13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Summary Provided by Harper Collins:
Here’s the deal: Aunt Peg, the New York artist and the person Ginny Blackstone depended on to make her life interesting, took off to Europe without a word three years ago. Aside from a few postcards, Ginny hasn’t heard much. Then she gets a horrible phone call that changes everything.
But the story is only beginning. Soon after, Ginny receives one little blue envelope from Aunt Peg containing a thousand dollars and some very strange instructions… 
 And with that, she is sent off to pick up a package containing twelve similar envelopes, which she can open one by one, as instructed. Each letter contains a task that Ginny must perform.
 Soon, the mild-mannered and quiet Ginny (who’s barely made it out of New Jersey before) finds herself running from London to Paris to Rome, and beyond. Along the way, she collects a number of new friends, including: a manager from Harrods department store who runs errands for the rich and famous, a handsome but maddening thief-turned-playwright, a celebrity painter who tattoos the names of her dead pets on her body, and the angriest vegetable salesman in all of France.
 As time goes on, Ginny realizes that her aunt has sent her on a mission, and that there is something big waiting for her in the thirteenth envelope. All she has to do is make it from place to place and complete all of the tasks that have been set before her.
 As if life is that easy.

My Thoughts:
When I bought this book at Barnes & Noble the other day, I thought it would be just a cute, short and sweet book. It was much more then that. This story is about finding yourself, and trusting yourself with the choices that you make. I finished this book in less than a day.  

The story begins with the first letter from Aunt Peg to her niece, Ginny. She instructs Ginny to read the letters and do what she tells her to do in each one. Once the task in the letter is completed, Ginny is able to read the next one. The letters take Ginny to NYC, London, Scotland, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Italy, and the beaches of Greece. Throughout the trip, Ginny gains friendship, love, and family.

I loved this story. It was a surprise hit for me!

Love, Kristina