Maureen Johnson

When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life. Reprint.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Monicap

Sarah Sammis

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson follows Ginny as she goes on a European adventure outlined for her by her eccentric aunt. The rules also include: no ATM card, no electronic devices and no reading the letters out of order.

The journey takes Ginny first to New York, then to London and finally around Europe. Each piece of the adventure is tucked away in one of the thirteen envelopes.

The set up for the book requires some suspension of disbelief. But once the book gets going it's a fun but heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking journey for Ginny. She grows through struggles and discoveries.

The book was such a delightful read, that I have The Last Little Blue Envelope on hand and hope to read it soon.

Manda

13 Little Blue Envelopes (13LBE) is the story of Ginny Blackstone's summer abroad. However, 13LBE isn't the typical summer abroad story. Ginny doesn't choose to go on this trip, she is sent on it by her crazy aunt who has left her directions to follow in 13 letters, hence the title. This is the only book I've read by Maureen Johnson and she is an amazing author. The whole time I read this book I felt what Ginny was feeling. I laughed with her, I cried with her, I even pinned for the boy she falls for. This is definitely a book I recommend to anyone who loves YA novels. This book will make you want to travel where Ginny travels and if you are from the states like me you'll be dying to travel abroad. I never got the feeling while reading 13LBE that I didn't understand a location Ginny traveled to and I definitely never felt out of the loop. I can't wait till the sequel comes out. I'm in love with the life of Ginny Blackstone and I know you'll feel the same way too.

Talia Dominguez 

this book is amazing !!! Ginny(virginia) finds out her Aunt dies and she recieves 13 letters telling her to go in a journey. The whole book is sbout thst journey she takes following her aunt's instructions. On her trip around the world, she encounters people her aunt met in the past and meets new people on her own!
in the end she loses the last envelope but still discover things on her own without them but also in the process, creating relationships with others.

Natalie

I am kind of sort or totally a sucker for this kind of book (one of my favorite books ever is Aunt Dimity's Death, which features a similar plot). This is a charming and engaging little book and I'm glad I snagged the free e-book--which did its job, as I've pre-ordered the sequel.

** spoiler alert **
           Ok so I really wanted to love this, thought maybe I was diving into a “love and Gelato” deal... but no. Everything you can possibly imagine a parent not letting their 17 yr old do is done in this book. Super unrealistic. I get it, it’s fiction but it’s not working for me. I enjoyed the letters and the aunt is a super free spirit and I loved it, but seriously? No phone? Overseas? Roaming the town with strangers? Idk, it felt super flat for me afterwards.

Tameka Young

What a fun and cute read! I really love the author's sense of humor and found myself giggling out loud several times. I enjoyed all of the travel described in the book, especially since I haven't been to Europe yet myself. Great read for a cozy afternoon wishing you had the guts to take an adventure.

Helene Utterback

This book made me miss living abroad more than I ever thought possible. It is clear that the author has lived some of these experiences for herself, as some of the things she describes are exactly like things I experienced while abroad.

Amanda Kordeliski

I struggled through this one. I could not suspend reality long enough to buy into the idea that Ginny's overprotective parents put their teenage-still-in-highschool daughter on a plane and sent her to London with no money, means of communication or place to stay. Even if they could have been convinced and allowed Ginny to stay with her Aunt Peg. Peg died! Of a Brain Tumor! And Ginny is following the notes and relying on her flaky aunt's plan for the entire trip!

When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life

Flavia Louise

3.25 stars
I really, really loved passages of this book and then there were parts that I really just didn't like/actually found boring...
I was a little bit disappointed.

Emily Ruth Carter

Very cute book. I wish we could do half star ratings.

Maria

У девочки Джинни была тетя Пег – из тех взбаламошных теть, которых племянники любят за непредсказуемость и веселье. Однажды тетя уехала куда-то без объяснений, а потом родственники узнали, что она умерла в Европе от рака. Но Джинни она оставила пакет, а в нем 13 маленьких голубых конвертов, и это квест. По задумке тети Пег семнадцатилетняя племянница должна повторить её вояж по Европе и что-нибудь такое важное для себя открыть. У квеста есть правило – взять с собой можно только рюкзак, нельзя звонить и писать домой, а также деньги можно тратить только те, что тетя Пег оставила. Джинни летит в Лондон, откуда конверты ведут её в Эдинбург, Рим, Париж, Амстердам, Копенгаген и на остров Корфу.

