13 Little Blue Envelopes is a 2006 novel by Maureen Johnson. The novel is about a young woman who embarks on a journey throughout Europe by following instructions left to her in letters by her deceased aunt.
Plot summary
Rule #1:
You may bring only what fits in your backpack. Don't try to fake it 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.
Virginia[1] "Ginny" Blackstone, a seventeen-year-old girl, has received 13 envelopes from her self-proclaimed "Runaway Aunt" Peg, who is deceased. Ginny is told that she is about to leave for several weeks and will travel to foreign lands. Her aunt leaves her the above four rules to follow. She is only allowed to open the next envelope once she has reached the destination or, in some cases, achieved the task set in the previous letter.
The envelopes lead her to London, where she meets a "starving" artist named Keith, along with Aunt Peg's best friend and room mate, Richard. She realizes she has a crush on Keith, and they go to Scotland to meet her aunt's guru, an artist named Mari Adams. Ginny then has an argument with Keith and they part ways. She meets him again in Paris. Later, she encounters a rather fast Roman boy and a horrible hotel in Amsterdam, along with a very hyperactive family. Following, she goes to Denmark and meets four Australian students, Emmett, Bennett, Nigel, and Carrie. Together they form the "Blue Envelope Gang" and follow the second-to-last envelope to Greece. On the way, the 12th envelope tells her she can open the last one whenever she feels ready.
While there, her backpack is stolen, along with the 13th envelope. She goes back to England with the help of Richard, who she discovers is her uncle. She runs away, and discovers her aunt's paintings in the attic of Harrods, a large department store in London, which her aunt used as a private art studio. She sells them, and the proceeds become her inheritance. She writes a letter to her aunt, letting her know that even though she never read the 13th envelope, she knows what it said. Ginny finally makes her way back home to New Jersey.
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