13 Little Blue Envelopes

Author: Maureen Johnson

Editor: Harper Collins

Year: 2005

I figured that since The Bermudez Triangle was an awesome book, this would be too. I was wrong.

Back Cover: Here's the deal: Aunt Peg, the New York artist and the person Ginny Blackstone depended on to make their life interesting, took off to Europe without a word three years ago. Aside from a few postcards, Ginny hasn't heard much. Then she gets a horrible phone call that changes everything.

But the story is only beginning. Soon after, Ginny receives one little blue envelope from Aunt Peg containing a thousand dollars and some very strange instructions...

"Rule #1: You may only bring only want fits in your backpack. Don't try to fake it out with a purse of carry on.

Rule #2: You may not bring guidebooks, phrase books or any kind of foreign language aid. And no journals.

Rule #3: You cannot bring extra money or credit/debit cards, travelers checks, etc. I'll talk care of all of that.

Rule #4: No electronic crutches. This means no laptop, no cell phone, no music, and no camera. You can't call home or communicate with people in the U.S. by internet or telephone. Postcars and letters are acceptable and encouraged."

And with that, she is sent off to pick up a package containing twelve similar envelopes which she can open one by one, as instructed. Each letter contains a task that Ginny must perform.

Soon, the mild-mannered and quiet Ginny (who's barely made it out of New Jersey before) finds herself running from London to Paris to Rome, and beyond. Along the way, she collects a number of new friends, including: a manager from Harrods department store who runs errands for the rich and famous, a handsome but maddening thief-turned-playwright, a celebrity painter who tattoos the names of her dead pets on her body, and the angriest vegetable salesman in all of France.

As time goes on, Ginny realizes that her aunt has sent her on a mission, and that there is something big waiting for her in the thirteeth envelope. All she has to do is make it from place to place and complete all of the tasks that have been set before her.

As if life is that easy.

Rate: 7/10

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