Janie Johnson

Janie is first introduced in The Face on the Milk Carton as a typical 15-year-old girl. She lives with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, who are older than her friends' parents; they tell she was their "miracle baby", conceived when her mother was in her early 40s.

During a school lunch break, Janie's life picks up a friend's milk carton and recognizes the "missing person" photo on the back as an image of herself as a very young child, dressed in a white polka dot dress. The message on the milk carton explains that Jennie Spring was kidnapped from a mall in New Jersey when she was three years old.[2] She begins having flashbacks, or what she calls "daymares," of events and people that do not fit in with her current life. She "remembers" other children and a woman who is not Mrs. Johnson.

Distressed, Janie looks for answers by rummaging through boxes of her parents' belongings that she finds in the attic of her family home. She finds school papers with the name "Hannah" written on them, in addition to the polka dot white dress that appeared on the milk carton. Janie finally confronts Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, who explain that Hannah is their daughter, and that Janie is their granddaughter. Hannah was a deeply troubled child who joined a cult at a young age, and was married to one of the men in the cult; one day Hannah returned to her parents' house with Janie. Hannah subsequently returned to the cult and the Johnsons relocated with Janie, fearing that the cult would try to attain custody of her. The Johnsons moved to a different state, even changing their names from "Javensen" to "Johnson." Janie arrives at the conclusion that the memories are of her life in the cult before being brought to the Johnsons. Janie is relieved that the people whom she believed to be her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, are not kidnappers.

However, Janie cannot erase the picture on the milk carton or the memories of another family from her mind, and proceeds to research the Jennie Spring kidnapping; she arrives at the conclusion that her parents might have actually kidnapped her. However, Janie still feels love towards them and tries to forgive them. Janie and her boyfriend, Reeve, decide to travel to New Jersey to see the Spring family with their own eyes. Upon their arrival at the Spring family home, the pair observe that the entire family, like Janie, has red hair, a trait that neither Mr. or Mrs. Johnson, or even Hannah, have.

Janie writes the Spring family a letter, but is too scared to mail it. While at school, Janie loses the letter and the decision of whether to tell or not that it was taken out of her hands, as she realizes that someone might have placed the letter in a post box. She and Reeve then confront Janie's parents with everything that they have learned. Janie's parents decide that Hannah was probably the one who kidnapped Janie, and that they must call the Springs. Janie asserts that the information must remain confidential, as she makes it clear to the Johnsons that she loves them very much and does not want to hurt or leave them. However, Mrs. Johnson is adamant that the Springs have been without their daughter for too long. In the end, Mrs. Johnson calls the Springs and Janie talks to a woman who may be her real mother for the first time.

Janie also discovers that the birthday, May 10, given to her by the Johnsons, is not her real birthday — Janie is actually six months younger than she had previously thought, with her real birthday being November 8.

A month after finding her birth parents, Janie finds herself in the center of a media blitz, as her story has attracted national attention. Janie is taken from her adoptive parents, the Johnsons, to live with her biological parents and four siblings, Stephen, Jodie, Brian, and Brendan. Although all of the Spring family members are eager to include her, she desperately misses her adoptive parents, with whom she is allowed no contact. Janie becomes emotionally aloof and experiences some trouble adjusting, as she is called "Jennie" by the family and attends a new school where she knows no one; she also lives in very close quarters with her new brothers and sister. As matters begin to improve and Janie starts to feel more at home, a setback occurs due to the appearance of the FBI who arrive to question Janie. Finally, Janie asserts her desire to return to her adopted family after talking to her birth mother, by calling Mrs. Spring "Mom" for the first time; her biological parents permit Janie's return as an act of love. However, Janie's siblings, Stephen and Jodie, angry and upset that they are once again losing their sister, embark on a journey to New York City to find Hannah, the woman they believe is responsible for the family's plight. The police discover that Hannah had been arrested in New York City several years previously for prostitution. Stephen and Jodie are sent home by a police officer who tells them that, while they may not have gotten to mete out punishment against Hannah themselves, Hannah has nonetheless paid for her crimes with a miserable life.

Six months after returning to the Johnson family, Janie is relieved that life seems to be settling down. She misses Reeve, who attending college in Boston. As for Reeve, college life seems overwhelming. When the opportunity for fame in the form of a late-night gig at the school radio station proves irresistible, he tells Janie's story over the airwaves. Reeve, confident that Janie will never discover the ensuing success, that continues with the inappropriate divulgence of private information pertaining to his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Janie has developed a closer relationship with her biological family, the Springs. Her sister, Jodie, has been accepted into college interviews in Boston, including one at Hills College, the college that Reeve attends. Brian, Janie, and Jodie's younger brother tag along, as does Janie; they plan to surprise Reeve. At the hotel, they tune into Reeve's radio station and hear Reeve doing "a Janie", as telling her story had become known in Hills College. Janie, Jodie and Brian all feel upset and betrayed.

