13 Little Blue Envelopes (2006) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Virginia 'Ginny' Blackstone: The protagonist. 17 years old. Ginny's Aunt Peg leaves a bundle of 13 envelopes for her to follow. Each envelope has a new assignment and adventure, and the envelopes take Ginny on a journey throughout Europe.
• Keith Dobson: The playwright/thief/bloke-about-town college man that Gin meets after reading Envelope #3. This has romantic and disastrous results. Keith loves to eat and is a great friend. He is also very funny.
• Richard: Aunt Peg's friend that lives in London. He works at a department store called Harrods. Harrods sells just about everything that you can dream of.
• Aunt Peg: Ginny's fun-loving, erratic aunt. She ran away from America and first went to London. Then, she explored throughout Europe. She had Richard send Ginny a package containing 13 blue envelopes with instructions that will lead Ginny on an adventure throughout Europe.
• Olivia Knapp: Daughter of over-enthusiastic Mr. & Mrs. Knapp.
• David: Keith's roommate, Fiona's boyfriend. They have a strained relationship.
• Carrie: Student from Australia.
• Knud: Danish biker who Ginny has to meet.
• Ginny: Goes looking for her aunt
• Bennett: Student from Australia. Emmett's brother
• Charlie: A man Ginny is supposed to meet.
• Fiona: David's overly-skinny, overly-bleached girlfriend.
• Cecil Gage-Rathbone: A man Ginny has to contact.
• Alice: Owner of 4th Noodle and Aunt Peg's old friend.
• Miriam: Ginny's best friend from back home.
• Emmett: Student from Australia. Bennet's brother
• Paul: Owner of The Little Dogs restaurant in Paris that Aunt Peg decorated.
• Phil Knapp: Son of over-enthusiastic Mr. & Mrs. Knapp, who gives up his room for Ginny.
• Nigel: Student from Australia.

Quotes edit see section history

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• “She was standing in the airport of Copenhagen, staring at a doorway, trying to figure out if it was (a) a bathroom and (b) what kind of bathroom it was. The door merely said H.Was she an H?Was H "hers"? It could just as easily be "his". Or "Helicopter Room:Not a Bathroom at All".”

  Narrator

• “Pack snacks. This is a good rule to follow in all aspects of life.”

  Aunt Peg

• “The locker at the end of her bed had no lock, and one of the hinges was busted. She opened it up.There was a thing in it.The thing might have been a sandwich at some point, or an animal, or a human hand...but what it was now was fuzzy and putrid.A minute later, Ginny was down the stairs, out the door, and gone.”

  Narrator

• “Rule #1: You may bring only what fits in your backpack. Don't try to fake it out with a purse or a carry-on. Rule #2: You may not bring guidebooks, phrase books, or any kind of foreign language aid. And no journals. Rule #3: You cannot bring extra money or credit/debit cards, traveler's checks, etc. I'll take care of all that. Rule #4. No electronic crutches. This means no laptop, no cell phone, no music, and no camera. You can't call home or communicate with people in the U.S. by internet or telephone. Postcards and letters are acceptable and encouraged.”

  Aunt Peg

• “It's good to be in a cage, it keeps you focused. I recommend it.”

  Mari Adams

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• “It’s Manet,” she said. “It’s called The Bar at the Folies-Bergère.”

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• (“When in doubt,” Aunt Peg had always said, “look for the triangles in the paintings.”

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• This, I thought, is what Paris is all about. Remember, this city is where the peasants seized control and took over and beheaded all of the royals and the rich. It takes pride in the poor artists who have lived here in the past—all the painters, writers, poets, singers who made the bars and cafés famous.

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• “I will,” Ginny said, her smile falling a bit. There was no point in correcting him about Aunt Peg. In his mind, she was still very much alive, and she saw no reason why it shouldn’t stay that way for somebody.

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• But this time, unlike with Beppe, it wasn’t unwelcome or weird. It was just warm.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London, England
• Italy
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Amsterdam
• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• The Netherlands
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Scotland
• America/The United States of America
• Harrods: A large department store in London. It sells clothes, toys, gifts, furniture, and food. It has a variety of brands, food halls, and restaurants!
• Paris
• Rome
• Greece
• Copenhagen
• New York
• Denmark
• Europe
• New Jersey
• Spain
• Corfu
• Edinburgh
• Minnesota
• France

Organizations edit see section history

• Hostels: Cheap places to stay when traveling abroad. Generally they are multiple-bed rooms filled with other travelers from all over the world.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Aforementioned: mentioned previously
• Stroopwaffle: Dessert that looked like tiny waffles stuck together with syrup

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Adventure: Ginny travels throughout Europe.

Errata edit see section history

Page 23 First Paragraph, Last sentence: It Say's: "It look a lot of effort not to give in to her wobbling knees and slump into Richard." It should say "It TOOK a lot of effort not to give in to her wobbling knees and slump into Richard.:

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by The Last Little Blue Envelope.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Maureen Johnson (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• ALA Best Book for Young Adults (2006, #6)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PZ7.J634145 Aaf 2005
• Dewey: Add the Dewey Classification.

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Ages 12 and up

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Teens › Literature & Fiction › Adventure & Thrillers
• Books › Teens › Social Issues › Being a Teen

More Books Like This edit see section history