Journey To The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Title: Journey To The River Sea
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Publication Date: May 30^th 2002

Goodreads Summary:It is 1910 and Maia, tragically orphaned at 13, has been sent from England to start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in this highly colourful, joyous and award-winning adventure.

My Review:
This has to be one of my favourite books of all time! I have read it over and over again to the point where the pages are starting to fall out. I always dreamed of having an adventure like Maia, going off to some exotic location and meeting all these new people. I adore the plot and the richly drawn characters. All of them seem so real, like old friends.
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I loved Miss Minton the best. Her sharp and spiky personality drew you in. I so wanted to learn more about her past. Her over protectiveness of Maia seemed so genuine and I could tell their relationship was bound so tightly it would take a tornado or a hurricane to tear them apart. Another character I enjoyed reading about was Finn. Finn was the exotic and exciting boy Maia meets a little while after she arrives in the Amazon. He seemed so caring and perfect.

Personally, I find it a modern retelling of Cinderella. You have the orphan, the evil stepmother, two equally evil twins and a fairy governess!

Journey to The River Sea is an enchanting story which takes you on a magical journey across Brazil. Definatly worth a read!

Rating: 5/5
You can buy the book here