13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I love Maureen Johnson.  I first read Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever and adored them both.  Witty, smart girl characters and super-fun supporting cast members also.  I also read her story in Let It Snow.  I finally picked up 13 Little Blue Envelopes.  I knew that the sequel was coming out, so I wanted to read these.

The book is about Ginny Blackstone.  Her crazy aunt, whom she loves, "disappeared" a few years back, and no one really knew where she was until they found out that she had cancer and died abroad.  Since she was so far away and had disappeared anyway, it was sad, but strange to Ginny.  Then one day she gets a letter from her aunt that sends her on a whirlwind trip to Europe.  Her aunt has written her 13 letters, each one including a different task that Ginny must complete before opening the next.  The rules are set out for her, too:  she can only take what will fit in her backpack, she may not use any guide books or write anything down, she cannot bring any extra money, and she cannot use technology - no cell phone, music, email or anything of the sort.

Sounds scary to me!  But Ginny takes her aunt up on the challenge and travels to England to begin her journey.  The book follows Ginny on this trip.

I liked the book a lot.  I did not love it as much as I love the Scarlett books, but it was fun.  I enjoyed getting to travel with Ginny and be in Europe.  It was really fun to see all that she saw.  The characters in the book are fun.  I will say that I didn't really root for Ginny much until closer to the end of the book, but when I did get to the end, I cared about what she had gone through and wanted to know where she ended up next in life.  All in all a fun read.  I will definitely be reading the sequel next and see how the story continues.