YEAR 6 BOOK STUDY
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Book Review
When I first picked up this book I didn't know what to expect but I was so entranced by the main protagonist, Maia, that I could hardly bear to put the book down.
The story begins with Maia living in London at a boarding school for girls. She had been orphaned two years earlier when her parents died in a train crash in Egypt. In the first chapter of the book, her guardian and lawyer, Mr Murray, arrives at the school to tell her that he has finally located some relatives who will take Maia in. They live on the River Amazon on the outskirts of the city of Manaus. The family have hired a governess called Miss Minton, who will accompany Maia on the long journey by boat to her new home.
Although Maia is looking forward to the adventures she is going to have, she is a little bit apprehensive. Before she travels she spends a lot of time researching in the school library and imagining what her exotic new life will be like. On the long sea voyage she meets Clovis, a boy actor with a travelling theatre troupe who are due to perform in the grand opera house in Manaus. She also gets to know Miss Minton who insists on teaching her some Portuguese to prepare her for living in Brazil.
Unfortunately, when they finally arrive in Manaus she doesn't get the warm welcome that she has been anticipating. The Carter family clearly do not like the Amazon and try to live an English life in the middle of the rainforest. The twin girls are spoilt and spiteful and are especially malicious to Maia. Fortunately, Maia meets a mysterious boy who seems to live on the river and befriends other people outside the Carter family.
The story gets very exciting but I don't want to give away the plot.
Eva Ibbotson's style of writing about her characters, where she often seems to leave things unsaid, somehow makes the characters seem even more real because you use your own imagination to fill out some of the details. This was a very original book, the setting, the characters and the plot were all unusual but incredibly engaging. I highly recommend this book to anyone, I would give it 10 out of 10.
