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Janie Johnson #4
What Janie Found
In the vein of psychological thrillers like We Were Liars, Girl on the Train, and Beware That Girl , bestselling author Caroline Cooney’s JANIE series delivers on every level. Mystery and suspense blend seamlessly with issues of family, friendship and love to offer an emotionally evocative thrill ride of a read.
No one knows what happened to the killer. Janie Johnson's two families appear to have made peace. Life seems almost normal. Janie has even decided to speak to her former boyfriend, Reeve, again. But then Janie's Connecticut father suffers a stroke, and the tragedy leaves her mother reeling. Janie must step in to manage family finances and to support her mother emotionally.
While handling her father's business matters, Janie discovers the one undeniable fact that could destroy both of her beloved families. And she alone must decide what to do.
No one knows what happened to the killer. Janie Johnson's two families appear to have made peace. Life seems almost normal. Janie has even decided to speak to her former boyfriend, Reeve, again. But then Janie's Connecticut father suffers a stroke, and the tragedy leaves her mother reeling. Janie must step in to manage family finances and to support her mother emotionally.
While handling her father's business matters, Janie discovers the one undeniable fact that could destroy both of her beloved families. And she alone must decide what to do.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
225 people are currently reading
4380 people want to read
About the author
Caroline B. Cooney
129 books1,767 followersCaroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
November 17, 2019
I am a Janie fan, but I felt that this one was by far the weakest link. I will say Janie has matured in this novel: she now wants to drive on her own, she takes care of the finances for her mother, since her father has had a stroke, but most importantly, she makes it clear to Reeve that he is not forgiven for the liberties he took in exposing her story to the world. Janie has been seen to have a sort of unhealthy infatuation with not only Reeve, but marriage. I think her mother's struggles in having to take on so much after being taken care of by her husband, have made Janie reconsider the notion of "happily ever after". But the cons take over: the story never reaches the climax. They find out that Frank has been sending money to Hannah over the years and Janie is upset and tries to find out where Hannah is living, but comes up with nothing. Stephen and Brian are the best parts of the story, as they are the ones who are not seeming to be damaged, but rather curious and moving on. Stephen's gf Kathleen is a b****!!! She seems a bit too interested in Stephen for his history, not his present; her constantly calling Janie "the kidnapette", was more than a bit insulting. But the story is just a theory and mystery that has no build and no real need to be there. In fact, all of these events were rehashed in Janie, Face to Face, more coherently than they were in this book. I'm still looking for what Janie was supposed to have found.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2019
I've been a Cooney fan since I was a kid. I love her writing, her well-developed characters, her realistic situations mixed with appropriately far-fetched suspense. This book is a great continuation of Janie's story. I really enjoyed connecting to Janie, Reeve, and the others again. I can understand why Cooney wrote five books about this family (which I didn't know until today!). They're very gripping, and their story is heartbreaking but also hopeful. It must have been challenging but also rewarding to explore the fissures and healings inevitable in a kidnapping case "solved." I really appreciate what Cooney did with this series.
I hope to read the fifth book one day. I don't know if I'll go out of my way to find a copy, whether on Amazon or at the used bookstore, or if I'll borrow it from the library at some point. I own three of the first four books, so maybe I'll buy The Voice on the Radio (which I read but no longer own for whatever reason) and the fifth book and collect the series.
Either way, I'm glad I found this at the used bookstore, and I enjoyed reading it!
I hope to read the fifth book one day. I don't know if I'll go out of my way to find a copy, whether on Amazon or at the used bookstore, or if I'll borrow it from the library at some point. I own three of the first four books, so maybe I'll buy The Voice on the Radio (which I read but no longer own for whatever reason) and the fifth book and collect the series.
Either way, I'm glad I found this at the used bookstore, and I enjoyed reading it!
August 6, 2017
This book explored a suspicion I've had since book 1! It was deeply satisfying to finally have that explored / answered. It was also another rapid must-keep-reading story.
I'm sad to think I only have one book left.
Ill definitely fondly remember this series and refer to it as something that ate a weekend in august 2017 😁
I'm sad to think I only have one book left.
Ill definitely fondly remember this series and refer to it as something that ate a weekend in august 2017 😁
June 29, 2024
The conclusion of the series—well, it was, until someone decided it would be a good idea to revive this series and upend everything we knew about the characters in books 1–4. But we're pretending that book 5 doesn't exist, so...the end of the series.
In What Janie Found, Janie finds some information that could put her face-to-face with her kidnapper. And because Janie is a teenager and impulsive and not great at making plans, she decides that the thing to do is make that happen—to visit her brother in Colorado and, hopefully, get some answers to the questions she still has. (Spoiler alert: Janie doesn't actually have much by way of questions. She wants to know what happened, sure, but the guesswork that has been done over the previous books basically answers that.)
This is the series book that I read the fewest times as a kid—once or twice—and my strongest memory is of the red cowboy boots Janie ends up with. I'd forgotten quite a lot about the book, which was nice (felt a little more like a new read than the previous books of the series), including just how dreadful Steven's girlfriend is. (Maybe worth noting that Steven is willing to break ties with someone who is a little too interested in his family history, while Reeve's much bigger betrayal is still reverberating and everyone is still actively trying to forgive him...though to be fair, Janie has a much, much greater history with Reeve than Steven does with Kathleen, and everyone else wants Reeve to be redeemable as well.)
