Saturday, May 21, 2011

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Margaret Johnson

Summary:
Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and her artist, a playwright/thief/bloke-about-town called Keith, go to Scotland together,with somewhat disastrous - though utterly romantic - results. Ginny isn't sure she'll see Keith again, and definitely doesn't know what to think about him.

Could the answer be in the envelopes?

Ginny doesn't know it, but adventures in Rome and Paris are in envelopes 6 and 8. The rules are that she has to open one at a time, in order, so perhaps it isn't surprising that she discovers things about her life and love one by one. Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes. (from book jacket)

Review:
13 Little Blue Envelopes is a book that I've seen around a lot. I know a lot of people have read it, and I used to see it in the library all the time, but for some reason I never picked it up. But I am so glad I did now, because I really enjoyed 13 Little Blue Envelopes and thought it was a terrifc read.

I love to travel and go on adventures, so I loved the fact that Ginny was following the instructions in letters her aunt wrote, and that these letters were sending her to another continent. I would really love to visit all of Europe, so I felt that I was living vicariously through Ginny when she went to Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Greece. I have already been to London and Edinburgh, so it was neat to read about Ginny visiting places I have been to also. Ginny is pretty brave, though, to travel everywhere by herself, with only one backpack and no electronics. There is no way I wouldn't bring a cell phone or camera, but Ginny was able to follow all of her aunt's directions.

Along with becoming very worldly, Ginny learns a lot about herself and leaves her comfort zone by doing the things that Aunt Peg asks, like asking a cute boy out for cake in Rome and staying with people she had never met before. I liked to see Ginny become more confident and learn more about her aunt, who was always somewhat of a mystery to Ginny.

So if you like travel, Europe, a little romance, and humor, 13 Little Blue Envelopes will be perfect for you! This is such a cute book and I can't wait to read the sequel.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from my library.

2006/HarperTeen/336 pages.

2 comments:

We Heart YA said...

"Ginny is pretty brave, though, to travel everywhere by herself, with only one backpack and no electronics. There is no way I wouldn't bring a cell phone or camera, but Ginny was able to follow all of her aunt's directions."

Well, a lot of people questioned the believability of a 15-yr-old girl being sent on a trip without any sort of safety measures, not to mention, yeah, what about just the joy of taking pictures to remember it all?

But we just started reading this book (it was free for Kindle for a while and we snagged it!) and we think if you can suspend disbelief about that part, the story is probably enjoyable. We certainly love travel and are looking forward to Ginny's adventures!

Christina Reads YA said...

I'm more than halfway through this book and I'm definitely enjoying it for the same reasons. I too would love to travel more! And that girl does have guts... My mom probably would've never let me do the same. Am thinking of buying the sequel, which I see you've also reviewed. Good to know it's a nice follow up to this :).

Looking forward to reading more of your reviews!