Double Review: 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Title: 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: October 1st 2006
Source: Library

Why You're Reading These Books:

• You're a young adult book lover.
• You like a good adventure.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel."

My Two Cents:

Who wouldn't want to go on a surprising adventure through Europe as a teen? I'd love that now as an adult! Ginny goes to Europe to follow a chain of letters sent to her by her aunt who passed away. Ginny starts out the book as a really shy person but she begins to find herself and to put herself out there a little bit more.

I loved this book! The characters are a lot of fun. I don't feel like you got to know very much about Ginny though, which was okay for this sort of book. One thing that sort of annoyed me (and this annoys me about a lot of young adult books) is that Ginny seemingly does not have any parents. I know that at 17, my parents would have never let me go to Europe by myself without being able to contact them at all (per her late Aunt's instructions).

That being said, there are a lot of details that I would have liked to know about the characters and their world but this book is still enjoyable without that. Just don't expect too much! This book is fun but not one to take too seriously.

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Title: The Last Little Blue Envelope
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: April 26th 2011
Source: Library

What's the Story?: 

From Goodreads.com: "Ginny Blackstone thought that the biggest adventure of her life was behind her. She spent last summer traveling around Europe, following the tasks her aunt Peg laid out in a series of letters before she died. When someone stole Ginny's backpack—and the last little blue envelope inside—she resigned herself to never knowing how it was supposed to end. 
Months later, a mysterious boy contacts Ginny from London, saying he's found her bag. Finally, Ginny can finish what she started. But instead of ending her journey, the last letter starts a new adventure—one filled with old friends, new loves, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Ginny finds she must hold on to her wits . . . and her heart. This time, there are no instructions."

My Two Cents:

The sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes picks right back up a couple months later after the first book when Ginny returns to the United States. She still has one more envelope of her late Aunt's instructions to follow up on. She returns to Europe to finish the instructions in the company of Oliver, a guy who might be up to no good.

In a way, I liked this book a little bit better than the first (I'm giving the two books a 3 star rating overall) because the characters seem a little more fleshed out than in the first book, which I definitely liked.

This is a great adventure.