![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
17-year-old Ginny idolizes her eccentric artist aunt, and feels drab and boring in comparison. When her aunt dies, she leaves Ginny thirteen little blue envelopes. The first envelope contains $1000, and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London and not to open the second little blue envelope until she lands. The second little blue envelope contains the address of a London flat…
I love this premise, and the first novel mostly lives up to it. Ginny is too thin a character to support the narrative weight she’s given, but the book gets by on charm. It’s a wish-fulfillment armchair travel book, and taken on those terms, rather than those of the outraged Amazon reviewers who would never ever let their teenage daughters travel Europe alone, it’s just right. (I was traveling alone internationally when I was nine, though admittedly turned over to the care of adults once I arrived at my destinations, so the concept of a teenager traveling alone did not strike me as horrifying or unbelievable.)
The first book was intended to stand on its own, but Johnson wrote a sequel several years later, I would bet at least partly based on hopeful reader inquiries. I will be a little vague to elide spoilers, but in the second book, Ginny finds that her aunt had another little blue envelope for her… but it’s held by a guy who thinks it’s valuable, and blackmails her to share the proceeds, if any. To ensure that she doesn't fink out, he accompanies her on her second trip around the world, once again dictated by her aunt from beyond the grave.
The sequel has enough structural and thematic similarities to the first novel to satisfy fans of that one, but has much stronger character development and more emotional depth. It also adds something which the first lacked, which is conflict. The blackmailer is a great character, and the many horrifically awkward moments between him, Ginny, and the others traveling with them are complete comedy gold.
If you liked the first, you will undoubtedly like the second; if you thought the first was just okay, you will very likely enjoy the sequel more. (If you hated the first, don’t bother with the second.)
I re-read the first novel and read the sequel while vacationing in Paris. I only wish that you all could enjoy these novels under such completely appropriate circumstances.
For the record, my very favorite book by Maureen Johnson is The Bermudez Triangle: the perfect balance of funny, honest, and sweet. Click on the author tag to see my review of it.
The Bermudez Triangle
13 Little Blue Envelopes
The Last Little Blue Envelope
Feel free to put spoilers about both books in comments.
I love this premise, and the first novel mostly lives up to it. Ginny is too thin a character to support the narrative weight she’s given, but the book gets by on charm. It’s a wish-fulfillment armchair travel book, and taken on those terms, rather than those of the outraged Amazon reviewers who would never ever let their teenage daughters travel Europe alone, it’s just right. (I was traveling alone internationally when I was nine, though admittedly turned over to the care of adults once I arrived at my destinations, so the concept of a teenager traveling alone did not strike me as horrifying or unbelievable.)
The first book was intended to stand on its own, but Johnson wrote a sequel several years later, I would bet at least partly based on hopeful reader inquiries. I will be a little vague to elide spoilers, but in the second book, Ginny finds that her aunt had another little blue envelope for her… but it’s held by a guy who thinks it’s valuable, and blackmails her to share the proceeds, if any. To ensure that she doesn't fink out, he accompanies her on her second trip around the world, once again dictated by her aunt from beyond the grave.
The sequel has enough structural and thematic similarities to the first novel to satisfy fans of that one, but has much stronger character development and more emotional depth. It also adds something which the first lacked, which is conflict. The blackmailer is a great character, and the many horrifically awkward moments between him, Ginny, and the others traveling with them are complete comedy gold.
If you liked the first, you will undoubtedly like the second; if you thought the first was just okay, you will very likely enjoy the sequel more. (If you hated the first, don’t bother with the second.)
I re-read the first novel and read the sequel while vacationing in Paris. I only wish that you all could enjoy these novels under such completely appropriate circumstances.
For the record, my very favorite book by Maureen Johnson is The Bermudez Triangle: the perfect balance of funny, honest, and sweet. Click on the author tag to see my review of it.
The Bermudez Triangle
13 Little Blue Envelopes
The Last Little Blue Envelope
Feel free to put spoilers about both books in comments.