Janie's not the brightest bulb in the box in this book. A lot of her decisions about Hannah, and trying to find Hannah, are suspect. What staggered me, though, is that she willingly leaves her (adoptive) father in hospital to go on this adventure even though it's not clear whether he'll live or die. This is a man she loves dearly, even if their relationship has gotten more complicated by the revelations of the past few books, and as an adult...I can't imagine willingly putting myself that far away from a parent whose survival was so uncertain. It's just...you can imagine a version of the story in which her father dies while she's chasing ghosts, can't you? And where she has to reckon with the fact that she was chasing those ghosts instead of being there at the end.
Ah well. At any rate, a satisfying enough conclusion to the series. Off I go to find the next childhood reread...
In What Janie Found, Janie finds some information that could put her face-to-face with her kidnapper. And because Janie is a teenager and impulsive and not great at making plans, she decides that the thing to do is make that happen—to visit her brother in Colorado and, hopefully, get some answers to the questions she still has. (Spoiler alert: Janie doesn't actually have much by way of questions. She wants to know what happened, sure, but the guesswork that has been done over the previous books basically answers that.)
This is the series book that I read the fewest times as a kid—once or twice—and my strongest memory is of the red cowboy boots Janie ends up with. I'd forgotten quite a lot about the book, which was nice (felt a little more like a new read than the previous books of the series), including just how dreadful Steven's girlfriend is. (Maybe worth noting that Steven is willing to break ties with someone who is a little too interested in his family history, while Reeve's much bigger betrayal is still reverberating and everyone is still actively trying to forgive him...though to be fair, Janie has a much, much greater history with Reeve than Steven does with Kathleen, and everyone else wants Reeve to be redeemable as well.)
Janie's not the brightest bulb in the box in this book. A lot of her decisions about Hannah, and trying to find Hannah, are suspect. What staggered me, though, is that she willingly leaves her (adoptive) father in hospital to go on this adventure even though it's not clear whether he'll live or die. This is a man she loves dearly, even if their relationship has gotten more complicated by the revelations of the past few books, and as an adult...I can't imagine willingly putting myself that far away from a parent whose survival was so uncertain. It's just...you can imagine a version of the story in which her father dies while she's chasing ghosts, can't you? And where she has to reckon with the fact that she was chasing those ghosts instead of being there at the end.
Ah well. At any rate, a satisfying enough conclusion to the series. Off I go to find the next childhood reread...
July 28, 2011
What a lame ending. All that build up and no payoff, just a bunch of hugs and smiles. I was disappointed.
September 16, 2024
One of the worst, most jumbled things I have ever read. She should have stopped with the last book.
October 28, 2007
What Janie Found is the final conclusion to the JANIE Quartet. The story of Janie Johnson first began with Caroline B. Cooney's The Face on the Milk Carton, a book that was made into a TV movie about a teenager who recognizes her own three-year-old face on a milk carton and discovers that she had been kidnapped years before.
Two additional books, What Happened to Janie? and The Voice on the Radio, continued the remarkable story of a girl who somehow needed to blend her present life and family with the life and family from which she had been taken. Readers who followed Janie's trail from the first discovery of her real family to her final decision about which name to use are in for even more revelations in What Janie Found.
The highlight of the series came when Janie thought she had found out her real birth mystery and the kidnapping case that changed her life forever. But then she found more more puzzling clues that did not match her theory then. As Cooney's latest book opens, Janie is as angry as she has ever been. Mr. Johnson has had a stroke; Janie is paying bills for him when she comes across a file and discovers that the life she has so carefully sorted out is in fact a fantasy spun by people who supposedly loved her. Reeve, her former boyfriend, and Brian, the younger brother from her original family, immediately sense a change in Janie and set about trying first to uncover the secret Janie's found and then to help her solve the additional mystery that surfaces. Janie, however, has determined never to let anyone close to her again. A part of Janie feels guilty trying to touch the past and make logic out of her life, but she devises a plan that includes taking Reeve and Brian to visit Brian's older brother, Stephen, in Colorado. Things don't go exactly as planned. Janie and her estranged brother Stephen must grapple with the residue of the long ago kidnapping, searching for ways to reconnect to their families and to each other. By solving this additional mystery, they are able to find a way back home. They simply need to find the courage to do the right thing.
Janie's life also seems to be moving along smoothly as she adjusts to her two sets of parents and learns to love her brothers and sister. While going through files in her father's desk, she makes a startling discovery. This must have been very shocking for Janie, who thought that this mystery was long solved and ended. This discovery takes her, Reeve, and Brian to Boulder to try to find the reason why Hannah Javensen took Janie away from her family so many years ago.
Finding Hannah could mean betrayal and hurt for both of her families. Is it better to forget revenge and leave the past buried, or to try to locate Hannah? The decision she makes will affect both of her family's lives forever. Can they handle any more? Moreover, can Janie handle dredging up the past, or is it time to forgive?
In the end, she pays Hannah the full amount of 'ransom' her adoptive parents had paid all these years. And the story ends with her saying that she had found her true family. This is the beauty in the Janie Quartet, lying among the twists and ups and downs of the plot, and I believe was also what the author had hoped to find in writing the series- Finding your one true place. Home. I felt glad when Janie finally discovered the full set of the truth, despite many heartbreaks and pauses in her pursue of the truth. What she got in the end was just as good a reward.
Two additional books, What Happened to Janie? and The Voice on the Radio, continued the remarkable story of a girl who somehow needed to blend her present life and family with the life and family from which she had been taken. Readers who followed Janie's trail from the first discovery of her real family to her final decision about which name to use are in for even more revelations in What Janie Found.