И практически сразу начинаются дыры и провалы. Во-первых, где родители Джинни? В книге упоминается, что до предыдущего лета они не разрешали ей работать в торговом центре в Нью-Джерси. И при этом им ок, что семнадцатилетняя девочка одна летит в Европу и несколько месяцев не будет выходить на связь? Я вообще не поняла, зачем надо было делать героиню такой юной и наивной – такое приключение уместнее смотрелось бы с героиней лет двадцати пяти. А тут, например, есть эпизоды, в которых Джинни пытается разобраться, как пользоваться турникетом в лондонском метро.

Во-вторых, как так вышло, что тетя, даже такая взбаламошная, ни на секунду не задумалась о безопасности девочки? В одном из конвертов она дает ей задание пригласить мальчика на свидание – ну а мальчик, не будь дураком, пытается Джинни изнасиловать. Нормально вообще?

В-третьих, ничего такого особенного в ходе путешествия Джинни не открывает. Она постоянно усталая, вся одежда у нее грязная, ей очень хочется помыться – и я её понимаю! Бэкпэкинг вообще максимально чуждая мне идея, я не понимаю смысла галопа по европам, жутких хостелов, отсутствия нормальной еды и комфорта. А тут, кажется, весь этот трэш даже не компенсируется никак в моральном плане (компенсируется в материальном, но реально, вся эта херня ради тетиного наследства? а просто отдать было не судьба? ) 

Обиднее всего, что города в путешествии мелькают так быстро, что ими даже не проникнуться. Отдельно я закатила глаза, когда Джинни с попутчиками должна сесть на корабль в Венеции, и вот они приезжают на вокзал, садятся в такси и мчат по улицам. В Венеции! Такси по улицам!

В общем, какое-то крайне бестолковое воплощение идеи евротрипа.

Fiona

I liked the characters and it appealed to me as I have a dream of travelling

Giulia Pianta

Ugh this was not good.
Before picking this up, I had heard so much about Truly, Devious by this same author, and was so anxious to read it. I knew it was a good book, so I went into this one thinking it would be good as well.
But I was so wrong. (By the way, I ended up reading Truly, Devious and it got 5 full stars, so I am so happy to see the improvement in Maureen Johnson’s writing and storytelling, I swear the two books don’t seem written by the same author).

Maybe listening to this on Audiobook wasn’t the best idea, but it was one of the few interesting books from my library (why do London libraries have so few audiobooks??), so I picked it up.

There is just so much that I didn’t like that I could just copy-paste the book here. I guess just the plot outline was cool, but ugh it didn’t deliver.

The parents
Or lack thereof. As a premise, this is the most unbelievable I’ve ever read. You really think I would believe parents would let a 17-year-old girl going around Europe alone? I am Italian and I have been around Europe a lot, and I admit it is mostly not dangerous, but I would have never EVER travelled around by myself. I wouldn’t do that even now I am almost 26. Especially with little money and no way to communicate to my parents I am still alive around 30 times a day. Ok it was a few years ago, but I am not going to believe the parents spent a month in the US unbothered by their daughter backpacking around. Maybe American teenagers are more independent than here, but girl this is how you die.


The imbecile
You are going to die especially if you are completely, utterly inept at life. I am surprised she survived through 17 years of life, because she is really stupid. Once again, maybe they don’t exist in the US, but here in Europe we have Babybels, which is cheese wrapped in a red wax. You peel off the wax and eat it. But this incompetent bag of flesh just BITES THROUGH THE WAX!!! And complains!!! Like just take the wax off you idiot!! I swear she gets lost in a glass of water.
So, imagine someone how can’t even eat cheese, travel through many countries where they often don’t speak English on a budget without help. Yep, in real life she would be dead.

