13 Little Blue Envelopes (13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson)

Member Name: elizabethcullen

Product:	13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
Date:	11/07/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plot, Original, Overall, Characters

Disadvantages: Not out yet in England

13 Little Blue Envelopes is an American coming of age novel by Maureen Johnson, written in 2006. I had originally saw it in Waterstones but it was very expensive, being an American import that hadn't come out yet in the United Kingdom, so I decided to wait until I had more money and then buy it. However, I didn't end up buying it because I received it as a gift from a friend who had been on holiday to Florida. The book really appealed to me because it seemed as if it was a very original concept, and the blurb really left me wanting more.

This really gives you an essence of what the book is all about - Rule #1:You may bring only what fits in your backpack. Don't try to fake it with a purse or a carry-on bag.
Rule #2:You may not bring guidebooks, phrase books, or any kind of foreign language aid. And no journals.
Rule #3:You cannot bring extra money or credit/debit cards, traveler's checks, etc. I'll take care of that.
Rule #4:No electronic crutches. This means no laptop, no cell phone, no music, and no camera. You can't call home or communicate with people in the US by Internet or telephone. Postcards and letters are acceptable and encouraged. That's all you need to know for now. See you at 4th Noodle.

17 year old Ginny Blackstone has received a mysterious package from her Aunt Peggy, who disappeared years ago and is now dead. These rules are what she must do during her quest to complete the 13 little blue envelopes. Each envelope was written by her aunt, and they must be opened in a certain order, they all have a task or somewhere for Ginny to go. She finds herself taking a risk as the first few envelopes lead her to London, and she has never been out of America before. In London she meets her Aunt's best friend and roommate called Richard, as well as an artist called Keith. Both of these characters end up being central to the story as they help both Ginny and her quest with the little blue envelopes, as well as revealing vital bits on information that Ginny never would have known without them there. The envelopes eventually end up leading her all over Europe to places such as Greece and Denmark, she meets lots of interesting and different people and gets into lots of different situations, some funny and some not so.

The characters in this book were all very diverse, being from so many different places all over the world, although it was mainly set in Europe. Ginny is the main character of the book, and it is very much centred around her. During the course of the novel, she learns a lot about herself and really grows as a person. It is such a new experience for her, but she feels as though she must complete the 13 little blue envelopes. She meets Keith in London, he is a struggling artist who is trying to be noticed when he has his production mocking the 'man,' Starbucks: The Musical. They get along really well, and then they end up romantically involved, and they meet up again and again. Meanwhile, Ginny turns up at Richard's flat after being directed there by the envelopes and discovers things about him that she had never imagined. It turns out that her aunt lived in the same flat, and was his room mate. There are plenty of other really good supporting characters, but those three are the main characters.

As I said I had the book from America, but after looking on amazon, it is coming out in August 2009 on paperback in English, so it should be available in Borders and WHSmith soon.

I also really liked the way that the book was set out, the letter at the start of each chapter was really good and separated the chapters of the story quite well.

Overall, I loved the book because it was really was so original, I've never read anything else like it. I will be looking out for more books by the author.

Summary: Original coming of age novel that I loved!