Journey to the River Sea: 9780142501849: Ibbotson, Eva, Hawkes, Kevin

With the memorable characters and plot twists she brings to her best-selling fantasies, acclaimed author Eva Ibbotson has written a hair-raising novel, set in turn-of-the-last-century Brazil.Accompanied by Miss Minton, a fierce-looking, no-nonsense governess, Maia, a young orphan, sets off for the wilderness of the Amazon, expecting curtains of orchids, brightly colored macaws, and a loving family.

But what she finds is an evil-tempered aunt and uncle and their spoiled daughters.