Review Detail

3.0 1

Janie Face to Face (Janie Johnson #5)

Young Adult Fiction 227

Great conclusion to an outstanding series

December 31, 2012

Overall rating

4.7

Plot

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Characters

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Writing Style

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Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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The entire Janie Johnson series was republished in attractive new paperback editions in May 2012 by Random House's Ember imprint. The updated covers coordinated with that of this new title. It's great to see new life breathed into a series that has been popular for so many years!

Good Points

The continued success of this series hinges on the fact that it involves a topic dear to every middle grade students' heart-- personal identity. How many of them secretly wish-- or fear-- that they are not the person they think they are? Since the series has been out for such a long time, I think that having Janie in college and thinking about getting married is not a bad thing. I read a lot of 1950s books (Sister of the Bride, etc.) that dealt with girls getting married, and was always somewhat intrigued by them. I think the same will hold true of this series. Cooney was able to work new technology into each book, and was able to sustain a coherent feeling throughout the series. I was glad to finally find out what would happen to the various characters, and thought that the book tied up a myriad of story lines in a very satisfactory way.