Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It doesn't have magic, but it's still her best novel, April 10, 2002
If you want ghosts and witches, then read any one of Ibbotson's other novels - they're all great, and perfect for Harry Potter fans. However Journey to the River Sea has its own kind of magic, and it's just as good as the stuff with wands and potions.Maia, an orphan, is sent with her formidable but loving governess (shades of The Little White Horse) to stay with her unpleasant relations on the Amazon. They're being paid to take her in, and hate everything to do with the extraordinary country in which they find themselves as much as Maia loves it. Luckily for her, she makes friends with two boys - one a child actor playing Little Lord Fauntleroy on the boat over, the other a mysterious boy who lives in the jungle, who turns out to be the heir to a great title and fortune back in England. Maia's evil twin cousins and relations are soon plotting how to kill her and capture the boy, for whom a huge reward is being offered. But the love of her governess and friends may yet save her.... This won the Smarties Gold Prize in the UK and is expected to win the Carnegie too. It's unputdownable, packed with old-fashioned story-telling virtues from a great plot to characters you'd love to know.
|
|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful fun for all ages, November 16, 2002
Set mostly along the Amazon River, this newest book by acclaimed author Eva Ibbotson (Which Which?, Island of the Aunts) was a wonderful, enjoyable read. It is the story of the orphan Maia who leaves her British boarding school to move in with some distant relatives who live on the mighty Amazon River, or "river sea." Before she arrives, Maia imagines beautiful wildlife and exiciting adventrues, as well as being greeted by a wonderful family who will love her as one of their own. Unfortunately, this is not how things turn out, as her aunt and cousins are extremely xenophobic, and will not allow any bit of Amazonian culture to infiltrate their household. Her uncle, on the other hand, is almost completely oblivious due to his fascination with his collection of glass eyes.Just as things are getting to be truly unbearable, Maia meets a young "Indian" boy who has a secret and needs her help to keep him from the place of his father's youth. With the help of her governess, the museum curator, and a young actor fearing his demise due to his adolescense, Maia is able to help her new friend and find the true Amazon. I highly recommend this book to all children ages 8+, and adults would probably enjoy it as well. The reading level is not difficult, and the story is definitely a page turner. Happy reading!
|
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing story, August 10, 2004
This comfortable, winding story will keep you reading. Maia leaves the security of her boarding school to live with relatives in Brazil after the death of her parents. She is hoping to find a loving family and is apprehensive about leaving everything she knows to live along the wild Amazon River. Her courage is further tested when she meets Miss Minton, the serious governess who is traveling with her. The wildlife, color and scents of the Amazon are thrilling her. Unfortunately her new family smells like bug spray and they live in fear of the very Nature that amazes Maia.
The story has some fun characters, Clovis, a young English actor longing for England, Finn, a mysterious and exotic boy who lives in the jungle, and a Miss Minton, a governess who recognizes Maia's sharp mind and nurtures it. The comical twins, Beatrice and Gwendolyn, are the proverbial "ugly stepsisters."
The story has an old fashioned feel to it, in the best sense. A missing inheritance, switched identities and the setting of the Amazon rain forest intertwine as Maia and her friends search for home.
Kevin Hawkes illustrates the book, as he has other Ibbotson novels, with humor and whimsy.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Show more editions and formats
Show fewer editions and formats
by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
by Eva Ibbotson
See all 9 books citing this book
