Journey to the River Sea (2001)

This was a near-miss for me, but a miss all the same. There were some brilliant lines in this book, and one certainly champions all the Good Children, but there wasn't quite enough of anything to satisfy. There's no real depth to the characters, the animals are not described adequately, the indigenous people are too fairy-tale-indigene and the loathsome twins too, well, loathsome. Parts of it were splendid but most of it was ordinary. Favorite line: "If you want something enough you usually get it. But you have to take what goes with it." 2.75 stars. ( )

Journey to the River Sea is a very quaint, almost fairy tale like read. English orphan, Maia is sent to live with distant relatives on a rubber plantation along the Amazon River. Maia is of course excited, not only because of the family she has been longing for, but also because of the exotic locale and potential adventures. Once in the Amazon, however, Maia finds a very different situation than the one she had imagined herself to be in. Her cousins are stiff, mean spoiled girls and she is not allowed to interact or be adventurous. However, thanks to her governess and her own resourcefulness Maia finds her way around the Amazon.

I loved the journey and even the sappy ending. Maia is a great character, especially for young girls. She is strong, intelligent and doesn’t let adversity get her down. I also loved her governess who encouraged and supported her through it all. The ending was a bit abrupt and sappy for me, but overall it was a fun read and I hope to read more of Ibbotson’s work.
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What a magical book! This book chronicles the story of Maia, an orphan girl in England in the early 1900s. It starts when she is a student in a very good boarding school in London. After her guardian finds a home for her with a distant relative on the Amazon River in Brazil, her adventures begin. Her wonderful governess, Miss Minton, helps her to learn about the area on hear long journey to South America. However, the family who Maia will be staying with only wants her there for the money that they will receive for caring for her. The characters include a caricature of a family: a plump, petty mother who is obsessed with the eradication of insects, a clueless father who is obsessed with glass eyes, and a set of pale twins who eerily do the same things at all times. I was reminded of the Addams family, somehow! Maia befriends the local Indians who serve the family and eventually gets to know many locals and a boy whose father has died and whose family in England is looking for him. Private investigators arrive who are comically inept. The author has masterfully created interesting and amusing characters and describes the landscape of the Amazon brilliantly. The plot has twists and turns that keep the reader wanting more! I'd love to see this made into a movie - it would be wonderful.

This wasn't a recent read, but we have it in our Blevins library and it remains one of my all-time favorite children's books. It is slightly Dickensian in flavor, because the good people are very, very good, and the bad people are horrid. It is set in the Amazon Rain Forest and has plenty of action and adventure. The ending sees the good people rewarded and the bad ones getting what they deserved. The writing is beautiful, the setting is gorgeous and exciting, the main character is strong and survives against all odds, and the plot is magical. This would make a great family read. ( )

This is the story of a kind talented beautiful girl name Maia she is 13 and she is an orphan she is also the heroin of this book the main character. She lives in England however her lawyer Mr.Murphy her lawyer tells her that he had foun some relatives that are willing to take care of her . She gets so exited and anticipates that she is going to be have a great time with her relatives. For her surprise she just find the twins and Mrs. carter and Mr.carter that are super mean and all they care about is her money.
She feels in a prison living her . Luckily for her she at raves with her governess Miss. Minton that watches over her and at the end when the carter's Ouse is burned she is able to rescue Maia.
Maia also meets clovis and Finn her two friends. She has feelings for Finn . And Finn rescues her in his boat at the moment of the fire and takes her to the adventures of her life in the "River Sea" this is how the locals call the Amazon River. What I like about that book is that keeps you guessing how will end and if Maia could ever had the life that she deserves. ( )