I had heard so many great things about this book before reading it, and Maureen Johnson did not disappoint. This book is a great travel/adventure story with a bit of romance and a scavenger-hunt feel to it, which includes international travel. Virginia "Ginny" receives 13 little blue envelopes from her Aunt Peg, who had vanished months ago and just recently passed away. Ginny learns a lot more about her "runaway aunt" through the travel instructions and challenges posed to Ginny within each of the 13 envelopes. For some students, this book could be challenging because background knowledge is required to understand the geography of where Ginny is traveling. With that said, the vivid descriptions took me right back to London, Rome, and Greece. I also loved the portion of the book when Ginny was in Copenhagen. I recommend this book for advanced 7th grade readers, definitely 8th graders and maybe even freshmen. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!
This is one creepy vampire story. And before you get turned away because it's a vampire novel, I will say that it is the anti-Twilight. Instead, it is intense, suspenseful, and gory at times. For these reasons, I recommend it to teens and some mature, upper-level middle school readers. I can see why this book made several top teen book lists. I give it 4 out of 5 stars! View the book trailer.
