NTE

First off, to any author who doesn't have a social media presence, let me just tell you, at this point? That's a big mistake. I'm not super-sociable, and tend towards the shy, so I can see how it would be intimidating to put yourself out there, but the ONLY reason I read this book is because I follow Maureen Johnson on Twitter. (And John Green, who also mention Maureen Johnson, etc) She is hilarious and weird and wacky, and I knew I should track down something she wrote. So: score points for Twitter presence, but don't worry if you're not as wonderful at it as Maureen at first - just be there, say hello, you'll figure it out, and people will find you. Now, on to the actual book: If you had a mysterious and flamboyant favorite aunt, who died suddenly, but left behind 13 little blue envelopes with clues that would take you who knows where (and the money to follow the clues), wouldn't you drop everything and go? I'm about ready for an adventure myself, and 17 year old Ginny decided her aunt's instructions were definitely worth following. And while she follows them, she finds out a lot about her mysterious aunt, the life she led while she was among the missing, and what it's like to not know what your next step will be until to you take it. Spontaneity was definitely the winner of the day, here. (I am not good at spontaneity, for various uptight-ish and health reasons, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it vicariously.) Now there's a certain amount of suspending disbelief that goes along with this book, because 1)if anybody (let's just say me, for argument's sake) attempted to do this in real life, there would be a certain amount of missed connections, a few more 'oopses' than occur in the book. and 2) It just seems like an 'only in a book' kind of thing, to this completely boring 34 year old cynic. But hey: that's just me, and maybe I lack the adventurous soul of Ginny, who drops everything and grabs her backpack and flies all over the world and back - Either way, I enjoyed being along for the trip, and I'm going to pick up the next book, see what secrets that last, lost, little blue envelope held.