the last little blue envelope by maureen johnson

From The Cover:

You’ve done a lot in the last twelve envelopes, if you have in fact completed all that was contained in them. For all I know, you’ve read all these from your sofa in New Jersey. But I trust you. I think you’re exactly where I suggested you should be: on a ferry in the Greek Islands.

If you really wanted to, you could go home right now. Maybe you’ve had enough. Or…

My rating: 4 stars.

My Thoughts:

Rugged.

The Last Little Blue Envelope is very reminiscent of its prior installment, Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes. Keith is still a foreign jerk, the adventures are just as spontaneous and riveting as ever, and Aunt Peg leaves nothing to be desired.

However, as previously mentioned above, the story is a bit rugged. Ginny’s parents are ultimately out of the picture, which seems unplausible. Even Richard, her uncle, is more careless the second time around. I just cannot imagine adults being so irresponsible in this context. As for the other characters, Keith makes his return as a childish annoyance, Ellis is spunky and bubbly, and Oliver is the typical dark-mysterious-brooding guy. They were all mostly characterized by those few traits, and as such, came off a bit cookie-cutter boring.

The biggest surprise for me was Ginny – how very quiet and very indifferent she acts. As the main character, she has very little interaction in the events that take place. Her presence is always there, but it feels as though there’s a sense of her missing, and that was disappointing.

Nevertheless, The Last Little Blue Envelope is jampacked with adventure and sentimentality that rings true. It’s a great read for the beginning of summer, despite the story taking place during the end of December/beginning of January.  And while you aren’t able to hear those British accents, you sure can imagine them – and what’s better than that?

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