13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Published: October 1, 2006 by HarperTeen
Received: bought from Barnes & Noble

When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel. {taken from goodreads.com}

When I first heard about this novel the first thing that came to mind: Adventure!  Here's a girl who has an amazing, yet terrifyingly exciting task ahead of her.  She has been given 13 envelopes to open on her quest across Europe by her Aunt who was the epitome of living every day as an adventure.  I say was because Ginny's Aunt has passed away, and Ginny will soon realize that it's more about knowing the person her Aunt was; rather than accomplishing each new task that lays inside each little blue envelope.

The story takes Ginny from New York, to London, to Paris, across the continent to places like Amsterdam and Greece, and back to London.  It is here in London that Ginny meets the man for whom her Aunt built a relationship with when she lived there during her final days.  It is London that also gives her the most glimpses inside her Aunt's world full of art, adventure, spontaneity, and the burdens that surrounded living a life this way.  London also introduced Ginny to Keith, an English student full of life and fun.  Each new envelope unearths things about her Aunt she didn't know before.

Though the adventures that Ginny encountered were fun to read about; it was the meaning behind them that I wanted to know the most about.  I felt that some things were not relevant to the story, and just like Ginny I felt confused as to why her Aunt would send her there.  The build up to the last few envelopes was a bit of a let down for me as well.  I was wanting something a little more dramatic.  I also found Ginny's character to be a bit unbelievable at times too.  She is described as a shy, quiet girl whose parents have always had a strong hold over her life so that her Aunt did not have a negative influence on her.  Yet here she is, still a young child, running across Europe by herself.  I felt that the story contradicted the character a bit.

I was also disappointed in the relationship with Keith.  I kept waiting for something extraordinary to happen, yet that fell flat for me as well.  Perhaps all my questions will be answered in the sequel The Last Little Blue Envelope.  Maureen Johnson may have written this first novel in anticipation of what's to come next.  I sure hope so, because I closed the book needing more -- but not in the way I usually do from a story.  It literally ended very incomplete to me.  Though there are a few plot holes and I did not always agree with the characterization, over all the story was an enjoyable read.  I will be picking up it's sequel and plan to continue with Ginny's story and that very last envelope that left me hanging.