13 Little Blue Envelopes Review

Author: Maureen Johnson
Release date: August 23, 2005
Pages: 336
Publisher: HarperTeen
How I got it: Bought

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.
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For a while, I had no interest in reading a Maureen Johnson novel. The covers were girly and the descriptions were so-so and I had plenty of excuses. Then I followed Maureen on Twitter and since then she has become one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter. She is so hilarious and out-there and possibly insane, so I decided to give 13 Little Blue Envelopes a go. This book ended up being all of those things, but slightly more muted, and I really liked it.

Maureen Johnson has crafted a wonderfully average and realistic character in Ginny. So many times I thought, "Wow, it's like Maureen is inside of my skull and is writing down my thoughts." And then I was like, "Wait, that's creepy," so I used the Neti-Pot until I was certain there was no more Maureen in my skull. Or nose, I guess. Whatever. I'm sure you get my point.

Seriously though, I loved Ginny. I loved how funny she was in her own head and how quiet she was outside of her head. And I loved Keith! Where Ginny was quiet, Keith was loud and boisterous and hilarious. I wish for more closure on their relationship, but hey, there's a sequel.

In conclusion: Can I travel across Europe now? Please? I want to meet cool people and go to Italy and Greece and London. Pleeeease? Ginny's adventure was so much fun and I want to have fun in Europe too! Someone take me to Europe.

Plot: So fun and unique.

Characters: Love!

Writing: Took me a little while to get used to, but once I did I liked it.

Ending: Thank God there's a sequel.

Kid friendly? There was some swearing and brief mentions of sex, as well as drinking.

Overall:

I would shhhh people if they tried to interrupt me while reading.

While I wasn't addicted to this novel all the way through, there were parts of 13 Little Blue Envelopes that I was fully invested in and as a whole I really enjoyed this novel. Fellow contemporary fans should definitely give this one a try.