The highlight of the series came when Janie thought she had found out her real birth mystery and the kidnapping case that changed her life forever. But then she found more more puzzling clues that did not match her theory then. As Cooney's latest book opens, Janie is as angry as she has ever been. Mr. Johnson has had a stroke; Janie is paying bills for him when she comes across a file and discovers that the life she has so carefully sorted out is in fact a fantasy spun by people who supposedly loved her. Reeve, her former boyfriend, and Brian, the younger brother from her original family, immediately sense a change in Janie and set about trying first to uncover the secret Janie's found and then to help her solve the additional mystery that surfaces. Janie, however, has determined never to let anyone close to her again. A part of Janie feels guilty trying to touch the past and make logic out of her life, but she devises a plan that includes taking Reeve and Brian to visit Brian's older brother, Stephen, in Colorado. Things don't go exactly as planned. Janie and her estranged brother Stephen must grapple with the residue of the long ago kidnapping, searching for ways to reconnect to their families and to each other. By solving this additional mystery, they are able to find a way back home. They simply need to find the courage to do the right thing.
Janie's life also seems to be moving along smoothly as she adjusts to her two sets of parents and learns to love her brothers and sister. While going through files in her father's desk, she makes a startling discovery. This must have been very shocking for Janie, who thought that this mystery was long solved and ended. This discovery takes her, Reeve, and Brian to Boulder to try to find the reason why Hannah Javensen took Janie away from her family so many years ago.
Finding Hannah could mean betrayal and hurt for both of her families. Is it better to forget revenge and leave the past buried, or to try to locate Hannah? The decision she makes will affect both of her family's lives forever. Can they handle any more? Moreover, can Janie handle dredging up the past, or is it time to forgive?
In the end, she pays Hannah the full amount of 'ransom' her adoptive parents had paid all these years. And the story ends with her saying that she had found her true family. This is the beauty in the Janie Quartet, lying among the twists and ups and downs of the plot, and I believe was also what the author had hoped to find in writing the series- Finding your one true place. Home. I felt glad when Janie finally discovered the full set of the truth, despite many heartbreaks and pauses in her pursue of the truth. What she got in the end was just as good a reward.
July 17, 2015
Janie's father, the one in Connecticut, has had a stroke and a heart attack. The responsibility of his papers and bills that need paid have fallen into Janie's hands.
While going through the paid bills, Janie finds a file about Hannah. And what she finds is hard for her to process.
It seems that her father has been sending money to Hannah for years. Despite all the trouble she put her parents through with the cult, he still worried about her.
And all it did was make Janie angry.
Janie found the address where Hannah picked up the checks. She figured it is time to pay Hannah a visit and finally get some answers.
This book continues Janie's story. It seems when it was originally published, it was said to be the conclusion to the series. It's not, apparently, since there is now a fifth book in the series. Even though it was originally the conclusion to this series, I felt the ending left it open for future books.
I liked the book. It was intense at times, and often very emotional. All most of the characters had something they were going through as what happened had affected them all in someway.
Stephen was much more likable in this book. I can't say that I really liked Stephen's girlfriend or her father all that much. To me, they seemed insensitive. Asking questions about Janie and the kidnapping even though Stephen said he didn't want to talk about it.
The book was good though, and I will read the fifth book in the series to see how it all ends.
While going through the paid bills, Janie finds a file about Hannah. And what she finds is hard for her to process.
It seems that her father has been sending money to Hannah for years. Despite all the trouble she put her parents through with the cult, he still worried about her.
And all it did was make Janie angry.
Janie found the address where Hannah picked up the checks. She figured it is time to pay Hannah a visit and finally get some answers.
This book continues Janie's story. It seems when it was originally published, it was said to be the conclusion to the series. It's not, apparently, since there is now a fifth book in the series. Even though it was originally the conclusion to this series, I felt the ending left it open for future books.
I liked the book. It was intense at times, and often very emotional. All most of the characters had something they were going through as what happened had affected them all in someway.
Stephen was much more likable in this book. I can't say that I really liked Stephen's girlfriend or her father all that much. To me, they seemed insensitive. Asking questions about Janie and the kidnapping even though Stephen said he didn't want to talk about it.
The book was good though, and I will read the fifth book in the series to see how it all ends.
August 22, 2017
Cooney finds a new way to destroy Janie. I mean, as a character in a series, that's her function, but you got to cringe a bit when you see there's a new book.
Janie's "adoptive" father has had a heart attack and stroke. Her mother thinks this is a great idea to teach Janie about the paperwork involved in running a household, with the unfortunate side-effect that Janie discovers her father has been sending quarterly payments to Janie's kidnapper, Hannah. With her father unable to communicate, Janie must decide if she will continue to support the woman who is both her father's true daughter, but also the person who ruined her life.
Janie goes to a pretty dark place, here, centered on revenge, but also on filial duty. But what filial duty does she owe to a man who shares none of her blood and who, in fact, raised the child that would come to snatch Janie from her true family? And, in the process of dealing with the Hannah problem, what might Janie be doing to her own family, both that by blood and that by chance?
This story is very well set up to be a final book in the series, but there is a new volume out just recently so...can't wait to find out how Cooney torments Janie again!
Janie's "adoptive" father has had a heart attack and stroke. Her mother thinks this is a great idea to teach Janie about the paperwork involved in running a household, with the unfortunate side-effect that Janie discovers her father has been sending quarterly payments to Janie's kidnapper, Hannah. With her father unable to communicate, Janie must decide if she will continue to support the woman who is both her father's true daughter, but also the person who ruined her life.
Janie goes to a pretty dark place, here, centered on revenge, but also on filial duty. But what filial duty does she owe to a man who shares none of her blood and who, in fact, raised the child that would come to snatch Janie from her true family? And, in the process of dealing with the Hannah problem, what might Janie be doing to her own family, both that by blood and that by chance?
This story is very well set up to be a final book in the series, but there is a new volume out just recently so...can't wait to find out how Cooney torments Janie again!
