13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)
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13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope #1)

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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69  ·  rating details  ·  17,253 ratings  ·  2,068 reviews

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 t

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Hardcover, 336 pages
Published August 23rd 2005 by HarperCollins Publishers
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Shannon
Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: no one
Shelves: own, ya-books
Unimpressive. The way Johnson writes is annoying; more than halfway into the book, I really didn't know ANYTHING about the main character, other than that she was on a (ridiculous) journey. It was all action and no thought. It was not insightful. The main character was not likeable. She wasn't unlikeable either. She was just like...doing things. She didn't have very many thoughts. And never very insightful ones (ie "I like this boy! I am sad. I am happy. I am angry"). COME ON. There wa...more
Lucy
13 Little Blue Envelopes suffers from DPS. Disappearing Parent Syndrome is a tragic epidemic in YA novels. In this case the DPS was particularly severe. Seventeen year old Ginny Blackstone goes on a trip to Europe sponsored by her deceased aunt. Aunt Peg was not reliable when she was around. In fact, during the last several years of Ginny's life Peg was in Europe. She died without contacting the family to let them know she was suffering from a prolonged illness. The family was just expected to p...more
Aly (Fantasy4eva)
I liked the premise. It was sort of interesting and cute. Dead Aunt sends niece on this unpredictable and slightly loony journey. (maybe not so cute). One very similar to the one that her aunt took when she felt a little lost and was dealing with a bit of a reality check.

17 year old Ginny doesn't think twice about it. She jets to her first destination, London. From there on it's one big ride. She goes through many experiences, and although it's a decent read, I just was not in love ...more
Jennifer Wardrip
Reviewed by Dena Landon for TeensReadToo.com

When Virginia Blackstone (Ginny) receives the first blue envelope from her Aunt Peg in the mail, it sends her on an exciting, funny, and sometimes poignant adventure that readers will be delighted to join. The envelope contains $1,000 in cash, and the instructions to pick up a package of envelopes that start Ginny on a trip around Europe, tracing the steps of her eccentric Aunt. The instructions are specific; no cell phones, no maps, and Gi...more
Kathryn
Kathryn rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: People who like Peaches and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
I read this book as an assignment from a mother-daughter book club that I am in with some friends from B.F. Day.
It wasn't very good, and while the plot is a nice idea, the author didn't really write it very well.
I mean, who would let thier daughter go overseas with no contact to the US and only carrying what she could fit in her backpack. And only haveing 1000 US dollars to spend. In addition to several other appalling facts, some of which are:
letting your daughter do the follo...more
Sarah
Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: Travel Lovers
Recommended to Sarah by: Chelsie D.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Reynje

2.5 stars

I enjoyed this enough as I read it - I was sick, jetlagged and in need of something pleasantly escapist – and this book did the trick. It’s a light, fun read and I quite like Maureen Johnson’s writing (admittedly more so in her other books than this one, though).

But ultimately I just found the story rather forgettable (and a little implausible). I found Ginny to be a fairly delible (thank you, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks for the neg...more
Lisa
I am not going to review this book except to say the thing that made me crazy. There were several instances in this book where something was mentioned and you think it is important and then it was dropped.

For instance, when the MC goes in the Louvre, it is mentioned that she checks her backpack in at the front--kind of like a coat check. Okay. No problem.

But then, as she is trying to get out of the Louvre she kind of starts going down random hall after hall in search of a...more
Ying
I felt that this was only an okay book from Maureen Johnson and that it paled in comparison to my favorite from her, Girl at Sea. There was a good plotline that promised adventure and romance in a foreign country that I was dissappointed to find did not exist. While it was an excellent idea, I felt the story did not develop well enough and it didn't go too in-depth. This book could have been better written but otherwise, still a good read.
Katya
Oh, book. I had such hopes for you.

Here's the thing - I love travel stories. I love coming of age stories. So what's not to love about a coming of age story that involves lots and lots of traveling?

It's a hard question to answer, and the fastest way to answer it is: Aunt Peg is one seriously bitter person.

She lives without having constants. Fair enough. She does all sorts of menial, petty jobs while waiting for her career as an artist to hit off. Alright with ...more
Betsy
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Kate
Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: teen-fiction
I don't often read "chick lit". I have a friend who reads it and she shares the jist of with me and I do the same for her with sci-fi and supernatural books. But she keeps talking up some of the books so I have broken down and picked a few up and they have all been pretty good, with a grain of salt.

