aggressively. Genre and style The Face on the Milk Carton, similarly to many of Cooney’s novels, is a young adult mystery and suspense novel. The recommended age range is 12 and up. Analysis Authors John Bushman and Shelley McNerny, who specialize in analyzing young adult literature, recognize The Face on the Milk Carton, along with several other young adult novels, as a text that instructors can use to guide the development of young adults’ moral reasoning. This is because the novel contains a variety of themes, including the exploration of self-identity, relationships with parents and peers, and individual responsibility, that will challenge readers to examine the dynamics that the novel’s protagonist faces in the context of their own lives. In her article “Mirrors and Windows,” editor Kim Ford lists The Face on the Milk Carton as one of her thirty recommended books, as a young adult favorite, to put on a “good book” shelf. Ford further notes that many of the most popular books among young adults, including The Face on the Milk Carton, are those that are both “mirrors” and “windows,” or books that allow readers to see and understand themselves in the novels’ characters. Publication The Face on the Milk Carton was first published in 1990 by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers. The last book of the series, Janie Face to Face, was published in January 2014. Reception The Face on the Milk Carton has been the recipient of several awards, including the Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award (1996), Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award (1993), and Iowa Teen Book Award (1993). Cumulatively, the series has sold over 4.2 million copies. The novel has also faced challenges for its mature content. The book was number 79 on the most frequently challenged books in the US for 1990-1999 and number 29 for 2000-2009 for references to kidnapping, cults, and sexual activity. See also Janie Johnson series Abduction (2011 film) Etan Patz - His disappearance helped spark the missing children's movement, including new legislation and various methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk-carton campaigns of the mid-1980s. Etan was the first ever missing child to be pictured on the side of a milk carton. Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard Elizabeth Smart Ariel Castro kidnappings Abduction of Kamiyah Mobley References 1990 American novels American young adult novels Novels about child abduction American novels adapted into