Caroline B. Cooney Books in Order

Where to Start Your Caroline B. Cooney Journey

If you grew up reading page-turning suspense in the 1990s or 2000s, chances are you’ve stayed up late reading a Caroline B. Cooney novel. With over 90 books to her name, she is a master of high-stakes teenage drama, combining elements of psychological suspense, supernatural dread, romance, and disaster. But with such a massive bibliography, where should a reader begin?

The absolute best starting point is her signature work, The Face on the Milk Carton. This book is a landmark of young adult literature, featuring a premise that instantly hooks readers of any age: a teenage girl spots her own face on a missing child notice on a milk carton. It kicks off a six-book saga that remains her most cohesive and beloved series.

If you prefer a standalone introduction to her work, you should start with her critically acclaimed suspense novels like Driver's Ed (a gripping story of a high school prank with fatal consequences) or Code Orange (a post-9/11 bio-thriller about a teenager who accidentally unearths smallpox). If you are looking for spooky supernatural vibes, her Vampire's Promise trilogy is the perfect place to dive in.

The Janie Johnson Series: The "Milk Carton" Saga

Janie Johnson's story is a continuous narrative, meaning you must read these books in strict publication order. The series follows Janie as she uncovers the truth about her past, navigates the agonizing emotional pull between two sets of parents, and deals with the fallout of a media storm.

• The Face on the Milk Carton (1990): Janie sees her face on a milk carton and realizes the parents who raised her are not her biological parents.
• Whatever Happened to Janie? (1993): Janie is sent to live with her birth family, struggling with the transition and rebuilding her identity.
• The Voice on the Radio (1996): Janie's boyfriend, Reeve, goes to college and betrays her secrets on a late-night talk radio show.
• What Janie Found (2000): Janie uncovers a financial trail that might lead directly to the woman who kidnapped her.
• What Janie Saw (2012): An interstitial ebook short story that bridges the gap between the fourth book and the final novel.
• Janie Face to Face (2013): The final chapter of the saga, where Janie prepares for her wedding while the threat of her kidnapper looms one last time.

The Losing Christina Trilogy: Island Isolation and Dread

Set on an isolated island off the coast of Maine, the Losing Christina series is a masterpiece of psychological suspense. The books follow Christina Romney as she moves from her tiny island home to the mainland to attend high school, only to find herself living with the deeply unsettling and manipulative school principal, Shevvington. This trilogy is also sold together as an omnibus under the title Losing Christina.

1. Fog (1989): Christina begins her high school years on the mainland and notices that Shevvington's psychological experiments are twisting the minds of the students.
2. Snow (1990): A massive winter storm traps the students, and Shevvington's mental torment reaches a chilling peak.
3. The Fire (1990): Christina must find a way to break Shevvington's control once and for all before he destroys her.

The Vampire's Promise Trilogy: Dark Supernatural Bargains

Before the modern vampire romance craze, Cooney wrote a dark, eerie trilogy about a malevolent vampire who preys on the desires and insecurities of high school students. A common point of confusion for collectors is that these books were originally published with one set of titles and later reprinted under different names. They can be read as standalones, but are best enjoyed in order:

1. The Cheerleader (1985) – Also published as "Deadly Offer": Althea wants to be popular and beautiful, so she makes a deal with a vampire living in an abandoned tower.
2. The Return of the Vampire (1991) – Also published as "Evil Returns": The vampire returns to prey on a new group of girls who are eager to make compromises for popularity.
3. The Vampire's Promise (1993) – Also published as "Fatal Bargain": A group of teens are trapped in the vampire's house and must decide who to sacrifice to survive.

The Time Travelers / Both Sides of Time Series

If you like historical fiction and romance mixed with sci-fi time travel, this series follows Annie Lockwood as she slips back in time to the late 19th century. She falls in love with a young man from the Gilded Age, leading to an emotional and historical clash of customs across eras.

