The Voice on the Radio (Janie Johnson) [Kindle Edition]

Caroline B. Cooney (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers of Cooney's addictive The Face on the Milk Carton and Whatever Happened to Janie? can start licking their chops. This juicy novel serves up the further life and times of Janie Johnson, who in the previous works learned that she had been kidnapped at age three from one loving family and deposited with another. Cooney brings new readers up to speed ingeniously: Janie's boyfriend, Reeve, now a college freshman, is trying to make a name for himself at the campus radio station, and in desperation he resorts to brief installments of Janie's twisted history. He achieves almost instant popularity and fame, which help salve his conscience for betraying Janie's deepest confidences. Meanwhile Janie, a very private person, endures her senior year of high school, fending off incursions from reporters and curious classmates, and drawing closer to her birth family, the Springs. Janie hazards upon one of Reeve's broadcasts and is devastated; Cooney compensates for the predictability of this plotting with a few gorgeously timed surprises. What this novel (and its predecessors) lacks in credibility it makes up for in psychological accuracy and well-aimed, gossipy views of teens?Cooney seems to have a special radar for adolescent longings and insecurities, not to mention campus chic (one of Reeve's fellow deejays, for example, affects the on-air name Derek Himself). Janie's appeal is so believable that readers will want to believe in the story, too, especially in the tender scenes between Janie and her Spring mother. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Nonfiction
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10?This companion to The Face on the Milk Carton (Bantam, 1990) and Whatever Happened to Janie (Delacorte, 1993) provides more intimate details about characters that readers have come to know and care about. Janie Johnson first saw her face on a milk carton one year ago. Reeve Shields, her boyfriend, is now a college freshman and dreams of being a talk-show DJ. As he stares at the microphone in the control room of the campus radio station, the story of Janie's kidnapping at the age of three begins to slide out of his mouth and into the airwaves of Boston. Janie, in the meantime, is trying to recover from six months of nonstop confusion in her life, having recently learned about her past. When she accompanies her newfound sister and brother on a trip to visit colleges (and see her boyfriend) in Boston, Reeve's voice on the radio makes their tumultuous lives veer in a completely new direction. The complexity of human thought and actions is vividly portrayed through the author's distinctive prose, and readers are drawn deeply into the minds and hearts of the characters. Teens who have never read about Janie's circumstances are brought up to speed by the seamless intertwining of former events throughout the story. Cooney's outstanding command of emotional tension has taken this novel to extraordinary heights.?Jana R. Fine, Clearwater Public Library System, FL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 335 KB
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (October 14, 2008)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001M2EN0I
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,440 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Boyfriend, Reeve Betrays Janie's trust., November 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Voice on the Radio (Mass Market Paperback)

In the book "The Face on the Milk Carton" JanieJohnson discovers her true identity. Janie had been kidnapped at age three. In the book "Whatever Happened to Janie",Janie goes to live with her real family. Janie acts like a real brat. At the end of this book Janie goes back to live with her "fake" parents. Through out this whole mess Janie has a boyfriend named Reeve. Reeve is basically the only person Janie trusts. In the book "The Voice on the Radio" the saga continues. Reeve moves to Boston to attend college, leaving Janie sad. Janie and Reeve continue their relationship by phone and e-mail. Reeve starts working on the college radio station, he had always dreamed of being a radio talk show host. When Reeve does his first show he runs out of things to say after the first six minutes. Reeve is really nervest and doesn't know what to say so he starts telling Janie's story. Everybody loved his show. Reeve knew that he shouldn't have started telling Janie's story on live radio. Reeve continued to say stories about Janie's tragedy. Reeve intended to stop, but everybody at his college loved his show and they were hookedon it.Janie ofcourse didn't know all of this was happening. While of this was happenning Janie was getting closer to her real family. Janie's sister, Jodie invited Janie to go with her to Boston for some college interviews. Janie was thrilled ,she could surprise Reeve with a visit. Janie, Jodie , and their younger brother Brian stayed at a hotel overnigth. Janie decide to tune in Reeve's radiostation. That's when Janie heard Reeve tell part of her story. Janie was shocked. Brian calls the radio station and tells Reevethat they know what he's doing. If you want to know how the end of this book I suggest you read it. I really liked this book, it was really interesting. I think it's better if you read "The Face on the Milk Carton" and "Whatever Happened to Janie" befor reading this book. You'll understand it better. I gave this story four stars because in my opinion the two books before this one were better. They were more interesting and exciting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Third Book in the Janie Series, November 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Voice on the Radio (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Voice on the Radio" picks up one year after "Whatever Happened to Janie?" ended. Janie Johnson (aka Jennie Spring) is now a junior in high school (still in Connecticut), and Reeve Shields, her boyfriend, is a freshman at Hills College in Boston, Massachusetts. He's also the main character in this book.

The book starts out on Reeve's first day of hosting a one-hour talk program on the college campus radio, WSCK. He's extremely nervous and has no material to speak of--until he flashes on his girlfriend's traumatic past. For an hour, Reeve retells Janie's discovery of the missing children's ad on the side of the milk carton, realizing it was a picture of herself, and that she had been kidnapped over twelve years ago. From then on, Reeve has an immediate and devoted audience. They want to know everything that happened to Janie, but how far will Reeve go to maintain his popularity and status?

Meanwhile, Jodie Spring (Janie's biological older sister) is planning a weekend trip to Boston to scout-out potential colleges. She invites Janie and Brian (one of their younger twin brothers) along for the ride, but all three get more than they bargained for when they tune in to Reeve's secretive radio show. Needless to say, they're all shocked and horrified by what he's done. How could he do this to them, especially Janie? More importantly, how can they forgive him for exposing their family's secret so publicly? And what about that mysterious caller who claimed to be Hannah Javensen, Janie's kidnapper?

Just as gripping as the previous two books in this series ("The Face on the Milk Carton" and "Whatever Happened to Janie?"), "The Voice on the Radio" definitely doesn't disappoint. It leaves you wanting more, and, thankfully, there is another book after this one: "What Janie Found". This series could go on and on forever, and I would still be reading every book too. They're very addictive.

While this series is geared toward teen girls, I would still recommend it to anyone interested. It's well worth your time if you like true-to-life stories.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery Keeps Rolling Out, January 4, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Voice on the Radio (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is the third in the series The Face on the Milk Carton. The book the Voice on the Radio is a suspenseful story about a red-headed girl named Janie. Janie is a dizzy, scared girl that is having her life rolled out with one to many unexpected twists. Janie has a boyfriend, Reeve, which is away at collage and ends up telling her story on air.

The book the Voice on the Radio is a breath taking dramatic book. This wasn't my favorite book in the series, but it was still amazing. Even though it wasn't my favorite, it is one of those books that you never put down. Caroline B. Cooney always leaves me on the edge of my chair wanting more. If you read the first and the second book, the third is a definite read as long as you're ready for a thrill. She is an awesome mystery writer, and when I think I have it all uncovered, something else rolls out.