Sunday, May 3, 2009

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Johnson, M. (2005).13 little blue envelopes. New York: HarperCollins.
ISBN-10 0060541431
ISBN-13 978-0060541439
317 pgs
Format: Book
Genre: Contemporary life
Classification: Fiction
Age level: Age 13 and up

Reader's annotation
Seventeen-year-old Ginny is missing her Aunt Peg and is left wondering why she moved away without a word and chose to hide a serious illness from her family. After Aunt Peg’s death, Ginny receives a package of letters from her with instructions to travel to Europe for the summer. Ginny must decide if this is just another of Aunt Peg’s crazy ideas, but in the end she can’t resist the mystery of the thirteen little blue envelopes.

Summary
Ginny is seventeen and living a sheltered life in a New Jersey suburb when she receives a letter from her Aunt Peg, who recently died in Europe. Before she passed away from cancer, Aunt Peg designed a treasure hunt of sorts for Ginny. She is to travel to Europe on her own during her summer vacation and follow a guide left in a set of thirteen envelopes. The envelopes carry instructions for each subsequent adventure. Ginny journeys all across Europe, from London to Amsterdam to Greece, and learns to rely on herself and to reach out in friendship when she needs to. She also learns a lot about her aunt, and what is meant for her to be an artist, and an independent single woman.

Notes
This novel is an appealing adventure for a teenage girl named Ginny to travel across Europe by herself for the summer, but it is also a time for her to connect to and grieve for her aunt, and to learn more about the person her aunt was. The theme is the conflict between the creative life of a struggling artist and more traditional roles for women.

Other titles by Maureen Johnson
Girl at Sea

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