13 Little Blue Envelopes

13 Little Blue Envelopes
Book Cover
Author(s)	Maureen Johnson
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	2005
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	317 pp
ISBN	0-06-054143-1
OCLC Number	72071892

13 Little Blue Envelopes is a 2005 novel by Maureen Johnson. A young woman embarks on a journey throughout Europe by following instructions left to her in letters from her aunt (who died unexpectedly after preparing the letters).

Plot summary

Virginia "Ginny" Blackstone, a seventeen-year-old girl who is on summer break before her final year of high school, has received 13 blue envelopes from her self-proclaimed "Runaway Aunt" Peg, who is now dead. Ginny is told that she is about to leave for several weeks and will travel to foreign lands. Her aunt leaves her four rules to follow: you can only bring what fits into your backpack, you cannot bring any kind of journal or foreign language aid, you cannot bring extra money of any kind, and you cannot use or bring anything electronic with you. She is only allowed to open the next envelope once she has reached the destination or has completed the task set in the previous letter.

The envelopes lead her to London, where she meets a "starving" artist named Keith, and Aunt Peg's best friend and roommate, Richard. She realizes she has a crush on Keith, and they go to Scotland to meet her aunt's guru, artist Mari Adams. Ginny then has an argument with Keith and they part ways. She meets him again in Paris. Later, she encounters a rather fast Roman boy and a horrible hotel in Amsterdam, along with a very hyperactive family. Following, she goes to Denmark and meets four Australian students, Emmett, Bennett, Nigel, and Carrie. Together they form the "Blue Envelope Gang" and follow the second-to-last envelope to Greece. On the way, the 12th envelope tells her she can open the last one whenever she feels ready.

While there, her backpack is stolen, along with the 13th envelope. She enlists Richard's help to return to England; upon arriving there Richard tells her that he and Peg were married during her final illness, which makes Richard Ginny's uncle. This last bit of information completely unsettles the already-distressed girl, who runs to Keith's house for the night. Returning to Richard's apartment the next day, she manages to discover a trove of her aunt's final paintings, in the attic of Harrods, a large department store in London, which her aunt used as a private art studio. The painting collection is sold at auction, and the proceeds become her inheritance. She writes a letter to her aunt, letting her know that even though she never read the 13th envelope, she knows what it said. Ginny finally makes her way back home to New Jersey, after leaving half the inheritance to Richard.

Reception

Critical reviews for 13 Little Blue Envelopes has been mostly positive. The School Library Journal positively reviewed 13 Little Blue Envelopes, calling it a "quick read" and "the novel drives home the importance of family, love, and the value of connections that you make with people". RT Book Reviews praised Johnson's originality, saying that she "puts an original twist on the genre and leaves some wonderful surprises for the end as well". Booklist wrote that the idea of a young girl traveling alone on an undefined journey "stretches plausibility", but that the book also had "sensitive, authentically portrayed experiences". Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews both positively reviewed the book, with Kirkus calling Johnson's writing "sophisticated and humorous".

Sequel

There is also a sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope, which is about the envelope that was stolen from Ginny, and that she was never able to read. Ginny returns to find that Keith has a new girlfriend, leaving her devastated. She gets a call from London from a man who has found her stolen backpack. The man, Oliver, bought her backpack during a visit to Greece, and returns most of the things from her bag except the last envelope. He tells Ginny that the last letter's challenge is a scavenger hunt to find three parts of her aunt's last masterpiece. Oliver tells Ginny he'll only give her the last letter if he gets half the profit from selling the new masterpiece. As Ginny continues to travel across Europe with her ex-boyfriend, his new girlfriend, and a man blackmailing her for money, she begins to learn more about her aunt, herself, and about the people around her.