13 Little Blue Envelopes

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Virginia "Ginny" is a 17 year old from New York who has a crazy artist aunt. This aunt left to travel overseas with not so much as a goodbye and this upset Ginny a lot! They were so close. In the first few pages of the book you discover that Ginny's aunt has passed away from cancer, which makes a package arriving from her quite mysterious. Within the package are 13 little blue envelopes. Ginny quickly discovers she is about to go on the scavenger hunt of a lifetime and she's been given some money and very specific directions by her aunt. She isn't sure what the purpose is, but she loved her aunt and is ready to take this adventure on, no matter what she may encounter. 

This book was a really easy read. It is 300+ pages, but it is a bit of a page turner and it uses language that is very easily understood. Even though this book is YA (17 year old protagonist, parents who are only mentioned a couple times who probably think they're the greatest parents of all time, but who obviously don't have much a of relationship with their daughter, romance, no time wasted getting to the plot) I would recommend this for middle grade readers as well - the content is very mild. I think that anywhere from 6th grade - 12th grade students would relate to this book and enjoy it. I would think it would particularly suit female readers as the protagonist is a female and it involves her crush - it is kind of like a "chick flick," but in book version.

There are a few content things to note, but I didn't find anything offensive about this book and, as I mentioned before, I wouldn't have a problem handing this to a middle school student. There is some profanity, but it is incredibly rare and very mild. Ginny meets a family overseas that she travels with for a few days. She learns that their daughter is a lesbian, but hearing the daughter say so is as far as that content goes. One of Ginny's other newly-made friends goes skinny dipping, but it isn't described in a graphic way. Ginny does have one Italian guy make try to make sexual advances, but he doesn't get very far. She also kisses her English crush a time or two. This crush does reveal a past of drugs and jail, he's turned his life around though.

The book is broken down in sections like chapters, but in between these chapters are the letters from Ginny's aunt. It makes you want to keep reading because you're always wondering what the next letter is going to say and what new destination Ginny is going to be whisked away to. Also, at the back of the book there is a section called "Extras." Inside these few pages you get to meet the author (Maureen Johnson), hear what she has to say about herself and the writing of this book, and read an interview with Ginny's English crush. 

Yet again, (I feel like I've said this in most of my posts, but it has been true a lot), this book would make a good read aloud. It would easily capture and hold the attention of students. I could also see it being used in a social studies class or even a geography class during a unit on different cultures or different countries - Ginny experiences a lot of these along the way. The author leaves the book a bit open-ended so students in an English class could be assigned the task of writing the end of this novel.