Here are some of the things she did that caused me to roll my eyes and wonder how she can breathe unassisted.
- She spends the whole flight from New York (I think) to London looking out of the window. For 9 hours??? And stares outside wondering if she is seeing Iceland, the US or what. But it was the wing. She stares for 9 hour at the airplane wings without realising it. Who does that??? And when she lands, she opens the first letter. NOW?? What? Just open it in the US as it may end up being totally stupid or unreasonable, or undoable, or the scrawling of a terminally ill person for what you know! No, she waits until it’s too late and she is in foreign land.
- She follows the letters blindly. Even if they are obviously written by a lunatic and the whole thing could be dangerous. Especially because she is so stupid in doing her best to screw it up. The letter says to kiss an Italian boy (lol whyyy??? Such a stupid request), so she decides the best course of action is to follow him in his house???? And of course this leads to an almost rape, go figure! Another letter tells her to give 500£ to an artist. Ok listen. I am all for supporting art, if you have 100£ and need to pay flight to and back, pay for food and for accommodation, and give 500£ away, the balance is going to be negative on the 2nd day. Not sure if the author has ever been to London, but this city is super expensive, and so is travelling round Europe. Regardless, since your aunt is dead, why follow what she says to the letter?? Give some money to an artist and pocket the rest so you don’t die of hunger, no??
- At the same time, she is so dull and empty. She has no will. She is like a leaf in the wind, like a vegetable with legs. She looks like a girl but there is nothing inside. Her aunt tells her to do something. She just does it. Someone tells her to follow them, she goes. A family forces her to take part in their activities, she says nothing. A sock has more personality. We don’t get to hear what she thinks, but I think it is because she doesn’t. She is moved by the others, or by inertia. So she doesn’t exactly do what she is told, she lets it happen. She gets to London, and just floats to this random’s house. She still has no money and is supposed to ask him, but it takes her days before she does that. FFS girl get the money, they are important to survive! But I guess she has no concept of what money are as she just NEVER checks her bank account. And is surprised when the money runs out and she is stuck in Corfu. GO FIGURE!
- She has no personality. We know nothing of her and we can gather nothing from her thoughts (as she has none) or her conversations, as she never speaks. But the worst for me is that she is travelling through Europe. This is an INCREDIBLE experience as Europe is so incredibly beautiful and filled with culture, food, people, languages, art, history. Anyone would be so lucky to be able to do what she did, even Europeans often don’t have the means to travel as much as she did. But she just. Doesn’t. Care. It feels like she is going through a grey town with lots of fog. She notices nothing, marvels at nothing, visits nothing. When she does, she is bored. Really girl. How empty.
- The final straw. She gets her money, bag with personal items, and the last stupid letter, stolen. How on Earth??? The imbecile hare-brained idiot. Rule number one while travelling is to be careful of your items. But she abandons them on the beach unattended. But how can it be her fault, someone told her to go in the water and didn’t instruct her properly on keeping her belonging safe, and she is after all incapable of doing anything or assessing a situation and decide what is best unless she is explicitly told.


The lunatic aunt
She is the worst. Maybe it is the terminal brain cancer affecting her personality, but from her letters she seems like an unlikeable person. Firstly, how horrible are you to not tell your family that you are dying. Secondly, why send a young child around Europe and have her do potentially dangerous stuff with no supervision or means to ask for help if she needs it? And for what? There is no reason for this whole thing, the letters are just the ramblings of a sick person. Especially after some time from the death, when the people she sends Ginny to may be dead too, or might have moved away. What if Richard had moved out? Ginny would have been left stranded in London. Gosh how irresponsible.
I guess she must have realised that her niece was a total imbecile, so I am really baffled by her decision to put this absurdly expensive paintings in a location unknown and write about it in a letter that could be so easily lost (as it happens because Ginny is and idiot), or she might even not take part in the treasure hunt. Just write a friggin will!!! 

The Americanisms
Listen. If I went to the US and then wrote a book about it, it would be very naïve and uninformed, as I would have just partial views and experiences compared to a native. But this. This is too much. I hope the author never came to Europe before she wrote the book. The backpacking trip seems like it is seen through the eyes of the Stereotypical Tourist, the one that has no idea where they are or of the culture they are in and thinks everywhere things work like back home. So yeah, this stereotype is embodied in Ginny. She goes to London but it weirdly seems like it is the US. I also think the author never came to London. If she did, she must have stayed locked in the whole time because really so much she describes doesn’t really make sense.
Like, maybe a few years ago the NHS worked differently, but the aunt talks about having to get married to a British guy to get health insurance to pay for her treatment. But…that is a US thing??? Not a UK one??? And again, maybe laws have changed but if you have a visa to work in the UK I am pretty sure you can access the NHS for free. But of course, since the author is American she doesn’t think it might work differently here. Another wrong bit is how Ginny goes from Leicester Square to Goldsmiths University as if it is behind the corner. But let me tell you. It is very far. If I had to do that now, I would have to either get two tube lines and the Overground, or two trains, making for 45 minutes of travel, or take a couple of buses for more than 1 hour.
Lastly, all of you try and picture Venice, all built on water with tiny narrow streets and the gondolas. Ok, now imagine Ginny speeding on a taxi in the middle of it, as this is what happens in the book. Like LOL really taxis in Venice??? There are barely taxis in Italy, let alone on islands with NO CAR CIRCULATION.

