Author: Maureen Johnson
Title: 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Travel, Fiction, Romance
Release Date: August 23, 2005
Publisher: Harper Teen
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Excerpt
Ginny Blackstone never thought she’d spend her summer vacation backpacking across Europe. But that was before she received the first little blue envelope from Aunt Peg.
This letter was different from Peg’s usual letters for two reasons:
1. Peg had been dead for three months.
2. The letter included $1000 cash for a passport and a plane ticket.
Armed with instructions for how to retrieve twelve other letters Peg wrote—twelve letters that tell Ginny where she needs to go and what she needs to do when she gets there—Ginny quickly finds herself swept away in her first real adventure. Traveling from London to Edinburgh to Amsterdam and beyond, Ginny begins to uncover stories from her aunt’s past and discover who Peg really was. But the most surprising thing Ginny learns isn’t about Peg . . . it’s about herself.
Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it’s all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.
Brandi's Review
I found this book on the epic reads table at Barnes&Noble. Decided to bring it home because the letter/travel/adventure theme sounded very interesting and I was reading Love & Gelato. (If you've read that then you know what I mean! I had high expectations going in.
It read a little slower for me than others have. I still thought it was very enjoyable. I find myself connecting with Ginny, except I congratulate her on traveling through a foreign country basically alone and with little preparation. I wish I had the courage to do something like this. Reading about her journey through Europe was fantastic, Maureen did a wonderful job creating this adventure that is readable and interesting and made me feel like I was almost taking it too. I also, like that it wasn't a typical girl meets guy in foreign country>they fall in love and that's what the story becomes. This was not that. It was a great journey of self discovery and moving through the stages of grief to acceptance.
I gave it 4 starts only because at times it was a little slow but it was still enjoyable and I would still recommend this to everyone. Wonderful summer read and the story even continues...
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