The Face on the Milk Carton

Janie often thinks in comparisons, using similes and metaphors to process her world. She draws on familiar objects and feelings to draw these comparisons. Choose three similes or metaphors from the novel and explain what each tells us about Janie. What do the references she chooses say about her character?

The Face on the Milk Carton was published in 1990. The teenage characters do not have technology like smartphones or social media accounts. How might the presence of the technology available in 2020 alter the novel’s plot? Choose two moments in the novel and explain why they would play out differently if they occurred in the year 2020.

The author wrote The Face on the Milk Carton in third-person limited point of view. She provides access to Janie’s thoughts through a narrator but does not tell the story in Janie’s own voice. Citing specific passages, explain how third-person narration suits the novel’s narrative.