Whatever Happened to Janie

Whatever Happened to Janie by Caroline B. Cooney is the second novel in the series known as The Janie Books. The series is about the kidnapping of a girl named Jennie Spring. In the first book, Jennie found out that her face was on a milk carton. She was kidnapped at the age of three and raised in New Jersey under the name Janie Johnson. She confided in her boyfriend about finding the milk carton photo, and ultimately decided that she needs to locate her real parents so that they no longer had to wonder what happened to her. After revealing herself to them, the Springs petitioned for custody, and the court granted their request.

The couple who raised her, who thought her name was Janie, didn’t know that she was kidnapped. They thought she’s their granddaughter because their daughter, Hannah, dropped her off twelve years ago and asked them to raise her before disappearing. For almost thirteen years, they’ve given her a loving home, believing her to be Janie, not Jennie. Not only is this difficult for them, but it brings up bitter memories as Hannah was the same age as Janie/Jennie when they lost her.

Now, Jennie’s real parents, the Springs, and their other children—three boys and another girl—are eager and nervous to welcome Jennie into their lives. Janie/Jennie doesn’t want to leave the home she’s always known to go live with the Springs. To her, they’re strangers, even though they’re her biological family. Despite her fear, though, she’s forced to go and live with them by the court. The Johnson couple—the pair who raised her—tell her she has to go, even though they’re devastated to lose her. Janie/Jennie tries to adapt into her new family and new life, but she doesn’t give it her best try. She misses the Johnsons immensely and spends each night crying herself to sleep.



She shares a bedroom with her sister, Jodie. Jodie has always dreamt of what it would feel like to have a sister, but Jennie/Janie doesn’t fit that image. Instead of sharing their deepest secrets together, Jennie wants nothing to do with Jodie. The same can be said for the whole Spring family; in fact, when they call her Jennie, she doesn’t even answer them. She complains about living with them and doesn’t miss a chance to inform the Springs that they’re not really her family.

In time though, she begins to relax in their presence. Sometimes, days with the Springs start to feel normal for Jennie, and they start to feel more accepted by her. Jennie herself is conflicted. While she can finally admit to herself that she does like the Springs, she still misses the Johnsons and feels that coming to love the Springs would be a betrayal to all the love they gave her over those thirteen years she was with them. She’s aware that the Johnsons are suffering emotionally.

The police visit, announcing that they plan to find Hannah Johnson in order to charge her with kidnapping. Jennie decides to tell her mother—her real mother—that she wants to return to the Johnsons. She tells Mrs. Johnson that she considers them to be her real parents, since they raised her for thirteen years and she was only with the Springs for just over three years, most of which she doesn’t even recall. Stephen and Jodie Spring, Jennie’s older siblings, don’t take this news well at all. They think that Jennie is overindulged, and they resent her for causing their parents strife. It’s not long before they transfer their resentment of Jennie/Janie to Hannah, who started the whole mess by kidnapping Jennie in the first place.



Stephen and Jodie decide they’re going to go track down Hannah, so they travel to New York City, where she was seen last. They decide to search soup kitchens for her, but while they don’t find Hannah, they do change their minds about the whole situation. Stephen almost loses Jodie in the city and they decide it’s time to go home. On the train ride home, Stephen and Jodie both decide that they’re not angry anymore. They visit Jennie/Janie that summer at the Johnsons' home, where she’s now living. The novel ends with Stephen and Jodie determining that what’s most important is for them to get to know their sister better.