13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

HarperCollins; September 2006; 352 pp.;$8.99 PA

978-0060541439

Core Audience: Teen girls ages 14+ 

Strengths: Coming of age novel with a strong female lead and an offbeat, mysterious premise 

When 17 year-old Ginny Blackstone receives an illustrated blue envelope with $1,000 cash and directions to buy a backpack and a plane ticket, it isn’t the unusual request that surprises her. Nor is it the list of rules:

• 1) Bring only what fits in the backpack
• 2) No phrase books, guidebooks or foreign language aids
• 3) No extra money
• 4) No electronic crutches—no cell phone, laptop, no music, no camera. No calling home, and no e-mail.

None of that catches her off-guard because her aunt Peg, who sent the blue envelope, has a reputation for being artistic and a little unpredictable. She’s been abroad for several years, and she has always promised to be there for Ginny as she grows up— a kind of guiding light. This is just the kind of thing she would do. 

What does surprise her is that this happens after her aunt is dead. 

When Ginny follows the directions and shows up as requested at the 4^th Noodle restaurant in New York with a full backpack and her ticket to London, she is handed a package with twelve more envelopes and the adventure of a lifetime. Retracing her aunt’s final trip through Europe, and staying with her contacts and friends, Ginny embarks on a journey to uncover the missing period of her aunt’s life, and on the way discover herself in the process. Ginny Blackstone will never be the same. 

Maureen Johnson has written one of the most original teen novels I’ve read in a long time. In a field crowded with heavy stories about abuse, cancer, and other depressing stuff on one end, and morally questionable series titles full of bad behavior and shopping on the other, Ginny Blackstone’s adventure is a breath of fresh air. Although Ginny does have to come to terms with Peg’s death during the course of the story, the focus here is on living; on grabbing life by the horns and not letting go. At once a coming of age novel and a celebration of taking a blind leap, this novel is a great example of the fact that teen fiction doesn’t need to be full of the worst of human behavior to be compelling to its reader. Ginny’s adventure reminds me of nothing so much as a beloved childhood favorite, E.L. Koningsburg’s FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. The mystery, the adventure, the offbeat unpredictability, and the authenticity of voice are all here. We should all hope to have such a spirited adventure one day.  

Bonus: Check out author Maureen Johnson’s entertaining author page and check out her 13 travel tips among other fun stuff

Rated: 8.75 

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