The Last Little Blue Envelope
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 26, 2011
Pages: 304
Series: Companion to 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Source: E-galley requested from netgalley
**This is a companion to 13 Little Blue Envelopes so there may be some spoilers for book one**
About the Book: 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.
My Thoughts: Have I told you lately that I love Maureen Johnson’s books? If not, I’ve been remiss. If you’ve never read anything of hers drop whatever you’re reading and pick up 13 Little Blue Envelopes… or Suite Scarlett… or The Key to the Golden Firebird… or… well, you get the picture. Her books are oh so clever and basically just made of awesome. The Last Little Blue Envelope was my incentive to workout. I have it on my nook and only allowed myself to read it while on the elliptical machine. Suddenly I went from struggling to stay focused for 30 minutes to making myself stop after an hour!
According to my goodreads account I read 13 Little Blue Envelopes in April 2009. I’ve been hoping for The Last Little Blue Envelope ever since! I fell in love with Ginny and her story. The travel, the quest, the people she meets along the way… it all worked for me. Who wouldn’t love to be able to just pick up and go on a scavenger hunt-like tour of Europe? I was so shocked when she didn’t get to read the last envelope and complete the “quest” Peg had sent her on. I loved the book but that was just SO WRONG to me. Ginny had to know! She had to get that closure. I needed it (even if she didn’t.) That’s why I was so thrilled to hear that Maureen Johnson was writing a companion novel about that last envelope. The Last Little Blue Envelope totally exceeded my expectations.
It was so fun to once again follow Ginny’s adventures. I wanted to hop on a plane and go visit all the places she and her motley crew went. It was good to “see” Keith again and I enjoyed “meeting” Oliver and Ellis. It was interesting to see the way my feelings about each character changed throughout the book. I thought I knew some of them from book one but I got to see a different side of them. I really liked that. People grow and change. They have all sorts of reasons for doing the things they do. It’s nice to see books reflect that.
I highly recommend this and all other books by Maureen Johnson. I don’t recommend reading it at the gym. It’s very hard to keep a steady pace when you are laughing out loud and/or crying. Also, people look at you funny.
Follow the ever hilarious @maureenjohnson on Twitter and check out her fabulous website. It’s one of my favorite author websites!
Jacinda (The Reading Housewives)
I thought the same thing about “knowing” the characters before. Do you feel like it was left for a third book to be written? or no?
Jordyn
I just finished this one and I’m pretty sure I liked it more than the first book (which is odd, I know); I loved that there was a more steady cast of characters in this book and even though I hadn’t been hoping for a sequel to 13LBE, now I’m really glad one was published. 🙂 Nice review, btw!
Alex (A Girl, Books, OtherThings)
I liked this one more than I liked 13LBE – and I liked that just fine, but I thought it slowed down a lot sometimes, this one was a steadier, faster pace.
😀