February 7, 2017
Janie is a smart and independent girl who lives in a small town with her parents and her brother.Her father has a stroke and a heart attack and Janie is now stuck with paying the bills and taking care of her mother emotionally.One day she came across a mysterious file she has never seen before.She reads it and realized her father has been sending money to a girl that went missing .Janie gets mad and tells her brother.She finds out where the missing girl and wants to fly over there.Her and her brother decide whether it is a good idea to go visit the missing girl.
June 1, 2022
The Janie series books are going downhill, but somehow I’m still addicted. WHAT JANIE FOUND is at times unintentionally campy, funny when meant to be serious. Perhaps campiness is why I’m enjoying in addition to wonderful narration.
June 27, 2022
What Janie Found
Caroline B. Cooley
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Of course we all would wonder what would happen if we ever found our kidnapper…. I just feel like these book should of ended after the 2nd or 3rd one… it’s just not something worth investing time in reading. It just seems the old family let’s Janie have her way with everything, instead of actually just fighting for her…..
#bookcommunity #bookobsessed #bookstagram #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2022 #ilovebooks #booknerdigans #currentlyreading #library
#readersofinstagram #readingtime #weekendreading #bookworm #readmorebooks #bookwrapup #igbooks #bookreview #bookrecommendations
Caroline B. Cooley
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Of course we all would wonder what would happen if we ever found our kidnapper…. I just feel like these book should of ended after the 2nd or 3rd one… it’s just not something worth investing time in reading. It just seems the old family let’s Janie have her way with everything, instead of actually just fighting for her…..
#bookcommunity #bookobsessed #bookstagram #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2022 #ilovebooks #booknerdigans #currentlyreading #library
#readersofinstagram #readingtime #weekendreading #bookworm #readmorebooks #bookwrapup #igbooks #bookreview #bookrecommendations
August 11, 2017
While Janie is helping her Connecticut family manage their taxes and things she finds something. Something that could destroy both of her beloved families. What is she going to do? Was she really kiddnaped? Why would somebody want her? Who is to blame? Who is she? Will she live happily ever after? So many questions, Janie needs answers.
June 28, 2016
I can't not read these, but I really haven't liked any since the second.
November 19, 2022
This was an okay, easy read. I did feel like it was lacking something though.
June 19, 2023
4th book and she's still not sure if she has a milk allergy?
July 19, 2024
I believe this is the book that first made me believe that one day, I'll end up living in Colorado and be happy. (Not that these characters are that happy in Boulder, but that's beside the point.) Not a whole lot actually happens in this one, which is a little bit disappointing. Also, why is it that in book 3, we're told with certainty that , but from here on out, that's just ... not a thing??
September 2, 2025
1.5 ⭐️
I liked the writing but I geuinely wanted her to meet up with Hannah and maybe beat her ass (????) idkkk, but she didn’t even try. I understand not wanting to bring the past back but girl if you could have your kidnapper arrested, why not do it?
I liked the writing but I geuinely wanted her to meet up with Hannah and maybe beat her ass (????) idkkk, but she didn’t even try. I understand not wanting to bring the past back but girl if you could have your kidnapper arrested, why not do it?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2025
3.75 stars. I’m still invested.
October 15, 2020
Onvan : What Janie Found (Janie Johnson, #4) - Nevisande : Caroline B. Cooney - ISBN : 0440227720 - ISBN13 : 9780440227724 - Dar 181 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2000
June 4, 2022
This is the 4th book in the series and honestly my favorite one so far. There were still some random thoughts/actions, but it was written so much better than the first 3.
January 18, 2024
all four of these books could have been one with a whole lot of nothing cut out. why do i keep doing this to myself ? now i have to read another
February 27, 2017
"What Janie Found" by Caroline B. Cooney is the fourth book in the Janie Johnson Series and is of fiction genre. In this novel, Janie's father is hit with a life-threatening stroke. Janie has gone through so much pain and agony in the previous books and she deserves to have some happiness.
At first, she is heartbroken that her father is possibly weeks from death. But while taking care of the bills while he was in intensive care, she comes across a folder titled "H.J." Curiously, she inspected the folder and found checks that have been written to Hannah Javensen from her father. All these years, he has been keeping this secret from her. Now Janie finds out he’s been in touch with his real daughter. Had he loved her all along? How long had he been in touch with Hannah? These were questions that Janie needed answers to. But she couldn't ask her dad. He was deathly ill and was slipping in and out of a coma. Also listed in the file were clues to Hannah’s whereabouts. Janie was determined to find Hannah and drill her with all the questions she wanted to ask. But where was she? How would Janie get there? Who would come along? Read the book to reveal the answers to these questions and to find out how Janie used what she found.
This book deserves a 3 out of 5-star rating. Although it wasn't bad, the intensity and suspense are incomparable to the other three books in the series. It moves the series along and leads into the final book, but nothing big really happens. Unlike the other three books, not much happens that wants to make you keep reading, and never put the book down. And not to give anything away, but I was not satisfied with how it ends. In my opinion, it is dull and boring. Yes, it displays important information needed to continue reading the series, but it was more of just a filler than an action-packed thriller like the rest of the series.
One thing I did like about the book, though, was that it helped create a family bond between Brian, Janie, and Stephen. The novel really conveys the relationship between Janie and her siblings. One example is when she desperately wanted cowgirl boots during a visit with Stephen. Even though she found them second-hand, they were expensive and she was not sure if she could afford them. So, Stephen offered to buy them for her. This showed that they really were brother and sister because Stephen had the utmost hatred for Janie not too long ago, and now he was going out of his way to make his sister happy.
