Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Well this book was a fun little charmer. This is actually the first novel that I've read by Maureen Johnson, believe it or not, and I can say that after reading it, I'm definitely a fan. Before this, the only book I had read by her was Let it Snow where she wrote on of the three parts of the book. But this one is her all by herself. And lucky me, I have the sequel autographed to me from her :) This book tells the tale of Ginny, a teenage girl, on a journey all over Europe after receiving a package from her dead aunt. Shortly after her aunt dies, an aunt that she hasn't seen in years but used to be quite close to, Ginny receives a package. The package has thirteen envelopes in it and instructions that tell her to get on a plane to London, bring only enough money for bare essentials, she can only pack a back pack, and she can't bring a purse. This is exactly something that Ginny's aunt would do seeing as she just disappeared out of the blue sending postcards a year ago. So Ginny does it. She gets on a plane and heads to London, and envelope by envelope, she's given a different task that retraces her aunt's life, bringing her to many different countries and having many different and unique experiences. I loved this one...I really, really did. It was filled with charm, sadness, hilariousness...a little bit of everything. I can see why Johnson is such a loved author. She paints scenarios that are so outlandish, but seem so normal at the same time. And she always makes it entertaining. Can't wait to discover more of her!