Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke–about–town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous–though utterly romantic–results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.


Just a warning, there's spoilers ahead



As a person who absolutely loves travelling, this one was perfect. Ginny receives 13 envelopes from her aunt that take her around Europe, meeting some interesting characters and seeing some incredibly beautiful places.

First, she goes to London. I'm from England myself so I loved reading about my own place, the way someone from across the globe see's my home. She goes to some standard tourist-y area's and there she meets Keith. I loved Keith, he's such a funny and charming guy. Obviously he's the love interest and he was great for Ginny, their chemistry was very cute and I was pleased to see him through this book. (Not so sure about his musical though, being honest here)
At the end of the book, there's a Q&A with Keith and it was so adorable. And it's there when we read that he had to wait around 10 years to get her to say those "two words" so that can only mean 'I do' which makes my heart melt. That made me satisfied, I was worried that she'd go back to America and never see him again. Phew!

The thing with Richard was quite random. I really liked him, he was so caring and the story about him and her Aunt wasn't expected but a great touch. I liked that she'd gain a family member and got to connect to her although she wasn't around anymore. The paintings, the letters, the rooms and the cafe she decorated. I loved it all, it's as if she's communicating from the dead and leaving her such amazing fortune and gifts. 
It's also quite sweet that Richard gained Ginny. He loved Aunt Peg and Ginny is that piece of her that he can now have in his life now she's gone. 

Anyway, then she goes to some amazing places like Rome, Paris, Greece, Amsterdam, Denmark and Copenhagen. I've been to some of these places and I felt like I was back again. I love stories that involve travelling. Staying on boat houses, in grotty hostels and crashing at people's houses, she really acts like a true backpacker. 

The letters she receives from her Aunt Peg, a quirky and adventurous woman, interesting to read. They give meaning and explain why she did what she did before she died, telling Ginny to live life to the full. It sends a good message to readers and I hope it encourages people to travel more. There's so many gorgeous places out there, many wise and friendly people to meet.

Ginny meets a group of people who travel to Corfu with her and I wish we got more from them, they were fun and added excitement to the story. Sometimes just being stuck with just Ginny got a bit much. I wish we got to know what happened to them, she just leaves them in Corfu when she runs out of money and something happened to one of them, we don't get a resolve. (I also wish Ginny helped her out after the success with the paintings, atleast gone over and helped or paid for them to get back)

What I don't understand is how she's actually allowed to go across the world and travel with the advice of a dead aunt through letters. She runs out of money and she nearly gets raped, her parents obviously didn't think it through before letting her go. Or even try and contact her. She was told not to contact anyone from back home but still...when you're alone in Europe and you're running low on money or missing home, her aunt won't know if she does it once or twice. She's dead. But really, does she have parents?? Where are they?? That's one of the issues I had with it aswell as it being a tad too long aswell. 

and after all of that, all of those letters...someone steals her bag. She can't read the last and most important one. Poop. I just looked on GoodReads though and it seems that there's a sequel where she can finally read the last envelope so that'll be interesting. Might have to get round to reading that one. I just hope it's as good as the first book! 

I didn't really have too much to say about this book but it's great to read when you're laying in the sun, soaking up some rays and dreaming of going away. If you can't travel, travel with Ginny in this story. 
It's adventurous, fun and easy to get through, the characters are relatable and the locations are beautiful.

Four stars

GOODREADS: 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson



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