The Last Little Blue Envelope

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

In this sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Ginny has one last quest to complete.  The final envelope (so tragically lost at the end of the previous book) has appeared.  Unfortunately, it is in the possession of a very stubborn, slightly mercenary, rather good-looking fellow named Oliver.  He wants in on the adventure and this time, he accompanies Ginny, Keith (returned from the other book) and Ellis on the mission to locate Aunt Peg’s final piece of artwork.

I greatly preferred this to its predecessor, in large part due to the fact that we are all allowed to acknowledge that Keith isn’t really a good person.  I spent the better part of 13 Little Blue Envelopes loathing him and it was quite a relief to have him openly written as a jerk.  Maybe because I wasn’t so filled with ire, I also enjoyed the location descriptions here much more than in 13 Little Blue Envelopes.

Great for: Romance for the younger teen and travel inclined set.

Sex, Nudity, Dating – There some sort of speculation about what a couple might be doing when left alone, but sex is NEVER stated nor obviously implied.  You could just as easily assume kissing or snuggling if your mind weren’t in the gutter.  There’s some actual kissing with accompanying clutching, near swooning and magical feelings.  A character skinny dipped.  A character is seen by an opposite sex character while wearing only boxers.  Boobs are mentioned.  Keith calls his car a sexmobile for no apparent reason.  Richard jokingly asks Ginny if she’s going to become a prostitute (as it’s legal in Amsterdam and she’s in Amsterdam).  Keith had a prior girlfriend who got pregnant and dumped him.  There’s a naked lady in a painting.
Profanity – “hell,” “crap,” “bastard,” “wanker,” “div,” “God,” “dammit,”  At one point Keith swears for a solid 10 seconds but we are not privy to any of the words he says.
Death, Violence and Gore – As with the prior book, the basic premise is that Ginny is sent on a mission by her Aunt who has passed away from brain cancer.  In this book Ginny visits the site where her Aunt’s ashes were scattered.  There’s some joking that various people they have to trust (the owner of a room they rent, the owner of a van they need a ride in) might be serial killers or child molesters.  There’s a joke that someone’s evil ex is off burning orphans.  Keith jokes about pushing Oliver out of a car.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – All characters drink, at least one gets very, very, drunk.  One character smokes cigarettes throughout and this is not particularly painted in a bad light.  Richard asks Ginny if she’s using marijuana (again, it’s legal in Amsterdam).  Ginny goes to a coffee house where people are liking using marijuana.
Frightening or Intense Things – There’s some theft.  Mainly the thing that scares me (grown-up that I am) is how trusting these teens are of strangers.