1. Both Sides of Time (1995)
2. Out of Time (1996)
3. Prisoner of Time (1998)
4. For All Time (2001)

The Saturday Night / Night to Remember Series

For readers who enjoy classic 1980s teen drama and romance, Cooney wrote a four-book arc tracking a group of teenagers through the biggest social events of the school year. They should be read in publication order:

1. Saturday Night (1986)
2. Last Dance (1987)
3. New Year's Eve (1988)
4. Summer Nights (1988)

Multi-Author Imprints: Point Horror, Cheerleaders, and Wildfire

If you look at online catalogs for Caroline B. Cooney, you will often see massive lists of titles under banners like Point Horror, Cheerleaders, or Wildfire. It is crucial to understand that these were multi-author branding lines published by Scholastic in the 1980s and 1990s. Cooney did not write all 81 Point Horror books or all 32 Wildfire books; rather, she was a contributing author who penned specific, standalone entries under these banners.

Caroline B. Cooney's Point Horror Contributions

Cooney was one of the defining voices of Scholastic's Point Horror line, writing some of its most memorable psychological thrillers. Her standalone contributions to Point Horror include:

• Blind Date (1986): A terrifying game of telephone leads to a blind date with a stranger who has murder on his mind.
• Twisted (1987): A suspenseful thriller where a girl's teenage rebellion gets tangled up in a web of lies and danger.
• The Lifeguard (1988): A summer job turns deadly when a lifeguard becomes a witness to a summer tragedy.
• Freeze Tag (1992): Lannie has the supernatural ability to freeze people in their tracks, turning a childhood game into a tool for blackmail and control.
• The Perfume (1992): A mysterious perfume unleashes an ancient, evil split personality in a teenage girl.
• The Stranger (1993): A teenage girl falls for a handsome, wealthy transfer student, unaware that he hides a sinister secret.
• Twins (1994): The classic trope of identical twins turns deadly as secrets from the past resurface.
• Night School (1995): A spooky high school thriller where night classes hide something far more dangerous than homework.
• The Surfer (1995): A sun-drenched beach thriller where a teenage girl searches for the truth about a mysterious surfer.

Note: Cooney’s Losing Christina trilogy and Vampire’s Promise trilogy were also frequently marketed and printed under the Point Horror banner, which is why books like Fog and The Cheerleader are often categorized as Point Horror classics.

Cheerleaders, Wildfire, and Follow Your Heart

In addition to Point Horror, Cooney participated in several other Scholastic romance and drama lines:

• The Cheerleaders Series: Cooney launched this incredibly popular multi-author series by writing the first three books, Trying Out (1985), Rumors (1985), and Betrayed (1985), establishing the central characters and rivalries. She later returned to write several more, including Looking Good, All the Way, Flirting, Pulling Together, Proving It, Going Strong, Staying Together, Spring Fever, Saying Yes, Showing Off, and Fighting Back.
• Wildfire Books: This was a brand of standalone teen romances. Cooney contributed The Summer of the Sky-Blue Bikini (1978), An April Love Story (1981), Nancy & Nick (1983), Holly in Love (1983), and Nice Girls Don't (1984).
• Follow Your Heart Books: A series of choose-your-own-romance books. Cooney wrote three entries: A Stage Set for Love (1983), Racing to Love (1985), and Suntanned Days (1985).

The Best Standalone Thrillers to Read Next

Once you have finished the Janie Johnson series, Cooney has a stellar selection of standalone thrillers that showcase her ability to write intense, realistic, and page-turning suspense. Here are the absolute best standalones you should add to your reading list:

• Driver's Ed (1994): A cautionary tale about a group of teenagers who steal a stop sign as a prank, causing a fatal accident. The book explores themes of guilt, responsibility, and the domino effect of reckless actions.
• Flight #116 Is Down! (1992): A gripping disaster novel that follows a teenage girl who must step up as a first responder when a commercial 747 crashes in her family's backyard.
• Code Orange (2005): A post-9/11 thriller focusing on Mitty Blake, a lazy student who finds an old smallpox scab while researching a biology paper. Believing he has infected himself and could trigger an epidemic in New York City, Mitty is forced into a life-or-death battle.
• The Terrorist (1997): A suspenseful and controversial thriller about an American girl living in London who tries to find out who killed her younger brother in a subway bombing.
• Before She Was Helen (2020): Cooney's successful transition into adult mystery fiction. The story follows a woman in a retirement community who takes a photo of a beautiful object, inadvertently exposing a dark secret from her past.