The Face on the Milk Carton

“‘It’s me on there,’ Janie whispered.” 

The moment that Janie recognizes herself on the milk carton sets the rest of the novel in motion by upending its main character’s life. As Janie questions her identity and recovers memories of her life in New Jersey, she returns again and again to the milk carton to confirm that she really is the victim of a kidnapping.

“She lived entirely inside her mind, searching her memory like a little kid going through an encyclopedia, trying to find the right heading. Jane Elizabeth Johnson, Kidnapping of.” 

Janie feels as though her body functions independently of her brain in the hours after she first learns of her kidnapping. As Janie’s body goes through the motions of a normal school day, her mind frantically works to process the news of her kidnapping. Because Janie lives before the widespread use of the internet, the narrator uses an encyclopedia to illustrate Janie’s hunt for information.

“She had not allowed herself to read the name under the photograph. Now she read it. Jennie Spring.” 

Janie enjoys trying out new spellings of her name to make it look more interesting. When she realizes that she once had an entirely different name, though, she feels shocked and upset. This moment develops the theme of identity, which is central to the novel. Many teenagers are trying to establish their chosen identities, but Janie realizes that her current identity isn’t even real.