During his show, Reeve receives a call from a woman calling herself "Hannah", but rather than face the possibility of talking to Janie's kidnapper, he disconnects the call. Later, Reeve's sister, an attorney who had assisted Reeve and Janie from the beginning, states that her further research into this case had revealed that Hannah died several years previously in California, and was therefore not responsible for the phone call to the radio station.

Hurt by Reeve's betrayal, Janie breaks up with him and asks him not to call her or come to her house again. Reeve begs her forgiveness, but Janie refuses to take him back, even though she still loves him. When Janie is visiting the Spring family during the Thanksgiving holidays, Janie tells Mrs. Spring what happened in Boston. Mrs. Spring suggests that Janie forgive Reeve, or at least speak to him. In the end Janie decides to talk to Reeve about what he had done.

Seven months later, Janie's two families appear to have made peace. Life seems almost normal and Janie is on better terms with Reeve, even though they are still broken up. However, Janie's adoptive father, Frank Johnson, suffers a stroke, and the tragedy leaves her adoptive mother reeling. Janie is then compelled to manage the family finances and emotionally support her mother.

While handling her adoptive father's bills, Janie discovers that he has actually been in contact with Hannah. Janie discovers where Hannah is alive and it is the same town where Stephen, her older brother, is attending college. Reeve and Brian become aware of Janie's plans and accompany her to Boulder, Colorado. During her time in Boulder, Stephen and Janie are able to get past the grudges between them to actually continue with a sibling relationship. This reconciliation occurs despite Stephen's severed relationship with his girlfriend, Kathleen, due to her persistence contact with her ex-FBI father to intervene in Janie's situation; a situation that Kathleen became fixated upon, once referring to Janie as "Jennie-Janie". Reeve and Brian advise Janie to write Hannah one last check, and then never contact her again, and Janie agrees. On the return plane trip to Connecticut, she finds a letter from Stephen in her purse imploring her to let go of the past. Janie accepts Stephen's offer, while Reeve and Janie also reform their relationship.

In Janie Face to Face, Janie is accepted to a college in New York City. Her adoptive parents are living in a rest home. At college, Janie asks her friends to call her Jane instead of Janie. Two years go by, and Janie slowly becomes closer to her birth parents, and even stays with them over the summer between her freshman and sophomore year. In addition, she begins receiving letters from a writer who is trying to write a book about the kidnapping. During her sophomore year of college, she meets a guy named Michael and they begin dating. Their relationship begins to go sour because Janie refuses to tell him details about her life. One day, while she goes to visit the Johnsons, Michael surprises her on the train. During the visit, Janie discovers that he was hired by the writer, and subsequently breaks up with him. She calls Reeve up and visits him in North Carolina. At the end of her visit, Reeve ask Janie to marry him, and she accepts. She tells both of her families of the upcoming wedding and informs them both that she wants to get married under her legal name, Jennie Spring.

While the Springs are planning Janie's wedding, Janie's siblings and a few of her friends discover that the writer may be Hannah herself, and contact the FBI agent who is handling Janie's case.

Both of her fathers walk her down the aisle. As she is getting married, Hannah is being arrested at the Johnsons' rest home. In the end, Janie has come to love and accept both of her families, and her siblings have come to fully love her and figure out a way to continue to take care of her adoptive parents. She ultimately puts the name Janie Johnson behind her, and becomes Jennie Spring Shields.

In the movie adaptation, Janie's last name is Jessmon, her birth name is Jennifer Marguerite Sands, and her birth mother's name is Sada. The character is depicted with straight red hair and Jodie is her younger sister; the twins don't exist in the movie.[5] Also, the book is mostly concerned with the discovery of Jennie Spring and Janie's struggle to discover her true identity, while, in the movie, the audience is informed of this struggle in a more revealing, but brief, manner, in addition to conveying how the protagonist adapts to her birth family. One reviewer stated "Janie struggles with questions about the family she thought was her own, and the identity of her long-lost biological parents."[6]

• American literature
• Young adult fiction
• Sex worker
• Sex Workers Outreach Project USA

• Caroline B. Cooney official website