Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Published by Macmillan Children's Books, 2002
ISBN 033039715X
First
Review: by Shannon Library Children’s Book Club.
This
is an exciting adventure set on the Amazon River in Brazil, known
locally as the River Sea. The main character is Maia, an orphan
who is sent from school in England to live in Brazil with her only
remaining relatives, the Carters. Maia dreams of having adventures
in Brazil and of the wonderful things she will see and the loving
family she will have. Miss Minton is the Carter family’s new
governess and she travels with Maia on her long journey. They journey
by boat and on the voyage become friendly with Clovis, a boy actor
who wishes he could return to England. This friendship becomes very
important later in the story
Maia
soon realises that the Carters are not the ideal family she hoped
they would be. They don’t like mixing with the natives or
eating local food. They want to live as if they were still in England.
Maia befriends Finn, a mysterious boy who seems almost native and
is hiding in the jungle near her home. She discovers he is heir
to a family fortune back in England and is being searched for by
agents of his family in Brazil. Maia and her friends must do everything
they can to stop Finn being taken back to England with exciting
results.
The
whole group loved this book. With its exotic setting, it is action
packed, exciting and a real page turner. The characters of Maia,
Miss Minton, Clovis and Finn are excellent, particularly Maia. She’s
smart, brave and inquisitive. Maia’s cousins, the twins and
their mother are funny and add humour to the story. The ending is
full of suspense and all the characters get what they deserve in
the end. The only thing the book club members didn’t like
was that the book ended too soon!
Marks:
Ten out of ten.
Second
Review: by Kilmihil Book Club, November 2004
Journey
to the River Sea is the story of Maia whose parents are tragically
killed abroad. Maia’s guardian and solicitor Mr. Murray finds
relatives who will take her in and to Maia’s delight they
live in Brazil.
Together
with her new governess, Miss Minton, they travel to Brazil to start
their new lives but are disappointed to find that their relatives,
the Carters, do not want Maia but do want the allowance that comes
with her. The Carters are a greedy family who are suspicious of
the natives and hate everything about Brazil. The twins, Gwendolyn
and Beatrice are jealous of Maya and of the friendships she forms
with the other children who live locally.
One
of her friends, Fin is in hiding from two English men who want to
bring him to England to take up his inheritance. Fin’s father
Bernard Taverner, was a naturalist and hated his life and family
in England, and Fin whose mother was an Indian, vows never to go
to the home his father ran from.
Another
of Maia’s friends, Clovis is a child who is growing up and
cannot play his parts anymore in the acting company and is stranded
in Brazil. Clovis takes Fin’s place and returns to England
to live with Fin’s grandfather.
This
book is an exciting adventure story, full of detail and action and
was enjoyed by all members of Kilmihil Book Club. They did however
find the story was slow to start and thought that there were lots
of characters in the book. They also found both the cover and title
misleading. The actual story was more exciting than the cover or
the title had led them to believe.
Favourite
incidents in the story were;
Mr.
Carter’s saving his glass eye collection rather than Maia
in the fire.
Maia’s meeting with Clovis on the ship.
Miss Minton’s, Professor Glastonberry’s, Maia’s
and Fin’s journey up the Amazon and their stay with the Indians.
Favourite
characters were Fin, Miss Minton, Clovis and Maia
Rating:
10 marks out of 10. |