lizpatanders

Maureen Johnson has quite the reputation in the YA world. She is admired by plenty of bloggers and produces a number of eccentric Tweets. I sped through 13 Little Blue Envelopes over the course of a weekend, and had no inclination to put it down. While this book gave me happy reminisces about my own European adventures and kept me entertained, I didn’t care for Ginny as a protagonist.13 Little Blue Envelopes read like a mash-up between Cecilia Ahern’s P.S. I Love You and a David Levithan novel. Ginny is sent on a mission throughout Europe by her deceased Aunt Peg. I loved reading about all of the places Ginny visited because it gave me happy reminisces about my own European adventures. I was intrigued by all of the eccentric characters that she met, although I have to say I didn’t care much for Keith, the love interest. He just wasn’t my type of guy.I wasn’t fanatical about Ginny’s character, but I think my reasons are different from other reviewers who have expressed similar sentiments. Some people have complained about how reluctant Ginny was at times, but I could actually relate to that. Not only is Ginny exploring Europe all by herself as a teenager, Peg sends Ginny on some pretty outlandish tasks. I know I would have struggled to be bold enough to complete them. What bothered me was that Ginny didn’t seem to have a lot of basic common sense in regards to keeping herself safe.Reading my first M.J. book feels like it’s been a rite of passage. Thus far, I don’t quite get all of the hype. I will definitely pick up The Last Little Blue Envelope, because it sounds like a sequel that will move me. I look forward to seeing how Ginny has grown. Also, even though I can only say that I liked 13 Little Blue Envelopes, a lot of other Johnson’s books sound phenomenal to me, like The Bermudez Triangle. I’m looking forward to getting to know M.J.’s work better.