Overall, "What Janie Found" wasn't too great of a book. It had its good moments, but it certainly wasn't my favorite in the series. On the contrary, it is essential that you read it if you want to go forward reading the rest of the series. So if you enjoy the Janie Johnson series and Caroline B. Cooney's work, then go grab "What Janie Found" from your local bookstore because you just might enjoy it!
At first, she is heartbroken that her father is possibly weeks from death. But while taking care of the bills while he was in intensive care, she comes across a folder titled "H.J." Curiously, she inspected the folder and found checks that have been written to Hannah Javensen from her father. All these years, he has been keeping this secret from her. Now Janie finds out he’s been in touch with his real daughter. Had he loved her all along? How long had he been in touch with Hannah? These were questions that Janie needed answers to. But she couldn't ask her dad. He was deathly ill and was slipping in and out of a coma. Also listed in the file were clues to Hannah’s whereabouts. Janie was determined to find Hannah and drill her with all the questions she wanted to ask. But where was she? How would Janie get there? Who would come along? Read the book to reveal the answers to these questions and to find out how Janie used what she found.
This book deserves a 3 out of 5-star rating. Although it wasn't bad, the intensity and suspense are incomparable to the other three books in the series. It moves the series along and leads into the final book, but nothing big really happens. Unlike the other three books, not much happens that wants to make you keep reading, and never put the book down. And not to give anything away, but I was not satisfied with how it ends. In my opinion, it is dull and boring. Yes, it displays important information needed to continue reading the series, but it was more of just a filler than an action-packed thriller like the rest of the series.
One thing I did like about the book, though, was that it helped create a family bond between Brian, Janie, and Stephen. The novel really conveys the relationship between Janie and her siblings. One example is when she desperately wanted cowgirl boots during a visit with Stephen. Even though she found them second-hand, they were expensive and she was not sure if she could afford them. So, Stephen offered to buy them for her. This showed that they really were brother and sister because Stephen had the utmost hatred for Janie not too long ago, and now he was going out of his way to make his sister happy.
Overall, "What Janie Found" wasn't too great of a book. It had its good moments, but it certainly wasn't my favorite in the series. On the contrary, it is essential that you read it if you want to go forward reading the rest of the series. So if you enjoy the Janie Johnson series and Caroline B. Cooney's work, then go grab "What Janie Found" from your local bookstore because you just might enjoy it!
October 30, 2011
So far in this book, Janie Johnson has been thinking about her Conneticuit father who's in the hospital because he had a stroke and a heart attack. Reeve, Janie's neighbor, and Brian, Janie's brother, were staying with Janie and her Conneticuit mother throughout the beginning of the summer.
Janie found a folder on Hannah (her kidnapper and the Johnson's daughter) while sorting through bills and folders in her Conneticuit dad's desk. Reeve and Brian also saw the folder, and the expression on Janie's face, and they all got interested and suspicious about the contents of the folder.
Janie Johnson hasn't changed that much in this book, but she's changed from the first book in this series-The Face On The Milk Carton. In that book, she first didn't know that she was kidnapped, but when she found out, she wanted to refuse it, but she knew that it was real. When she met the Springs (her birth family) in the next book, she disliked them and wanted to go home to the parents she's been living with for most of her life. In the third book-The Voice On The Radio- Janie started liking her birth family, especially after she, her sister and her younger brother heard Reeve telling their story on the radio. (Janie couldn't tell her new parents what happened, because they'd been through too much with their daughter Hannah kidnapping Janie.
End of the book reading response:
I found out that in this book most of the characters changed and became closer to each other. Stephen, changed the most because when Janie, Reeve and Brian went to Colorado to visit Stephen at college, he bought Janie a pair of boots. Since then Stephen has treated Janie like a normal sister-not like a kidnapped sister who chose her other family to live with. Also, Janie and Brian forgave Reeve for what he did in the last book (The Voice on the Radio), so it seems as though Reeve and Janie are back together again. Stephen changed for another reason. First he liked a girl named Kathleen but when he found out that her father worked for the FBI, he didn't like them anymore since he had to deal with to many agents during the kidnapping case. Later in the book he learned how to forgive like how Janie forgave Reeve. Janie seemed to have also changed throughout the series because in the first book she didn't want the kidnapping to be real. In this book (the fourth and final book of the series) she wanted to meet Hannah and speak to her and help her Connecticut father pay his ransom to Hannah with the help of Reeve and Brian.
Overall, this book was about happiness and sadness, forgiveness and understanding. It was about two families who were each torn up into pieces, came together, and helped each other through very challenging times.
Janie found a folder on Hannah (her kidnapper and the Johnson's daughter) while sorting through bills and folders in her Conneticuit dad's desk. Reeve and Brian also saw the folder, and the expression on Janie's face, and they all got interested and suspicious about the contents of the folder.
Janie Johnson hasn't changed that much in this book, but she's changed from the first book in this series-The Face On The Milk Carton. In that book, she first didn't know that she was kidnapped, but when she found out, she wanted to refuse it, but she knew that it was real. When she met the Springs (her birth family) in the next book, she disliked them and wanted to go home to the parents she's been living with for most of her life. In the third book-The Voice On The Radio- Janie started liking her birth family, especially after she, her sister and her younger brother heard Reeve telling their story on the radio. (Janie couldn't tell her new parents what happened, because they'd been through too much with their daughter Hannah kidnapping Janie.
