13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

13 Little Blue Envelopes (13 Little Blue Envelopes, #1)

by Maureen Johnson

When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.

Reviewed by ammaarah on

2 of 5 stars

Share
13 Little Blue Envelopes has an interesting premise and it's such a shame that the plot is poorly executed.

The best part of 13 Little Blue Envelopes is definitely Ginny's travelling adventures. I really enjoyed travelling to different countries in Europe with Ginny and witnessing the world through her tourist's eyes. However, I had to suspend disbelief while reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes. I couldn't believe that Ginny's parents would let their child, who is still in high school, travel to a different continent alone, one that she's never visited before, without being able to have contact with their child.

Ginny is a bland character who lacks depth and personality. I never really got a sense of who she is and that's after reading a whole entire book from her PoV.

I also don't care for Keith. He, along with all the other characters in 13 Little Blue Envelopes, are underdeveloped and uninteresting. The relationship between him and Ginny feels forced and lacks chemistry. I don't even know why there's romance in 13 Little Blue Envelopes because it feels out of place.

The only character that I like is Richard. I also enjoyed reading about his relationship with Aunt Peg.

13 Little Blue Envelopes has an extremely cool premise. Unfortunately, the characters are bland, the romance has no chemistry and the premise execution is lacking.
"Some people believe that they are guided by forces, that the universe cuts paths for them through the dense forest of life, showing them where to go. Ginny did not believe for a second that the whole universe was bending itself to her will."

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 18 January, 2016: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 18 January, 2016: Reviewed