Journey to the river sea is an adventure novel written by eva ibbotson published by macmillan in 2001 it is set mainly in manaus brazil early in the 20th century and conveys the authors vision of the amazon river. An amazon adventure set in the wilderness of brazil journey to the river sea is filled with mystery and memorable characters it is 1910 and maia tragically orphaned at thirteen has been sent from england to start a new life with distant relatives in manaus hundreds of miles up the amazon she is accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own for making the journey both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences in. Journey to the river sea is just the kind of book i loved reading as a child it is set in the late 19th century ive always enjoyed those books more than the ones set in more recent times and is an adventure story with strong female characters and intelligent kids maia has lost both her parents in an accident she lives in a boarding school in london until her guardian finds distant relatives who are willing to let her live with them maia is very excited to have a new family . So i read journey to the river sea i have to report that yet again my wife was right the range and ambition of this book is extraordinary set a hundred years ago it follows the life and journey of maia an orphan girl as she faces up to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune she is sent from a well meaning but prim london boarding school to join distant relatives in the amazon jungle where she imagines she will find the loving family she longs for and has never had for a