End of the book reading response:
I found out that in this book most of the characters changed and became closer to each other. Stephen, changed the most because when Janie, Reeve and Brian went to Colorado to visit Stephen at college, he bought Janie a pair of boots. Since then Stephen has treated Janie like a normal sister-not like a kidnapped sister who chose her other family to live with. Also, Janie and Brian forgave Reeve for what he did in the last book (The Voice on the Radio), so it seems as though Reeve and Janie are back together again. Stephen changed for another reason. First he liked a girl named Kathleen but when he found out that her father worked for the FBI, he didn't like them anymore since he had to deal with to many agents during the kidnapping case. Later in the book he learned how to forgive like how Janie forgave Reeve. Janie seemed to have also changed throughout the series because in the first book she didn't want the kidnapping to be real. In this book (the fourth and final book of the series) she wanted to meet Hannah and speak to her and help her Connecticut father pay his ransom to Hannah with the help of Reeve and Brian.
Overall, this book was about happiness and sadness, forgiveness and understanding. It was about two families who were each torn up into pieces, came together, and helped each other through very challenging times.
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October 24, 2014The concluding book in the Janie Johnson series helps clear the mystery and give the readers an answer. This book is the fourth and final book in a series about a girl who was kidnapped at age 3, but lives with her kidnappers parents, because for the 12 years she had lived with them believing that they were her real parents, and had no memory of her kidnapper, nor her real family. After living with her real family, and going back to her fake family, she has finally made peace with her story, and both of her families. It was believed that her kidnapper was dead, but when her fake father suffers a stroke, Janie stumbles on some paid bills made out to her kidnapper. This fork in the road, makes the story more suspenseful and interesting. Frank Johnson who was supposed to be a good guy, had been supporting Janie's kidnapper, lying to Janie and to the rest of the two families, and now is dying cannot give any answers. There is now only one person to get answers from. The kidnapper herself Hannah. "How dare he die now? How dare he leave her with that folder? Now it was too late for explanations. With him dead she could not confront, and scream, and tell him how much she hated him." This shows how Janie's dad turns from a bystander to a perpetrator.
When Janie, Reeve and Brian get to Boulder, CO they start to get anxious. What if Stephen finds out? What if either sets of parents find out? It would break them. They were finally finished healing the wounds Hannah created, now Janie might be opening them back up. This event causes controversy, because there are two paths to go down. One is to ask Hannah about the kidnapping and get answers. The other is to protect the family and let Hannah stay hidden. This helps create and effect to the book as we don't know the ending. "Once they were in Boulder, she would suggest brotherly activities' Brian and Stephen must hike, or white-water raft, or whatever they did out there. She, Janie, would be hunting."
At the end of the book it is time to make a decision, talk to Hannah or not. What is more important? This will tell us something about Janie's character. If Janie decides to get answers, and meet Hannah she is being selfish, and might open up some old wounds. If Janie does not get the answers does not meet Hannah she will protect her loved ones, but never know exactly why Hannah ruined their families. What will Janie choose? "I've been fighting for months, she thought. War with one family war with another, war with Reeve, war with myself. I even flew out her to wage war with Hannah Javensen."
When Janie, Reeve and Brian get to Boulder, CO they start to get anxious. What if Stephen finds out? What if either sets of parents find out? It would break them. They were finally finished healing the wounds Hannah created, now Janie might be opening them back up. This event causes controversy, because there are two paths to go down. One is to ask Hannah about the kidnapping and get answers. The other is to protect the family and let Hannah stay hidden. This helps create and effect to the book as we don't know the ending. "Once they were in Boulder, she would suggest brotherly activities' Brian and Stephen must hike, or white-water raft, or whatever they did out there. She, Janie, would be hunting."
At the end of the book it is time to make a decision, talk to Hannah or not. What is more important? This will tell us something about Janie's character. If Janie decides to get answers, and meet Hannah she is being selfish, and might open up some old wounds. If Janie does not get the answers does not meet Hannah she will protect her loved ones, but never know exactly why Hannah ruined their families. What will Janie choose? "I've been fighting for months, she thought. War with one family war with another, war with Reeve, war with myself. I even flew out her to wage war with Hannah Javensen."
August 31, 2015
What Janie Found is the fourth book in the Janie Johnson series. No spoilers for it below, but no promises that there won't be spoilers for the first three books.
Janie is still "recovering" from Reeve's betrayal in The Voice on the Radio when Frank Johnson suffers a bad stroke. Suddenly she finds herself spending the summer going through her father's office, trying to piece together her parents' finances, and helping Miranda make decisions concerning their future. Fortunately, she has begun to make up with Reeve, and he's now a friend again, and her NJ brother Brian has come to spend the summer with her. So she's not alone as she works. However, nothing could prepare Janie for what she finds in her father's "Paid Bills" drawer....
Poor Janie! Things just never go right for her. She finally has both of her families (sort of) sorted out, and then one father ends up in ICU. She's starting to make up with Reeve, and planning her own college future, and then she has to interrupt her summer plans to help take care of her parents. She's playing the dutiful daughter, helping out her parents, then she finds something in her father's study that could destroy both families all over again.
This book didn't advance Janie or Reeve very much, but it did introduce the reader more closely to Stephen Spring, who is attending college in Colorado. I'm still not sure how I feel about Stephen. He's a tough cookie to crack. I think Cooney did a good job giving the reader plenty of material, but Stephen does not fit neatly into a box; no stereotype characters here! He's complex, and I liked some parts of him and disliked others.
A small flaw with the book was the implausibility of one road trip. I promised no spoilers, so I won't say who goes where, but I found it hard to believe that parents would just let teens go off very spontaneously on a trip without any supervision. Especially when those families have been through everything that the Johnsons and Springs have been through.
Overall, another exciting thriller from Caroline B. Cooney. I don't think this is my favorite of the series, but it does serve to advance the series and give character development; it's not a stagnant bridge book on the way to the finale. Like the other books, this one won't be up for a Printz, but it's entertaining and gripping.
