Journey to the River Sea

Product Information

I’d give the book 4.5 stars, maybe even 5, but the writing/divulgence of the plot was a little too simplistic. I know that sounds petty, and possibly even is, but I actually think the author could have done better and that the book itself somehow called for more depth/delivery. A book that is almost lyrically beautiful….’Journey To The River Sea’ is choc-a-bloc with exotic plants and animals and ably supported by well-etched characters. Eva Ibbotson had apparently written this book in honour of her late husband who was a naturalist. And she makes a fitting tribute. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that you can effortlessly picture the rainforest in all it’s wild, damp greenery as it unfolds with each chapter.

Her books are imaginative and humorous, and most of them feature magical creatures and places, despite the fact that she disliked thinking about the supernatural, and created the characters because she wanted to decrease her readers' fear of such things. I hated this book as a child, and basically, my re-read as an adult solidified this. I can understand why I did not like it. I feel it was also very forgettable. All I remember was the harmful content and little else about the storyline.

Automated search

But then Maia meets Finn, a wild boy in a canoe…..a boy who’s wrapped in mystery and adventure and who will soon take Maia on an unforgettable trip into the fantastic and magical rainforest.

There is a foreword and a note from the author at the beginning of my book. The former explains the significance of this author (I had never heard of her before), the latter is she herself telling us what made her write this book.In Ibbotson's attempt to invoke racial discussions, there was further, assumedly, unintended racism. This undermines the intent of the novel and plays further into the "saviourism" trope. Ibbotson is also not exactly an authority figure when discussing racism against Brazilians and South American Natives. Although, I appreciate the critique of Western/British colonial heritage and imbedded racism/white supremacy in Western cultures. This was written in a way that reminded me of the books I read in junior school. It relit my ten year old self's yen for adventure and for things completely different to all I've known. Amidst her trying to evade her awful cousins, she is tutored by a wonderful governness, goes to piano and dancing lessons, meets a young actor as well as an old professor, some Russian aristocrats and a seemingly wild boy. And yes, all of them play a vital part in this story because almost nothing is as it seems.

She arrives in Manaus and immediately falls in love with the exotic fruits, the musical indiginous people, the eccentric theatre built in the town, the greenery and the wildlife. Unfortunately, there is nothing to fall in love with about her relatives. Neither the two adults, nor their horrible twin girls. And they don't actually like Brazil so there is no exploring the region, just going into the garden is frowned upon.Journey to the River Sea won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for reader ages 9–11. It was identified as runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize [1] and it made the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal; [2] the Whitbread Award, Children's Book; and the Blue Peter Book Award.