'Journey To The River Sea' written by Eva Ibbotson

Eva Ibbotson has written over twenty books, but this is by far my favourite. I rarely read a book more than once, maybe twice if it's extra special, but this I have now read five or six times. Each time I revisit the book I discover a new meaning to something I hadn't really noticed before. 

Maia is living in a British orphanage when she is told she has relatives living in the Amazonian jungle in Brazil. Hearing she has an uncle, aunt and twin cousins - Gwendolyn and Beatrice, hugely excites Maia. 

She is given a new governess, Miss Minton, who accompanies her on the long journey to her new home where she meets her family and soon realises they are not quite was she was expecting. The twins certainly have key similarities to the ugly sisters in Cinderella! None of the girls are allowed outside, certainly not to explore and only eat tinned food sent over from England!

Maia then meets Finn. His mother, who was part of an Indian tribe called the Xanti, died shortly after giving birth to Finn. His father died more recently and left a huge fortune for Finn back in England, but he'd much rather stay in Brazil. How will Finn and Maia get around the two men that are trying to bring him back to England? A brilliant novel and, in my eyes a modern classic. 

Recommended age 9+

Published by Macmillan in paperback and is £6.99