Maureen Johnson is one of my favourite authors ever. I enjoy her wit, her humour, her well-rounded characters, and her ability to portray teenagers in a realistic manner that makes them intelligent and likable, but still confused and imperfect.

My favourite of her books is probably Devilish. Mostly because it makes me want a cupcake every time I read it. But the first book I ever read by her was 13 Little Blue Envelopes. As someone who mostly reads fantasy books, this book, more than any of her other ones, appealed to me for the journey, and the mystery in it. The story sounded as if it would be just as magical, if not more magical, then a lot of the fantasy I had been reading.

And it was.

So, when Maureen (can I call her by her first name? Well, I'm going to.) announced on twitter that she was giving away an old ARC copy of the book, one of the last ones in existence, I decided it must be mine. In order to win it you had to submit a picture or a catchphrase advertising the upcoming sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes.

I knew I had to enter, and I knew I had to stand out. I decided to appeal to Maureen's humour, as well as her love of snuggie's and made this (with a little help from a friend):



It's horrible and awesome at the same time isn't it?

And, don't ask about the cigarette...I have no idea what's up with that.

Either way, I won the book! It arrived yesterday, and to celebrate I thought I would write up a review and tell anyone reading this to go read it, right now.

13 Little Blue Envelopes is the story of american teenager Ginny who has recently learned that her slightly wacky, artist aunt has died of cancer. The begins when Ginny receives an envelope from her aunt containing a letter with rules and instructions and $1000 cash. Shy, quiet Ginny, who prefers to go unnoticed is being sent on a quest through Europe, she is not allowed to bring any of her own money, or any electrical devices.

No computer, no phone, no camera, no money. Just herself, a backpack, and 13 little blue envelopes full of instructions.

What I really loved about this book is that it is clear from the beginning that Aunt Peg wants Ginny to go on this adventure to help her break out of her shell, to help her discover herself. Ginny wants to go on the adventure simply to feel close to her aunt. These two motivations, not that they're the only ones, shape the whole book and I think without them, its very easy to get annoyed with the characters.

Ginny is basically on an all expense paid trip through Europe but she doesn't really care. She doesn't go out of her way to see or do things, she just does what each letter tells her to so that she can get to the next one, in the desperate and ultimately useless hope, that at the end her beloved, crazy aunt will be waiting for her.

Peg doesn't want Ginny to make the same mistakes she has. And although they are both very different people, outwardly, it is clear that they have both been running from things all their lives.

Another thing I loved about the book, and that I think is a terrific example of Maureen's ability to write great characters, is how alive Aunt Peg was. Despite being a fictional character that had died before the beginning of the story, the letters, and Ginny's memories of her make her a real person. And we see her go through a journey, a self-discovery along with Ginny.

Now, I don't want to ruin too much, but, well, you never get to see the 13th envelope. Ginny never gets to see it. And I really like that. It leaves Ginny to discover her own finish, her own ending. Maureen has said that we will get to see the 13th envelope in the sequel and I'm unsure how I feel about this. I like that it's a mystery. That Ginny can make it whatever she wants it to be.

I haven't said anything about the males in this story, and be assured there is a little romance for both of our female leads, but it happens to the side. It isn't the main focus. In fact I think the only thing I disliked about this book was that we didn't get to see more of Keith, the kilt-wearing playwrite who stared in Starbucks: The Musical.

I'm still giddy over winning the ARC. I read the book again this morning, and loved it just as much as the first time.

You should check out Maureen Johnson's blog, it is hilarious and informative about the world of publishing and writing. And, of course, lists all of her books, all of which should be read.

You'd think with the glowing review below this, I would finally have gotten around to reading The Forrest of Hands and Teeth. But, well...no.

I did read Devilish by Maureen Johnson, which was fantastic. I believe it's the only paranormal book she has written and I wasn't sure if it was actually going to be paranormal until it was absolutely proven that it was. Each character is written with such personality and realism, as I find true in all of her books, that I couldn't believe it was in a fantasy setting.

Jane, the main character, goes to a catholic private school and is a genius. Her best friend Allison is quiet and shy but always eager to fit in. So, when a new student comes along and offers her everything she's ever wished for, she sells her soul in a moment.

Literally, Allison sells her soul to a demon. And now has beautiful clothes, and beautiful new hair cut, and is fitting in with everyone she always wanted to fit in with. Oh, and almost killing herself.

Jane who has always taken care of Allison, always sacrificed for her, steps up to rescue Allison from the demon and what ensues is a battle of wills with one clear goal. Sacrifice everything, but save your soul.

Maureen Johnson crafts a tale about friendship in high school that is funny, and charming, and suspenseful and, despite the paranormal aspects, so very real feeling. She is definitely one of my favourite authors and this book did not disappoint at all. It was almost as if she sat down to write a book that explained why Twilight would become as popular as it is before it was popular.

I also read the first eight chapters of Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation.

This book has good characters, and an original idea which I enjoy but it is so slow. The pacing feels as if it is moving along at the speed of a snail, and despite funny and engaging characters, and a well set-up mystery, I find myself not caring.

There are some very good things about this book, don't get me wrong. The family that Bran lives with is hilarious. And the circumstances of the town that he is in is very interesting. And the mystery of who Bran is and where he came from and why he had to be hidden is intriguing. It just feels like this book would have benefited from more editing. It makes it difficult to concentrate on the good things in the book when the pacing is so very slow.

Bran is an orphen living with an odd family in a town named Dunce, where nothing magic is allowed. The town lives on modern technology, and resembles the real world. Except that everyone knows magic exists outside of the town, and will stop at nothing to keep it from getting inside.

Which begs the question, why was Bran hidden there by a mother who was obviously a mage? And who are these people that are after him? And, most importantly, why does everyone hate gnomes so much?

I'm looking forward to finishing the book and, hopefully, getting answers to these questions. All of the ideas in this story are excellent, I just feel the writing could have used some honing. But the author is quite young and I am very happy for him, for getting published so young. I'm looking forward to seeing how his writing grows.

My one other complaint was Bran's situation with the family he lives with. It felt way to much like Harry and the Dursleys. In fact, it's almost exactly the same except in this instance, the family doesn't know he is capable of magic.

And, lastly, I read the first book in The Good Neighbors series by Holly Black, illustrated by Ted Naifeh.

Yes, it's a graphic novel. Yes, my copy is signed by the author.

I love Holly Black! She writes modern teenagers so well and isn't afraid to write them realistically. Drugs, and sex, and violence, confusion, and fantasy all mix together so well in her books.

I'm not that big a fan of graphic novels, so there are some things about it that I didn't enjoy. The minimalist features, the sentences that always feel as if they come out of nowhere, that sort of thing. But mostly I think that is just personal preference.

Rue's mother has been missing for three weeks, her father has been accused of murdering one of his students, and, to top it all off, she's been seeing...things. Creatures lurking around town. Beautiful, terrible creatures.

Which, if you know Holly Black's writing at all, you will know right away are faeries.

I'm enjoying the story in this one, the characters are a little generic. At least, they are compared to other characters of Holly's that I have loved. I am definitely looking forward to more though.

The artist is really really good at drawing the faeries. At making them beautiful and terrifying at the same time. I find his regular looking human characters to be weird looking though. But it is possible that he did this on purpose.