13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Ginny Blackstone's beloved aunt Peg has died and her inheritance is thirteen little blue envelopes, which contain instructions that Ginny must follow to the letter. Aunt Peg was an exciting person, filled with stories and crazy activities and ideas that the more shy and reserved Ginny could only dream about. Now, she's off to Europe -to England, Scotland, Greece, Denmark, and more- to have a little adventure, romance, and to try to find out why her aunt left without saying goodbye.

This was one of those books I liked, but probably won't feel any inclination to read again for awhile. I loved the adventure and reading about the different places Ginny visits. I couldn't wait to see what the next blue envelope would reveal, and the one after that, and the one after that. I especially enjoyed that from what I've read of Maureen so far, she doesn't make it a point to have her teenage characters fall in love with THE ONE. There's romance and relationships, but never any sort of inclination that it's going to be end up being some sort of lifelong commitment. I guess it works for The Princess Diaries series (because, really, who didn't see that coming?), but generally, teenagers settling down in their teens with their "true loves" just reeks of setting a bad, unrealistic example (see: series comma Twilight and/or Meyer comma Stephenie). So in that sense, I appreciate that Maureen includes romance, but doesn't, by any means, make it the focal point of the story.

My main problem has nothing to do with the story, which although it dragged at times, was still fun and interesting. I just never felt like I got a sense of Ginny as a character -or if I did, she pissed me off. She's on this European tour, essentially, all expense's paid, looking for adventure, and all she can think of are the blue envelopes. The girl can't see the forest for the trees. Sure, she does have adventures, but they're what her aunt led her to -not anything she might want to initiate on her own. I also felt like I never really knew her. Can you tell I'm a bit jealous? It's cold and rainy here and if I have to be cold and wet, why can't it be in England? As far as Ginny as a character goes, I know she's shy and awkward and she loved her crazy aunt and that's about it.

But maybe I missed the point and the whole book was more about the journey being taken than the girl actually taking it. Or about the lives one person can affect. Or about how much it would suck to get robbed while swimming topless. I don't know. Probably one of those.

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