The Face on the Milk Carton

The Face on the Milk Carton Summary | Plot Summary

Fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson's life is turned upside down when she notices the picture of a missing girl on the back of a milk carton. A girl named Jennie Spring, with red hair much like her own, was kidnapped twelve years ago. Janie wonders if she could be this face on the milk carton when other questions about her own past begin to arise. Why has she never seen her own birth certificate? Are her parents not really her parents?

Janie tries to ignore these persistent thoughts, until she starts having strange memories. She remembers being left alone in a shopping mall, sitting on a stool, when a woman came up to her and offered her ice cream. She remembers spilling milk in a kitchen that was definitely not her own, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. She remembers a dog, and a prayer, and a family that is not the one she has known for most of her life.

Janie investigates her theory and uncovers more evidence that she might be the face on the milk carton. In her attic, Janie finds the same polka-dot dress worn by the girl in the picture. . She realizes there are no pictures of her before she was three years old, and her mother refuses to take her to the bank to get her birth certificate. Janie also discovers a mysterious locked trunk that is marked "Hannah," a name that she has never heard her parents speak of before.

Janie finally confronts her parents with all of her questions. Janie's parents tell her that Hannah is their daughter and Janie's real mother. They tell her how they lost Hannah to a cult, but she showed up one day at their doorstep with Janie. The Johnsons changed their name and moved around to protect Janie, raising her as their own daughter. Janie is relieved to hear this, but the next day she realizes that their story still does not explain her connection to the missing girl on the milk carton.

With questions mounting, Janie turns to her neighbor, Reeve, for comfort. Janie and Reeve's relationship blossoms into love after she shares her secrets with him. He tries to help Janie by driving her to see the Spring family in New Jersey. When Janie sees other red-headed children walking into the house, she can no longer deny that her memories are real and they are her siblings. Janie and Reeve leave without facing the Springs.

Reeve enlists the help of his sister, a lawyer who reasons that Hannah must have kidnapped Janie from the shopping mall. He also tries to convince Janie to tell her parents. Janie accidentally loses a letter that is addressed to the Springs, forcing her to confront her parents with everything. After a lengthy and emotional discussion about how to handle the situation, Janie finally phones the Spring family to reveal she is their long-lost daughter.