she muses, “is to tell” (163). That night, Janie calls the phone number on the milk carton. She reaches a voicemail recording but hangs up without leaving a message. Janie feels as though she has betrayed her parents. Sarah-Charlotte calls Janie but angrily hangs up on her when Janie cannot focus on their conversation.
Reeve picks Janie up from school. She grows agitated thinking about her kidnapping and throws up on the side of the road. Concerned, Reeve says that she needs to tell Frank and Miranda about the situation. She refuses and expresses guilt for allowing herself to be kidnapped. Reeve tells Janie that it was not her fault. Janie cries and pulls away from Reeve. He grows increasingly frustrated and says that he will not continue to see Janie if she will not tell her parents the truth. In Reeve’s driveway, Janie runs from the Jeep, telling Reeve to “Drop dead” (167). Janie sobs and tells her parents that she broke up with Reeve.
Chapter 17 Summary
Janie mourns the end of her relationship with Reeve. She sees him with a girl named Jessica and believes that Jessica is Reeve’s new girlfriend. Sarah-Charlotte enjoys comforting Janie. Though Sarah-Charlotte thinks Reeve broke up with Janie because they did not have sex, Janie believes it was because she gave her kidnapping more attention than she gave Reeve.
At school, Janie finishes writing down her theories about the kidnapping. She puts the pages in an envelope and addresses it to the Springs’ home in New Jersey. Janie plans to put the envelope in the attic along with the milk carton and the dress she wore in the milk carton photo. Janie tries to avoid looking at Reeve and Jessica during lunch. She cries as Sarah-Charlotte and Adair attempt to comfort her. Janie feels disoriented for the rest of the school day. When she checks her book bag for the addressed envelope, Janie realizes that the clip holding it in place has broken. Though the envelope is not stamped, she worries that it may be mailed to the Springs’.
Panicked, Janie bursts into Reeve’s chemistry class. She interrupts the class to ask Reeve for Lizzie’s number. Reeve walks her out of the classroom and drives her home. Janie tells him about the envelope. Reeve says that he thinks Janie meant for the letter to be sent. At Janie’s house, Reeve apologizes for breaking up with Janie. She tries to focus on a plan to call Lizzie. Reeve clarifies: he wants Janie to be his girlfriend.
Chapter 18 Summary
Lizzie explains her theory about Janie’s kidnapping to Frank, Miranda, and Reeve. Though Janie hopes the Springs will not prosecute the Johnsons, Frank says that he would take drastic action if he was in their position. He cries. Janie realizes that she hasn’t eaten much because of her anxiety. The group discusses ordering a pizza. Everyone startles when the telephone rings, but no one answers it.
Lizzie wants to call the Springs before they can receive Janie’s letter. Frank doubts that the letter was mailed and wonders aloud whether it is necessary to contact the Springs. Miranda believes that calling them is the right thing to do. She cries and wonders if she and Frank willfully misunderstood Hannah when she brought Janie to them because they wanted Janie to stay. Janie feels distant from Frank and Miranda but tries to reassure them.
Miranda debates immediately calling the Springs. The group talks about what could happen if they do. Janie says that Lizzie will convince the Springs to “let it go” (181). Miranda reminds Janie that she no longer sees Hannah but thinks of her all the time. Lizzie says that she will call the Springs and arrange for them to meet with Janie, but Miranda surprises everyone by dialing their number. Janie takes the phone from Miranda. She feels dizzy. A woman answers the phone call. Janie tells her that she is her daughter, Jennie.
Chapters 16-18 Analysis
Janie attempts to use writing as a coping device but proves unsuccessful. Working out her theories about the kidnapping fulfills her urges to engage with the situation but does not change the situation. It is only when Janie addresses her writings to the Springs that she moves toward a sort of resolution. Though sending the writing could qualify as a bold action, Janie does it in a passive, dreamy way that fits her character. By losing the stamped and addressed envelope, Janie neither claims nor denies responsibility for mailing it nor the consequences.
In the days surrounding her loss of the letter, Janie’s anguish reaches its climax. Disoriented and confused about her past and future, Janie behaves impulsively and sabotages her relationship with Reeve. Reaching her breaking point ushers in catharsis for Janie. Though she does not know what will come of her phone call to the Spring family, Janie feels relieved that Frank and Miranda know about her kidnapping. Supported by a loving community, she can face the risk of contacting the Springs.
The novel, which employs suspense throughout, continues that strategy by ending on a cliffhanger. By stopping the plot just after Janie introduces herself to Mrs. Spring on the telephone, the author leaves readers wondering what Mrs. Spring will say in reply. Readers who want to know the rest of Janie’s story may continue reading about her in the five published sequels that follow The Face on the Milk Carton.
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By Caroline B. Cooney
