The Face on the Milk Carton

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Getting a driver’s license and her “future family” (Chapter 1)

2. It has a photo of recently kidnapped children on the carton. (Chapter 1)

3. Jennie Spring (Chapter 2)

4. There are no photos of her as a baby. (Chapter 3)

5. Cake decorating (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Janie does not have smooth hair like her peers and does not drink milk because she is lactose intolerant. (Chapter 1)

2. Reeve picks up a dazed Janie from school in his car, and they drive out to a scenic overlook to watch the impending flood. They then go for ice cream, and when their sundaes are delivered, Janie has a “daymare” of herself eating sundaes with a woman when she was younger. She feels ill and they leave. (Chapter 2)

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Because she learns from her friend Adair that she needs her birth certificate to get her driver’s license (Chapter 4)

2. A kiss (Chapter 5)

3. A football game (Chapter 6)

4. She is terrified from this idea. (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Janie has a nagging, persistent feeling that she is the young girl who was kidnapped. Even as she tries to think about other things, such as her kiss with Reeve, her anxiety redirects her back to the possibility she was kidnapped. (Chapter 5)

2. Janie and Reeve continue to flirt with each other at the football game; however, in school he gives her less attention. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. A box of various memorabilia for someone named Hannah and the same dress in the girl’s photo on the milk carton (Chapter 7)

2. She was shopping before she went to get a sundae. (Chapter 8)

3. Reeve (Chapter 8)

4. She learns that Hannah is her mother and her “parents” are actually her grandparents. (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Although she is angry and confused that her parents (i.e., Frank and Miranda) potentially kidnapped her, she is also happy with the life that she currently has with them. (Chapter 8)

2. Her mother, Hannah, joined the Hare Krishna cult in California, where she gave birth to Janie. Hannah decided to leave the cult and brought Janie to Frank and Miranda’s house; however, she soon changed her mind and returned to California. In order to keep Janie safe from the cult, Frank and Miranda left their house and moved, as well as changed their last names to stay anonymous and protect Janie. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. New Jersey (Chapter 10)

2. Several school-aged children with red hair entering their house (Chapter 11)

3. A motel (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. At night, Janie is relieved that Frank and Miranda explained the story of Hannah, but the next day she is again filled with doubt, uncertainty, and confusion. (Chapter 10)

2. The car ride presents an opportunity for Janie and Reeve to acknowledge their feelings. Although they decide not to spend the afternoon in the motel together, they still kiss and look at each other with affection more openly than before. (Chapters 11-12)

Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. The librarian at Janie’s school (Chapter 13)

2. So she can secretly visit a library to research more about Jennie Springs (Chapter 13)

3. Adolescent Trauma Center (Chapter 14)

4. A letter to Mr. and Mrs. Spring (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. Reeve asks his sister Lizzie, who is a lawyer, about Janie’s possible kidnapping. After some research, Lizzie suggests that Hannah, rather than Miranda and Frank, was the one to kidnap Janie. Janie is relieved about this possibility. (Chapter 15)

Chapters 16-18

Reading Check

1. Janie breaks up with him. (Chapter 16)

2. His sister Lizzie’s phone number (Chapter 17)

3. The Spring’s house in New Jersey (Chapter 18)

Short Answer

1. In a daze, Lizzie puts the letter she wrote to the Springs in an envelope with their address. She loses the envelope at school, and although there is no stamp on it, she is worried it will be mailed to New Jersey. (Chapter 17)