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Summary: loved this book
Review: if you like adventure,humour and mystery all rolled in one this is the book for you. i really enjoyed maia's journey. while soem conclusions wre obvious-the book was good fun to read.
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Summary: It doesn't have magic, but it's still her best novel
Review: 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.
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Summary: Too cool to miss out on!
Review: Journey to the River Sea is an awesome book! Maia is a girl who lives in a boarding school because her parents died in Egypt. She has no other living relatives, that is why she is in boarding school. One day her lawyer tells her they have found some of her family, living in Brazil. They arrange for Maia to live with her family, the Carters. Maia thought she would find adventure and a loving family who would show her the Amazon. Instead she learns the Carters are extremely afraid of bugs and won't step outside for anything. Maia doesn't really like anything about her new life, except her governess, Miss Minton. When one of her friends, Clovis, needs to get back to England, she hatches a plan to get him out. Into the story also comes Finn, who is a part of her plan for Clovis. This book has amazing adventures and much more than I expected. It also tells a lot about the Amazon and what life is like there. Eva Ibbotson did a great job, even without the magic and enchantment she usually uses. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone!
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Summary: The Absence of Magic was Actually a Good Change
Review: Journey to the River Sea is the story of Maia, and orphan that is sent to Brazil to live with her aunt, uncle, and twin cousins. Maia is excited about moving, and ready to explore the Amazon and make new friends. Unfortunately, things don't turn out picture-perfect as she'd hoped. Her cousins are absolutely terrible, and her aunt and uncle are nasty people who go beyond being condescending. Maia's life is ridiculously confined for someone living in a place presenting so many opportunities for adventure. However, things begin to look up as she finds wonderful companions and stumbles into a dazzling quest. Journey to the River Sea is one of those extremely satisfying adventure stories, and while the way it's put together is familiar, it is still an original read. Those who think that it is boring must learn that not all good books are laugh-and-explosion-a-minute stories. This book is filled with charm, and you won't regret reading it. Pick it up with an open mind and you will be very pleased, trust me!
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Summary: Journey to the River Sea Book Review
Review: Journey to the River Sea
By: Ibbotson, Eva
Reviewed by: J. Lee
Period:1 Journey to the River Sea is a great book! Maia is a girl who lives in a boarding school unfortunately because her parents died in Egypt. She has no other live relatives, and is forced to go to boarding school. One day later, her lawyer tells her they have found some relatives, living in Brazil. They arranged for Maia to live with the Carters, her relatives. Maia thought she would find adventure exploring and a loving and kind family who would show her the Amazon. But instead she learns the Carters are definitely afraid of bugs and animals and won't step outside into the "wild". Maia doesn't really like anything about her "new" life, except her governess, Miss Minton. When one of her friends, Clovis, needs to get back to England, she makes a plan to get him out. In the story, Finn, her other friend, is a part of her plan for Clovis. This book has amazing adventures and much more than I expected. It also tells a lot about the Amazon and what the life was like. Even though the author did not use magic, as she had done so in her other books, she has made another spectacular book! I like this book because it told of a great adventure that a little girl had. She had to make a lot of plans to get away from the twins and the Carters. Minty, Miss Minton, tries to help Maia escape the treacherous Carters and hide Finn and Clovis from them. This book was like going to a jungle and having fun. " Maia? Where's Maia?" this quote was significant in the book because Maia was thought to have die in the Carter's burning house but she escaped. Miss Minton found Maia and was able to run away from the Carters. "Would you like to be our governess?" Miss Minton was offered a job as the governess for Sergi. But she refused for she only wanted to be the governess for Maia. My favorite part of the book is when Maia and Miss Minton first arrive in the Amazon. The author of this book describes the Amazon very clearly. She tells you how the fruits look and how the people lived their lives by selling animals. This was like a movie but you get to watch it for free and you see the real deal. (no altering in the story)
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Summary: competent but not brilliant
Review: Maia is a well-off orphan in 1910 London sent up the Amazon to live with distant relatives. Accompanied by a stern, but ultimately Cool, governess she is caught in the conflit between the natural world and European civilization. Compelling characters, easy to follow, I saw every plot twist coming a mile away. A fine book for 4th or 5th grade, but nothing to get overly excited about. The way the omniscient pov was handled felt clumsy. ages 10+
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Summary: Journey to the River Sea
Review: OK--so there isn't a missionary anywhere in this book, but it is the type of thing that every person who has ever been on the mission field can relate to...
Before Maia leaves England to go to Brazil to live with some long lost relatives, her friends tell her about all the "bad" things she will encounter. The crocs, the piranhas and headhunters, however she does her own research and quickly finds some good to look for and tries to enlighten her friends about how she is not going to the "ends of the earth" but rather a new and exciting country where she will have great adventures.
Most of the people that Maia meets in Brazil are typical of those you will meet in a any "foreign" embassy, company, mission agency, etc. You will have those who miss trivial things about their homecountries and will never be happy. You will find those who refuse to have anything to do with the natives and their way of life and thus make both their lives and the ones of those around them miserable. You will have those who reject their native land totally (for various reason) and totally inculturate themselves...and finally you will have those like Maia and her governess who decide to look for both the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly to make it all "real" but also live a fuller happier life.
I am so glad that a friend suggested this book to read and while it made me homesick for the Amazon, it also gave me something that I can share with my daughter about the glories of just "living" rather than simply existing.
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Summary: Heartwarming story!
Review: Orphaned Maia is sent to live with her creepy relatives in exotic Brazil. This wonderful story has great characterization, especially of the twins (who remind me of the twins in Gormenghast.) It also boasts excellent research and description of life and scenery near the Amazon. It's a good story, though the end is a bit hard to believe.
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Summary: Wonderful fun for all ages
Review: 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!
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Summary: Best book in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This book is about a girl who goes to Manus, in the Amazon, to meet distant relitives.The Carters are pure evil. On the boat to the Amazon the girl meets a boy in the acting business.The story is about her adventures in the Amazon.I could not put this book down, it was SO good. I hope my review is helpful!
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