I listened to the audiobook of What Janie Found, and I give it a thumbs up, just like I did for The Voice on the Radio. Same narrator, same clear voice and steady cadence.
Janie is still "recovering" from Reeve's betrayal in The Voice on the Radio when Frank Johnson suffers a bad stroke. Suddenly she finds herself spending the summer going through her father's office, trying to piece together her parents' finances, and helping Miranda make decisions concerning their future. Fortunately, she has begun to make up with Reeve, and he's now a friend again, and her NJ brother Brian has come to spend the summer with her. So she's not alone as she works. However, nothing could prepare Janie for what she finds in her father's "Paid Bills" drawer....
Poor Janie! Things just never go right for her. She finally has both of her families (sort of) sorted out, and then one father ends up in ICU. She's starting to make up with Reeve, and planning her own college future, and then she has to interrupt her summer plans to help take care of her parents. She's playing the dutiful daughter, helping out her parents, then she finds something in her father's study that could destroy both families all over again.
This book didn't advance Janie or Reeve very much, but it did introduce the reader more closely to Stephen Spring, who is attending college in Colorado. I'm still not sure how I feel about Stephen. He's a tough cookie to crack. I think Cooney did a good job giving the reader plenty of material, but Stephen does not fit neatly into a box; no stereotype characters here! He's complex, and I liked some parts of him and disliked others.
A small flaw with the book was the implausibility of one road trip. I promised no spoilers, so I won't say who goes where, but I found it hard to believe that parents would just let teens go off very spontaneously on a trip without any supervision. Especially when those families have been through everything that the Johnsons and Springs have been through.
Overall, another exciting thriller from Caroline B. Cooney. I don't think this is my favorite of the series, but it does serve to advance the series and give character development; it's not a stagnant bridge book on the way to the finale. Like the other books, this one won't be up for a Printz, but it's entertaining and gripping.
I listened to the audiobook of What Janie Found, and I give it a thumbs up, just like I did for The Voice on the Radio. Same narrator, same clear voice and steady cadence.
June 17, 2015
This book has been around what Janie found after trying to help her mother pay the bills after her father had a stroke. That's her Johnson parents. Janie finds a file in Frank's office and then she finds out that he's not only been hiding this from her but also the FBI and maybe his wife. Janie doesn't have the heart to ask her in case Miranda knew as well. It's also not the best time to be bringing it up. Instead she confides in her little brother Brian and Reeve, who she's not sure she can trust.
Reeve really annoyed me in this book. Always forcing his presence on Janie even when she clearly doesn't want him around. You can't make someone love you again just by always being around them. Especially when that person can't even trust you. It's just pathetic. Janie will go to Reeve when she's ready but instead he doesn't give her that option. He's just always there, expecting her to take him back.
Janie again has another choice to make. This time it doesn't only include her families, both the Johnsons and the Springs, but Hannah too. Janie finally has the chance to get answers to her questions. But at what cost?
I think Janie is finally getting those lady balls. This time she has to make the choice herself. I get that she only told Brian and Reeve because they didn't have a choice but this was something Janie had to do on her own.
I seem to keep saying that Reeve and Janie annoy me but it just keeps being true. They are so freaking annoying. And Janie always seems to have some choice to make.
I'm not sure what I would've done in her situation but I do know I would've gotten rid of Reeve.
I'm glad she's getting closer to the Springs though. I really like Brian.
At least there's only one book left, thank the gods! Then I'll never read them again.
Reeve really annoyed me in this book. Always forcing his presence on Janie even when she clearly doesn't want him around. You can't make someone love you again just by always being around them. Especially when that person can't even trust you. It's just pathetic. Janie will go to Reeve when she's ready but instead he doesn't give her that option. He's just always there, expecting her to take him back.
Janie again has another choice to make. This time it doesn't only include her families, both the Johnsons and the Springs, but Hannah too. Janie finally has the chance to get answers to her questions. But at what cost?
I think Janie is finally getting those lady balls. This time she has to make the choice herself. I get that she only told Brian and Reeve because they didn't have a choice but this was something Janie had to do on her own.
I seem to keep saying that Reeve and Janie annoy me but it just keeps being true. They are so freaking annoying. And Janie always seems to have some choice to make.
I'm not sure what I would've done in her situation but I do know I would've gotten rid of Reeve.
I'm glad she's getting closer to the Springs though. I really like Brian.
At least there's only one book left, thank the gods! Then I'll never read them again.
September 20, 2015
What Janie Found
makes the reader believe that we are going to get answers. Throughout the whole book, Janie says she is going to find Hannah and talk to her to find out "why her?" This is very exciting, because I've been waiting for the whole series to hear from Hannah. So imagine my disappointment when she did not follow through with her promises.
Needless to say, this book felt an unnecessary part of the series. This fourth part in the series is about Janie finding out something about her "adoptive" father. He ends up needing to go to the hospital and Janie is left to help with the finances. Then she finds out something that shocks her to the core and makes her question if she will ever be able to forgive her family.
I expected that "what Janie found" would be something major, a very large twist in the tale to reinvigorate this by-now-starting-to-get-stale series. With that and the promise of meeting the kidnapper, this appeared on the surface to have the potential to be the best book in the series. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
The "secret" that Janie found wasn't very exciting. It seemed pointless, and Janie's final decision at the end didn't make any sense. If that was her decision, then fine, but the justification for it I felt was just stupid. This installment did not add anything to the series. If this book wasn't written or included, I wouldn't have felt i was missing anything.