The stereotypes
The audiobook was terrible. Which clearly didn’t help my enjoyment. The worst part was that the woman narrating it was American and was trying to imitate different types of accents. Unfortunately, all the English people sounded Scottish, the Scottish sounded somehow Russian, and the Italian accent was so offensive. Really, as hard it may be for you non-Italians to hear, WE DO NOT SPEAK LIKE SUPER MARIO ffs!! And what kind of name is Pepe?? Like please. Was the guy called something like Giuseppe right? OK god no Italian would shorten it to that because for us it doesn’t only sound ridiculous, but it also means Black Pepper. (BTW, Giuseppe is pronounced “Giuseppeh”, PLEASE)
Talking about offensive, I know Italian boys are shit but the whole almost-date-rape episode was just offensive. As for the whole of Europe, this really sound like it is written from an American, didn’t need to know the author was from the US because it is clear. Taxis in Venice??? LOL


The dude
Keith was not good. He had no good qualities and was a thief. And also got pissed when Ginny pointed out he was a thief. Yuck. His connection with Ginny was also so flimsy and based on absolutely nothing. (He was also waaaay to old for her, what does a university guy have to do with a high schooler? YUCK).

Ok rant over. I am so drained after this.
 
All this said, I am so glad Maureen blessed us with Truly, Devious. And I am happy I didn’t let this book deter me from picking it up. While I think this book was terrible, I have witnessed such a change in this author so I hope you would not think all her books are this bad.
I am so happy she improved this much and will 100% continue with the Truly, Devious series. But I really don’t have the strength to read the sequel for this book here.

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson’s funny, heartbreaking, and utterly romantic tale gets a great new cover! 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. Look for the sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope!

Jessica Williamson

3.25 Stars

I didn't love every aspect of this book, but I did love the characters. I mean, I was crying by the end so, there's that.

The thing about this book, no matter how good it was, I'll never be able to get over the fact that two level-headed parents let their 17-year-old daughter fly to another country with no phone, no money, and no way to communicate with them. If Johnson had just made the character a year older, say the summer after her senior year vs the year before, when she was 18 and her parents had no control, the story would have made much more sense. As it is, I can't get over that one glaring fact.

Moving on. There was a romance. I didn't really care for it. The guy was nice enough but there weren't really enough scenes with him for me to feel like there was really anything special with him. At least not romantic special. Friendship? Yes. Mutual attraction? Sure. Romance? Nada. 

I DID like the love interest though. Keith was a fun character to read on the page. He had some serious issues but was eccentric and weird and I liked that about him.

Ginny! She's just so naive and fun. But my Gods was the girl TRYING to get herself murdered? There were so many situations in this book that made me cringe and yell "DON'T DO IT!!!" while reading. There were too many close calls for me. However, I like her story arc, her character development and where she ends at the end of the book.

I LOVED Richard. Just a super solid, decent, kind, loving guy. Give me all the Richard's you got. That being said, I feel like I must point out if you haven't read this, Richard is an older gentleman who is NOT a love interest for Ginny. But he is in my age bracket ;) 

All of that being said, I enjoyed the book. The characters were good and the places Ginny visited were amazing. I would love to have a similar trip to hers (at least as far as destinations).

I will definitely be reading the sequel.

shalee olsen

It was fine, It was one of those books that all the way through it I was just thinking that this should be a stand alone because I most likely wont be picking up the next book. But then the ending gives some intrigue. But still, I probably wont continue with the series. 

Its an easy quick read, just not much substance.

Jade Flynn

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

My kingdom for the half star rating, Goodreads. 
3.5 stars. I liked parts of this, (Maureen's sense of humour and writing style is A+) but the solo travelling made me feel so anxious on Ginny's behalf. 

BE CAREFUL, YOUNG LADY, I wanted to scream. THIS IS WHERE YOU GET MURDERED. Goodness. 

Also, that aunt. I cannot for the life of me think who would knowingly send their teenaged niece to another country with the rules of "no phone, no internet, no maps, no contact with home". ARE YOU INSANE? 

Ahem. I still quite enjoyed it though?

Erin 

I am so obsessed with this book. It is exactly the kind of adventure I want to go on, if I had enough gumption. So frustrating at the end, the first time I read it I had no idea there was a sequel that (sort of) fixed everything. That being said, this is the kind of puzzle that I want to solve.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

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