Journey to the RIver Sea

Journey to the River Sea by: Eva Ibbotson  Maia is an orphan who finally finds out that she has a home. She is excited to travel to the Amazon along with Miss Minton to meet her new family. Her uncle and aunt and her twin cousins. As she travels along the River Sea she imagines the possibilities of having a loving family and living in an interesting place.  She is sad and miserable when she reaches her family to find that none of these things are true.  Her aunt is strange and does not let anyone out of the house and her cousins treat her very badly.  She does make friends and is soon embarking on complicated series of events to help her two new friends to find happy lives as well. Miss Minton helps her along the way. I really liked this book.  It was pretty long for the 5th grade reading level that it is designed for. 298 pages) But if a 5th or 6h grader really liked reading it is an easy read for them.  The story line was great and the events that the character Maia has in her life make for wanting to finish the book to find out what is going to happen next.   I really liked the character of the governess Miss Minton.  She was really strict but had  a great heart and really cared for Maia. The way the book ends was something that made me happy at the end.