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13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1)
13 Little Blue Envelopes - Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1
Author: Maureen Johnson
Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket. — In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat. — The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist. — Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke-about-town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous -- though utte...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780060541439
ISBN-10: 0060541431
Publication Date: 10/1/2006
Pages: 352
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 149

3.9 stars, based on 149 ratings
Publisher: HarperTeen
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

skywriter319 avatar reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 784 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
Romantic, interesting, tender, and enviable: Ginny Blackstone's journey of geographical and self discoveries in 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES is one that we all dream of. Who wouldn't want to be sent on a backpacking trip across Europe and do things we've never thought we were capable of doing?

Ginny's free-spirited artist aunt, Peg, died from a brain tumor. After Peg's death, a package containing 13 sealed blue envelopes is delivered to Ginny. They send her on various missions across the seas in foreign lands. All of a sudden, Ginny finds herself lugging a heavy purple-and-green backpack onto a plane and into the London flat of a man named Richard.

Peg's instructions in the envelopes further mess with Ginny's once passive existence as they instruct her to, for example, find a struggling artist whose work she admires to give money to. How does Aunt Peg seem to know that Keith, the artist Ginny chose, would be so cute and steal her heart like that?

Despite the crazy, un-Ginny-like adventures she's having, Ginny still has doubts every once in a while of what the heck exactly is she doing in Europe. Will Ginny ever come to terms with the fact that she IS capable of everything her aunt had once done?

13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES is more than a fun ride through several European countries. It's a journey of self-discovery for Ginny, as a shy girl learns exactly what she is capable of. For those of us who do not have a wild aunt who will send us on an adventure through Europe, we can live through Ginny. I have read this book twice, and both times I could not put it down, preferring to lose sleep rather than wonder about what happens to Ginny.
cloverluv avatar reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 129 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This book...for as exciting and promising as the back cover made it sound, it was disappointing.

Seeing Europe through the eyes of an unappreciative 17-year-old was not near as interesting as I thought it would be. It was an extreme let-down because the idea of this book and the premise had such promise...

It is extremely hard to describe this book. I proclaimed it "not that great" about half way through, but I wanted to get to the end because I had a lot invested in it by that time.

I guess the short story is that the book was just that: "not that great." The main character was not lovable in any way, she was devoid of personality, and with the exception of Richard, not one of the other characters in the book had any real "soul" to them that made them someone you wanted to read about.

I guess the conclusion is that this book was a stinker, and one that made me mad too. Books that do that make me upset.

Sorry for the scatterbrained review, but this is how this book left me feeling. Scatterbrained, drained, and unsatisfied.
reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 38 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
A book about a teen girl who goes on a worldwide scavenger hunt, when a reletive leaves her a letter. GREAT READ!! You will not want to put it down for a seconed.
reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book and wanted more!
Read All 16 Book Reviews of "13 Little Blue Envelopes Little Blue Envelopes Bk 1"

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reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 150 more book reviews
Don't read much YA but this one sounded interesting. Some of the characters were well developed and I liked the premise. It was almost a traveloge of a bit of Europe but not the usual tourist sites. I did like it and then read the last book in the series. Would recommend it for light reading.
nhrn1 avatar reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Quick read and fun story!
dianasdolls avatar reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelopes, Bk 1) on + 43 more book reviews
Pleasant book featuring a self-deprecating, shy teenage girl's trip around Europe while she follows the instructions in her late aunt's envelopes of the title. The main character is likable, but the supporting characters are only sketched-in. The interesting locations are light on description, but seeing as this is a novel and not a travel guide, that's okay.


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