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I admit it. I am having difficulty turning off the Will & Kate specials that are suddenly all over the channels now that we’ve officially made it to wedding week. Is it her giant blue ring? Her perfectly just-so cascading hair? The suspense around who has designed her sure-to-be dazzling gown? I can’t say for sure, but whatever the reason, it would seem that I’m willing to watch. I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that as a girl, I spent hours in my basement poring over glossy commemorative photo books about Princess Diana. It started young, what can I say?

So it is with some relief that tomorrow, I will have something worthy to do rather than watching another crappy Will & Kate wedding special. This is because tomorrow, Maureen Johnson’s new book, The Last Little Blue Envelope, will hit shelves.

Yay and yay some more.

It got a starred review from The Horn Book – not that I’m surprised. She’s so clever, that Maureen Johnson. Here’s the review, as posted at the author’s blog:

“Readers who finished 13 Little Blue Envelopes and wondered what was in the thirteenth envelope finally have an answer—and it’s a good one. . . .The group’s dynamic is always authentic, usually funny, and occasionally heartrending; Johnson excels at conveying emotions through natural-sounding dialogue. New readers and old fans will find much to like, right down to the final life-altering kiss, in this celebration of growing up, moving on, and embracing (sometimes literally) the unexpected.” – Horn Book, starred review

Sometimes, a book I really want to read just shows up in my mailbox, and when that happens, it feels magical and happy-making to be the Shelf Elf. Sadly, this has not yet happened with this much-wanted book, so tomorrow, I’m going to have to solve that problem myself.