I was really debating between giving this book a 2 stars and a 3 stars. I read it fast because it's an easy read and the language is easy to understand. I didn't hate the book, and I do like the writing even though I didn't really much like the story in this one. And I felt it was not imperative to the series, it didn't add anything. I decided to split the difference and gave this book a 2.5.
Needless to say, this book felt an unnecessary part of the series. This fourth part in the series is about Janie finding out something about her "adoptive" father. He ends up needing to go to the hospital and Janie is left to help with the finances. Then she finds out something that shocks her to the core and makes her question if she will ever be able to forgive her family.
I expected that "what Janie found" would be something major, a very large twist in the tale to reinvigorate this by-now-starting-to-get-stale series. With that and the promise of meeting the kidnapper, this appeared on the surface to have the potential to be the best book in the series. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
The "secret" that Janie found wasn't very exciting. It seemed pointless, and Janie's final decision at the end didn't make any sense. If that was her decision, then fine, but the justification for it I felt was just stupid. This installment did not add anything to the series. If this book wasn't written or included, I wouldn't have felt i was missing anything.
I was really debating between giving this book a 2 stars and a 3 stars. I read it fast because it's an easy read and the language is easy to understand. I didn't hate the book, and I do like the writing even though I didn't really much like the story in this one. And I felt it was not imperative to the series, it didn't add anything. I decided to split the difference and gave this book a 2.5.
July 7, 2015
Hmm, this felt like filler to me. Not bad but kind of pointless and becoming less connected to the original story.
In this one, Janie, her brother Brian, and ex-boyfriend Reeve travel to Colorado to visit brother Stephen. At least on the surface. What's actually happening is that Janie has discovered that her father, Frank Johnson, the "kidnap father", has been sending checks to Janie's kidnapper/Frank's biological daughter Hannah for years, and Janie's seeking her out (the checks are delivered to a PO Box in Boulder, where Stephen happens to be).
One, Stephen, your girlfriend is highly annoying and tacky. Two, I still feel a bit out of sync with Reeve, but I guess Janie does too (I miss just loving Reeve). Three, Fraaaank. And Miranda. You guys are falling apart and it makes me sad and I wish Frank hadn't been helping out Hannah. Four, and I should stop counting because it doesn't really matter, Hannah was supposedly dead. I hate how Lizzie, Reeve's sister, is nevereverever wrong, but now she's been wrong on two very big counts--thinking Hannah would be left alone if Janie went willingly to the Springs (also, visit real lawyers in the first instance, Frank and Miranda, not a law student) and thinking Hannah is dead. If we're all the time going to talk about how Lizzie is never wrong, blahblah, let's have her actually be never wrong. This is obviously Cooney deciding to continue the series after thinking she wouldn't, and it's a bit clunky.
Blahblahblah, in the end, Janie decides to essentially let go of Hannah and her anger/bitterness/whathaveyou, which emotionally I applaud. But realistically, eh, I think we should throw Hannah in the slammer and lose the key. I compare myself to Mrs. Spring and can't be as forgiving as Janie.
In this one, Janie, her brother Brian, and ex-boyfriend Reeve travel to Colorado to visit brother Stephen. At least on the surface. What's actually happening is that Janie has discovered that her father, Frank Johnson, the "kidnap father", has been sending checks to Janie's kidnapper/Frank's biological daughter Hannah for years, and Janie's seeking her out (the checks are delivered to a PO Box in Boulder, where Stephen happens to be).
One, Stephen, your girlfriend is highly annoying and tacky. Two, I still feel a bit out of sync with Reeve, but I guess Janie does too (I miss just loving Reeve). Three, Fraaaank. And Miranda. You guys are falling apart and it makes me sad and I wish Frank hadn't been helping out Hannah. Four, and I should stop counting because it doesn't really matter, Hannah was supposedly dead. I hate how Lizzie, Reeve's sister, is nevereverever wrong, but now she's been wrong on two very big counts--thinking Hannah would be left alone if Janie went willingly to the Springs (also, visit real lawyers in the first instance, Frank and Miranda, not a law student) and thinking Hannah is dead. If we're all the time going to talk about how Lizzie is never wrong, blahblah, let's have her actually be never wrong. This is obviously Cooney deciding to continue the series after thinking she wouldn't, and it's a bit clunky.
Blahblahblah, in the end, Janie decides to essentially let go of Hannah and her anger/bitterness/whathaveyou, which emotionally I applaud. But realistically, eh, I think we should throw Hannah in the slammer and lose the key. I compare myself to Mrs. Spring and can't be as forgiving as Janie.
May 19, 2015
Out of the four books by this author, I liked this book least of all. It was supposed to be a "thrilling conclusion" but to me, it just left even more burning questions and unresolved conflict. First of all, ever since Reeve betrayed Janie in the last book, I don't think he should have been forgiven. In the real world, I don't think a 16-17 year old girl who had been through that much trauma would have forgiven him either, just because a woman who is still nearly a stranger told her so. The other thing that slightly irked me was that this book built up this internal conflict in Janie that she wanted to meet Hannah and finally confront her and ask these burning questions of why she kidnapped Janie and why she suddenly decided to leave her at the Johnson's. But Cooney never revealed any of these answers, instead just having Janie write a huge check for Hannah for some sort of symbolic ransom. Cooney described Hannah's character in the last book to have a voice that sounded like someone who has been an alcoholic for a very long time, and in the real world, these people are always desperate for money. So I don't think that this large unknown sum of money would satisfy Hannah until her death. I just felt that this book built up so much tension until it reached this climatic point when Stephen explodes at Katherine and the secrets are revealed but then there is never really this falling action and conclusion. This is something that I feel occurred in three of the four books in this series and it's just not something I can get past. I probably won't read this series again because I was just lead on this journey that left me with so many unanswered questions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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