Journey to the River Sea
Eva Ibbotson
 Maia is an orphan living in the Mayfair Academy for Young Ladies in England. However, word comes from Mr. Murray, a lawyer and her money management guy, that he had found her relatives that were willing to take her in, called the Carters. Along with a governess, Miss Minton, Maia goes by sea to Manaus, Brazil. On the ship, she meets a boy named Clovis King, who is traveling with his adoptive parents. He wishes to go back to England, to his foster mother, but the Goodleys (the acting troop) won't let him. Maia promises that she will go and see his play once in Brazil. The Carters aren't as kind as she had hoped for. Beatrice and Gwendolyn, the twins, seem to be strictly British and not the least bit active. So when time comes to see Clovis's play in the town, the twins lie and say that all the tickets had sold out and they had not bought one for her. But Maia wants to see Clovis, and she secretly slips out of the Carters house and tries to get to Manaus. When she gets lost an Indian boy takes her to the theatre on his boat. When Maia finally gets to watch(Little Lord Fauntleroy) Clovis is acting very well, but in the most important part, his voice cracks and the play is ruined.Later, Maia meets a half-native, half-British boy called Finn Taverner and finds out that he was the boy who gave her a ride to Clovis's act. Men, who Maia nicknames "the crows", are chasing him because his grandfather had wanted to be the heir of Westwood, the estate of the wealthy Taverner family. Finn doesn't want to go, because he is wants to travel up the Amazon to where an Indian tribe(his mother's tribe)called the Xanti live. Afterward, Clovis meets Finn to and Finn suggests that they swap positions because Clovis wants to go back to England and Finn wants to stay in Brazil. Clovis will pretend to be Finn Taverner and become the heir to Westwood, while Finn will explore the "River Sea", which the name given to the Amazon River by locals. The swapping is successful, and for a while, everything seems to be going fairly well. But then one day, Miss Minton disappears. She has plans to rescue Maia from the Carters by taking the place of Mademoiselle Lille, the governess to a Russian family, the Keminskys, Maia's friends Sergei and Olga and their parents, the Count and Countess Keminsky. While she is gone, the twins accidentally start a fire in the Carters's home. Mrs Carter tries to kill a bug but the sprayer lid came off, spilling onto the oil lamp, burning the twins' bedroom and finally the whole house. The Carters are sent to the hospital in the river ambulance, but Maia is left on her own. She is found by Finn and he takes her on his boat, the "Arabella", to embark on the adventure she had hoped for. Miss Minton and her friend, Professor Neville Glastonberry, chase after them by boat as well. They find the Xanti and for a short time, they live with them and are perfectly happy. Then a problem presents itself. Maia is singing for the Xanti, and the police from Manaus hear her voice and also find Miss Minton's corset, and, thinking they will rescue Miss Minton, Maia, and the curator of the Natural History museum, take them back to Manaus. Clovis confesses that he is not the heir and wishes to go home , but covers it up after Sir Aubrey has a heart attack. Finn goes to Westwood, his father's home.(to help clovis ) In the end , maia , miss minton and finn all return home ( manaus) and clovis "finn" became the hier.