Amy is alone. Her brother is in rehab, her father is dead and her mother is on the other side of the country arranging a move for the family. When the time comes for Amy to rejoin her mother, it means driving the family jeep across country. There’s a small problem though – Amy just can’t bring herself to drive. Her mother arranges for Roger (the college age son of one of her friends) to drive both the jeep and Amy back to her. She creates an agenda, books the hotels, maps the route. Things don’t always go as planned though, and Amy and Roger end up crossing the country their way.
This was everything I wanted out of 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Matson does a great job of describing the places Amy and Roger visit. The book is chock full of cute details like receipts, pictures, entries in a travelogue and best of all, playlists!! The romance aspect doesn’t feel hurried and both Amy and Roger start out having a lot of other things to deal with besides each other.
Great for: Anyone going on a trip or vacation! Nothing makes you feel more in the mood for a trip than a good travel book. Be inspired by Amy and Roger and create some themed playlists for your journey to add to the fun. Also, Amy’s little notes on each place visited just might convince a teen that a journal might be fun.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – There’s kissing and sex. The sex isn’t particularly explicit, in one case it’s completely fade to black, in the other we’re focused on the emotions around having sex rather than in the technical details. There’s a flashback to where Amy loses her virginity and it raises a lot of important questions for girls about being sure and how you feel afterward. However, despite the reflection, Amy doesn’t exactly grow or change or make better decisions in the future.
Profanity – “fuck” several times, “damn,” “goddamn,” “jesus”
Death, Violence and Gore – Amy’s father has recently died, the accident that caused his death is related in some detail. At Yosemite Park, there are signs saying the park is not liable in cases of death and dismemberment. There are also dangerous bears.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Our main characters stick to beer (although they are underage). Amy’s brother Charlie is in rehab due to drug and alcohol addiction and has been stopped for possession of drugs. There’s a joke about making meth.
Frightening or Intense Things – Clearly anything dealing with the death of a parent can be upsetting.
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