I had moments in this book where I just wished that it would be okay to write about a teenage girl that was maybe not totally self assured cause no one is, but that at least do...more
oliviasbooks
A really enjoyable backpacker's story - written by someone with obvious travel experience behind her - with very few drawbacks.

What i.e. ticked me was the money issue: No way can you take planes and trains to and fro Europe's capital cities and pay stays in youth hostels for less than 1300 Pounds altogether, if you have not booked your seat months earlier. But there was much more to like than to criticize.

I especially liked the subtle humor tickling throughout the book. ...more
Shannon
Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: young at heart women
This book - although it has a seomewhat serious topic - is a nice light read. 18 year-old Ginny discovers her recently passed-away Aunt has left her 13 envelopes / letters. Ginny is supposed to follow the directions in each letter before she can open and read the next. She opens the first and is immediately sent on a trip to London. Each letter contains information about her aunt of which Ginny (and her family) was unaware. Ginny discovers things about both herself and her aunt in her travel...more
Merythapy
Yeah, it's unrealistic: no parents would send their daughter off for a month with no contact, especially if she's never travelled before. But... who really cares? It's a fairy tale.

A lot of the travel stuff *was* very authentic and struck a very strong chord with me. The only thing I really missed were the Canadians, although she definitely got the Taking Up With Random Australians thing.

I think it would be a great book to read before traveling, or while traveling. Excellen...more
Jan
Jan rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: teens who love well-written contemporary chick lit
Shelves: teenbooks
This was such a rewarding read! Johnson adapts the chick lit formula to create a unique and amusing novel featuring a rather shy teen named Ginny whose favorite aunt has just died, leaving her with 13 little blue envelopes. Inside the envelopes are clues directing Ginny to different locations in Europe, which duplicate her aunt's own whirlwind tour years earlier. Ginny must also follow the directions on the envelopes, some of which are quite puzzling. As you might expect, this is also a jour...more
GirlwiththeBraids
Ginny is convinced that the only thing that makes her interesting is her aunt, a starving artist and constant traveler. When her aunt dies of brain cancer, Ginny can’t understand what’s ahead of her. Days filled with boring scenes and an unoriginal life? Then she receives a letter … from her aunt. She discovers that her aunt wrote 13 letters before she died, all addressed to Ginny. She sends Ginny off on a journey, to different countries to complete different tasks. Who said Ginny couldn’t be in...more
Alice
Ginny’s conventional New Jersey life suddenly changes when she receives a letter from her eccentric artist aunt, who has recently died. It contains $1000.00 and instructions to go to a New York, where she must pick up a package at a Chinese restaurant and then board a plane to London. Inside the package are 13 little blue envelopes, each one containing a task that Ginny must complete before she may open the next envelope. There are also rules to follow: no maps, guidebooks, credit cards, cell p...more
Anna B
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 23, 2005
Age Group: YA (sexual innuendo/references/discussion)
Sequel: The Last Little Blue Envelope
Pages: 336
Rating: Idea 3.5★; Execution 3.5★
Genre: realistic fiction; travel/adventure
 
Ginny has never been much of one for adventure, but all of that changes when the receives a letter from her dead aunt Peg, and finds herself whisked off halfway across the world. Leave it to aunt Peg to cook up some crazy scheme—that was he...more
Chris Murray
Seventeen-year-old Ginny Blackstone is still mourning the death of her beloved Aunt Peg when a package arrives containing thirteen little blue envelopes sent by her aunt before her death. Also included is $1,000 and a set of rules to guide Ginny from New York to Europe on a journey that will tell Aunt Peg’s story. Ginny must open one envelope upon arrival at each location and perform the task requested. She cannot use electronic devices, maps or credit cards, and she must travel with only wh...more
Angel
When you combine Maureen Johnson's simplistic, breath-taking style of writing with a trip around Europe and thirteen letters from a dead aunt, the result is chemistry in the making.

Seriously. I could feel the atoms bouncing around in my eyes as I flipped each page.

