Booknotized

Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 23, 2005
Age Group: YA (sexual innuendo/references/discussion)
Sequel: The Last Little Blue Envelope
Pages: 336
Rating: Idea 3.5★; Execution 3.5★
Genre: realistic fiction; travel/adventure

★★★1/2

Ginny has never been much of one for adventure, but all of that changes when the receives a letter from her dead aunt Peg, and finds herself whisked off halfway across the world. Leave it to aunt Peg to cook up some crazy scheme—that was her m.o. in life—why should it be any different just because she’s…gone?

So, armed with only a backpack, some cash, and a handful of consecutively numbered envelopes from her aunt, Ginny sets out on a wild, seemingly haphazard tour of Europe, that leads her as much inward as it does out.

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For the most part, this book is fun and engaging. Ginny, though unsure of herself isn’t your typical whiney, flagellating ball of angst. She’s got spunk down in there that the reader can see—even if it takes her a while to discover it herself.

The trip abroad is fun, if unrealistic, especially the large amount of time spent in England, at which point in the book I found myself reliving my study-abroad time at Oxford. In fact, at one point, I got off the train after reading it, got some take-out for dinner, and sat down at home to eat it, only to realize I had purchased curry and cider for myself…same thing that the characters were eating during my train ride.

However, once Jenny left England, the story went a little flat for me. The environments felt 2-dimensional, the characters somewhat stereotypical, and Ginny’s self-progress a little stunted. I wish there had been more description of people, sights, sounds, and things in the various countries. Ginny tended to enter places in a rush, hole up somewhere small, and stick there, venturing out only in sentences instead of excursions. The exception to that would be Paris, where the cafe described was unique, charming, and well-evoked, if impractical.

I also wasn’t totally satisfied with Ginny’s “growth” by the end. She did pull a bit of a whine-fest toward the final chapter, and I felt as frustrated as she was supposed to be. Also, the way in which she loses the last enveloped (and is thus tugged into a 2nd book) was slightly…convenient, but did manage to leave me wanting to know how it would conclude.

All in all, it was a quick, fun read that made me want to bolt off on a trek across the world.

. . . maybe someday I will.