13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Oops.  I was having such a good time on my kid-free stay-cation I completely forgot it was my turn to post.  I guess I was busy sleeping in, reading, napping, running errands and clearing off the DVR.  You know, doing really important things like that.  I need to get back on my game, though.  The kids come home Saturday and time is running out.  Here goes.

I can't remember why I downloaded this book.  Forgetfulness is apparently a theme at this stage in my life.  Oh well.  If I was a bettin' woman, I would bet I downloaded it because it was either free or on sale.  Whatever the reason, I was glad I did.

This book chronicles the life of Ginny Blackstone, a young woman who has never made it out of her home state of New Jersey.  She's quiet, shy and for the most part very sheltered.  The only interesting person in her life, her eccentric Aunt Peg, disappears and isn't heard from in almost 3 years.   When a phone call delivers the news that Aunt Peg has succumbed to cancer, Ginny is devastated.  A few days after that, Ginny gets an envelope (a little blue one, of course) in the mail from Aunt Peg.  It contains $1000 and a list of four rules.  What follows are a series of mini-adventures and 12 other little blue envelopes that lead Ginny to Europe and as a result also lead her to finding herself.

"13 Little Blue Envelopes" made me smile.  It reminded me of growing up and my relationship with my Aunt Jill.  She was the one who did my hair for my First Communion, took me shopping, and was cool enough to take me to see Back to the Future when my parents wouldn't.  As a young girl, she was the one I looked up to. I could always count on her for all things fun...something I think every girl needs. As a bonus, I now get to see that same relationship with my daughter and HER aunts.  How cool is that?

In reading the other reviews for this book I found out it is yet another young adult novel.  Honestly, I had no idea.  Maybe it's because I can so easily put myself back in time and feel that closeness with my aunt, but it really didn't come across to me as a young adult read.

A sequel to this book, "The Last Little Blue Envelope" is due out later this year.  Young Adult or not, I'm going to try and remember to give it a read.  Will someone please help me to remember?

Don't take my word for it.  Read more here.