13 Little Blue Envelopes Response

Book Title: 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Author: Maureen Johnson
Year of Publication: 2005
Number of Pages: 321
AR Points Awarded: 9.0

Literary Elements
Narrator - It is written from the third person limited viewpoint, with Ginny as the main character. “Ginny wasn’t sure if she believed that there was any more money waiting for her in an ATM.” p. 45
Protagonist - Ginny is a kind of shy and awkward teenage girl who’s not overly confident. She never really had a lot of courage until Aunt Peg got her going on the quest across Europe. She’s really nice and a very intriguing character. “As a rule, Ginny Blackstone tried to go unnoticed...” p. 7
Antagonist - In a way, Ginny is also the antagonist. Sometimes she is so shy and reserved that it actually works against her. It really takes a lot of self-convincing for her to do many of the things in the letters. “Only Aunt Peg could make something like this happen. Not that Ginny hadn’t had to do her part. First, she’d had to convince herself that she could follow what seemed like an obvious flight of insanity from an aunt who wasn’t known for her reliability.” p. 14
Setting - This story takes place in so many places across Europe, it’s impossible to find one setting. It takes place in London, Scotland, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Denmark, and Greece. (Amsterdam) “Amsterdam was damp. For a start, the central train station was smack in the middle of some kind of inlet and surrounded by water...A canal even separated it from the busy main road that curved past...From there, countless tiny bridges spanned the canals that spidered out and cut through every street. Plus, it was raining--a slow steady drizzle that she could barely see...” p. 199
Conflict - The conflict is sort of man v. nature, but I’d say it’s more man v. the world. On Ginny’s quest, she’s got to do so many things that are unfamiliar to her, and she’s pretty much on her own. The conflict is simply getting each of the tasks done. “...she thought that this was a perfect Paris night. But she didn’t feel perfect. She felt alone...” p. 170
Theme - Even when everything seems terrible and hopeless, it is up to us to make things good. We need to look for the positives in every adventure. “...understand that the world is not such a bad place....we try for a better future...We make the fields beautiful.” p. 239
Historical Context - Ginny visits a lot of sites and monuments that are historically significant, such as the Vestal Virgins, who were significant in Greek mythology. “My favorite of all the gods and goddesses, believe it or not, was Vesta, the goddess of hearth and home.” p. 123

Reflection
I really liked 13 Little Blue Envelopes. It was easy to read and it was really interesting. I love learning about new places, and the author did a great job of describing all the places Ginny went to. I really identified with the main character, Ginny. She’s just an average teenager who’s not overly confident. She’s just an average girl who’s trying to be happy. It didn’t remind me of any other books specifically, but it was like a lot of books where the main character eventually finds herself and lives happily ever after. It would make a good movie because there would be so many cool settings, and the characters are likable. I would recommend this book to any teenage girl. It didn’t end the way I expected. I was kind of upset when the thirteenth letter got stolen, but I actually kind of like this. Ginny ends up finding out her own meaning for the quest that way.