13 Little Blue Envelopes meets Love and Gelato in this YA coming-of-age romance about Emily, who takes a gap year in Europe to learn about life, love, and working through grief--guided by her grandmother's old travel journal. Everything in Emily Tannenbaum's life is going according to plan. Graduate high school as valedictorian? Check. Gain admission to Dartmouth University? Check. Decide to pause everything to embark on a gap year adventure abroad? Wait, what?
Ever since her sister Liv died five years ago, Emily has done everything in her power to be the good girl, the safe girl, the one her parents don't have to worry about. She's worked hard, she's studied, she's attended school-approved functions. But at her first--and last!--high school party, Emily notices how her classmates act surprised to see her, calling out her notorious absence from any event that wasn't an extracurricular. Suddenly questioning her strict adherence to routine, Emily impulsively announces that she is taking a gap year during her valedictorian speech, spooking her parents but delighting her grandma Rose, a former girl-group singer.
So begins the trip of a lifetime as Emily charts a course through Europe arranged by Grandma Rose, who hopes that Emily will embrace the messy parts of life. The unexpected parts. Which are sometimes the best parts. Along the way, Emily experiences love, heartbreak, friendship, and learns more about her sister, her heritage, and herself.