Ginny's journey throughout Europe is different from anything I've ever read or seen. Sure, there was Cars 2, and there were those Rick Steve shows when I was bored. But do we ever get to see Norway? No. Do we ...more
Annaliesa
This book missed millions of opportunities to become an insightful coming-of-age/traveling novel. Nothing was ever explained enough, the characters weren't fleshed out, and things got rushed and random at the end. Plus, a lot of little things irked me to no end.
(view spoiler)[ FOR EXAMPLE:
-the most obvious issue; the lack of parents. I usually can ignore it when the story overlooks the parents in most YA novels, but in this particular novel Ginny mentions more than once about her m
...more
Misty Baker
I’m usually not a fan of “Beach Reads;” for some reason I feel they lack a level of substance that (apparently) I require to feel fulfilled, but “13 Little Blue Envelopes” (which by the way you can still nab for free!!) was different. While normally, the non-sensical ramblings of a 17 year traipsing around Europe with nothing but her aunts bank card and an ugly purple backpack, would leave me feeling annoyed, (and if I’m being honest a little bitter,) Maureen Johnson managed to make the journey ...more
Kat
Ginny Blackstone, a 17 year-old-girl has always admired her eccentric Aunt Peg, who has traveled all over the world, experiencing life on a whim and just going with the flow of things. When she learns that Aunt Peg has died of a brain tumor without being able to say goodbye, Ginny learns of an unexpected plan that her Aunt Peg hatched in her moments of clarity. She receives a letter from Aunt Peg with $1000 cash and instructions to get a passport, purchase a ticket to London and take only what s...more
Meredith Shannon
I was very excited about reading this book. I had read numerous books set in Europe previously (Anna and the French Kiss, Almost French, etc.) because I've been wanting to travel there for years.
Johnson's novel, however, left me feeling like I'd travelled through the travel section of a bookstore. There was no atmosphere - the landscapes, the characters - all dull! The premise was fantastic, and full of so many possibilites, however it was poorly executed.
Also, in my edition Johnson ...more
Kamela Johnston
I thought this was a cute plot and yeah, maybe not the most in-depth character study of the century but I think some of these reviewers may be missing the point of the story. I mean, did anybody really want to endure an entire chapter in which Ginny begs her parents for permission to go to Europe? (Or even more ridiculous: every time she checked her bag or had to pee?)

Not a whole lot of back story about Ginny's life was given and I think Maureen Johnson did that for a reason. Because ...more
Rida (Raindrop Reflections)
The Last Little Blue Envelope recently came out, and I decided to get the first book so I could see what this series was about. I honestly didn’t know that this book was about travel- I just ordered it from the library blind, because I just like that feeling of not knowing what a book is about until you open it.

I felt like Ginny’s voice came out a little... restrained? Sure, there were funny moments, some that made me laugh out loud, but the rest of the time, Ginny felt too, uh, sobe...more
Olivia
Olivia rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: Girls who love adventure
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Patricia
I've been submerged in Shakespeaere, and the long slow and--frankly--very boring book One Hundred Years of Solitude for nearly a month. I've just received the Mock Printz list and noticed it contains 10 books all of which look to be rather tense and/or grim. There is going to be a lot of buckling down reading in the next few months. What to do? Realize that I haven't yet read anything by Maureen Johnson, wander over to the YA stacks and grab the first book I see by her. Then: devour it in a 24 h...more
Jill
This was the second book I read on my kindle. I loved the premise of this one. Ginny's aunt has sent her a package with 13 numbered letters that she is supposed to complete in order, only opening the next one when she has completed the previous one. Her first instruction is to go to a Chinese restaurant below where her aunt used to live to pickup a package then go to the airport with only a backpack as luggage and no kind of technology to fly to London. Ginny has to navigate foreign countrie...more
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The last envelope 29 181 Jan 20, 2012 07:04am  
Good or Bad Cover? 18 109 Sep 21, 2011 03:56pm  
Page TurneRS Book...: 13 Little Blue Envelopes 19 2 Aug 21, 2011 07:23pm  
Page TurneRS Book...: Ginny 3 1 Aug 16, 2011 01:41pm  
Page TurneRS Book...: Keith 3 1 Aug 16, 2011 09:42am  
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1)

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Maureen knew from an early age she wanted to be a writer. She went to high school at an all-girls' Catholic school and graduated from University of Delaware with a degree in writing. She now lives and writes in New York City.

Many of the adventures Maureen's characters face in her books are based on real-life stories. Maureen has traveled all over Europe, and is a Secret Sister to vlog ...more
More about Maureen Johnson...
The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1) Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1) The Last Little Blue Envelope (Little Blue Envelope, #2) Girl at Sea The Bermudez Triangle

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“Rule #1: You may bring only what fits in your backpack. Don’t try to fake it with a purse or a carry-on.

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, travelers’ checks, etc. I’ll take care of all 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 U.S. by Internet or telephone. Postcards and letters are acceptable and encouraged.

That’s all you need to know for now. ”
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“I'm Keith," he said, "and you're . . . clearly mad, but what's your name?” 55 people liked it
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