13 Little Blue Envelopes
Author’s Biography
Maureen Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of several YA novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Suite Scarlett, The Name of the Star, and Truly Devious. She has also done collaborative works, such as Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle, and several works in the Shadowhunter universe with Cassandra Clare. Her work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The Guardian, and she has also served as a scriptwriter for EA Games. She has an MFA in Writing from Columbia University and lives in New York City.
Summary
13 Little Blue Envelopes follows 17-year-old, shy Virginia (Ginny) Blackstone who embarks on an adventure after receiving a package containing 13 enumerated little blue envelopes with letters left by her dead aunt, Peg. Although quite hesitant at first, Ginny opens the first one and finds out her aunt wants her to start a mysterious journey, kind of a recreation of a childhood game they used to play but now taken literally, following the instructions in such letters only in the order they are listed in and after completing the required task.
The adventure takes her to a variety of places; England, Scotland, Italy, and more to meet special characters that will help her in the process. Our protagonist will fall in love, discover a new relative, have everything she owns stolen… Many unusual experiences that build her character and teach her a lot about herself and the world.
Thanks to her aunt’s plan, Virginia became a little more confident, and learned that she can be interesting by herself even without Aunt Peg, and is totally capable of doing anything and everything she desires.
Main Characters’ Traits
Virginia Blackstone: protagonist. 17-year-old, determined, curious and naturally shy but also brave for accepting the challenge!
Aunt Peg: artistic, spontaneous, caring, misunderstood.
Review (recommendation)
I found this novel quite entertaining and fresh. It is the first time I read a book of this sort, and I really liked it. The writing is really good, and I loved the switch between the third-person narrative and the letters. These details made the reading process more fun and smooth because I was looking forward to discovering more about Aunt Peg and what the next task would be, as well as how Ginny would go about it. I was very immersed in the story. 10/10 would definitely recommend it to everyone.
By Verónica Duque, Step 10
