Book Review: The Last Little Blue Envelope By Maureen Johnson

Title: The Last Little Blue Envelope

Author: Maureen Johnson

Maureen’s Twitter | Maureen’s Website

304 pages Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Buy The Book: Amazon

From The Publisher:

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.

Months later, a mysterious boy contacts Ginny from London, saying he’s found her bag. Finally, Ginny can finish what she started. But instead of ending her journey, the last letter starts a new adventure—one filled with old friends, new loves, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Ginny finds she must hold on to her wits . . . and her heart. This time, there are no instructions.  (Summary Provided by Harper Teen.)

My Thoughts:

Opening up The Last Little Blue Envelope, Maureen Johnson’s follow-up to 2005’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes, was accompanied by a bittersweet feeling. I simply did not want this story to end. I love Ginny, Keith, and Aunt Peg’s amazing letters. So, I went into the story feeling sad, but Ginny and the gang had me smiling in no time! At the beginning of the story we find a couple of things have changed. Ginny has ditched her signature braids for a more mature hairstyle, and Ginny and Keith’s relationship has hit the skids. From there the story takes off and the reader once again finds Ginny traveling to far away places and having a new series of remarkable adventures. Johnson’s writing has the same depth, humor, and sensitivity as that of Judy Blume and Louise Fitzhugh, and I will proudly place The Last Little Blue Envelope (in addition to Johnson’s other books) on my bookshelf amongst classics like Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. and Harriet The Spy. The Last Little Blue Envelope is every bit as good as its predecessor and wraps things up to a satisfying conclusion. Although, I am still holding out hope that Johnson decides to revisit the world of Ginny Blackstone in the future.

Comment For A Cause: In the giving spirit of Maureen Johnson who recently used her Twitter account to raise a whole lotta money  for ShelterBox.org,  with this post I am starting a cycle of service projects here at WellReadWife.com to benefit The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is an organization whose mission is to end suicide among LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) youth through providing resources such as a crisis prevention hotline, an online community, and community education programs. For every comment on this post (up to 100 comments) until 6/01/11 (I should definitely have 100 by then, right?)  I will donate $2.00 to The Trevor Project. And yes, my comment replies count toward the total. Click here to donate to The Trevor Project. You can also donate by texting TREVOR to 85944 to donate $5.00 to the organization.

*Update* We reached 100 comments on April 28th and I promptly donated $200.00 to The Trevor Project from the readers of WellReadWife.com. Thank you for your comments!:)

*When I reach 100 comments, I will pick 5 comments using random.org and those people will each win a copy of the book IT Gets Better by Dan Savage and Terry Miller.*

See the end of this post for the winners of It Gets Better:

http://www.wellreadwife.com/2011/04/30/wellreadwife-com-readers-raise-awareness-and-funds-for-the-trevor-project/

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