Escape to the River Sea

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What an honour Emma Carroll had to continue Eva Ibbotson's legacy, and she ABSOLUTELY did it justice.

All the magic, heart and scope of Ibbotson's classic adventure - I read it in one breathless sitting -- Natasha Farrant, Costa Award-winning author of Voyage of the Sparrowhawk Captivated by the lush beauty of the rainforest, Rosa meets Yara’s lively family, who live on the banks of the river, and finds herself caught up in the adventure of a lifetime.Along with the children comes a rather more unusual set of evacuees – the residents of a nearby zoo. Rosa soon takes on the role of helping Billy, the zoo owners son, look after a puma called Opal. But seven years on, when the war ends, both children and creatures return to their parents and homes, leaving Rosa once more alone. When Rosa accidentally lets Opal escape, her life seems to become even more unbearable than the scratchy tweed clothes Lady Prue has her wear. In Escape to the River Sea, Emma Carroll has achieved a perfect balance of her own voice and staying true to Eva Ibbotson's original story. The story features familiar characters and locations from Journey to the River Sea whilst introducing the next generation. Seemingly deserted by her father, and separated from her mother and elder sister, she makes the most of her time under the guiding hand and watchful eyes of Lady Prue and Sir Clovis, owners of Westwood. Ever hopeful of news of her family that never comes, she is soon joined by other evacuees from all over the country. I would happily recommend this to fans of Ibbotson, and hope it also opens up her readership more widely.

The original is full of charm and this is absolutely a fitting tribute. This captured the same warm, comforting feeling that I got from Ibbotson's original tale, whilst bringing us a completely fresh and new story to enjoy. This second novel can be read as a standalone, or as a companion to the original, it works equally well as both. Professor Neville Glastonbury (The curator of the Manaus Museum) is friends with Bernard Traverner and Finn. He helps Maia with the swap of Finn and Clovis, and he helps Miss Minton find Maia. His wife died a few years ago. Escape to the River Sea’ would make an excellent Guided Reading text or work brilliantly as a whole class book for a class read or as a focus text. There are many elements in the story to investigate and discuss and which could offer inspiration for different forms of writing, including poetry. Emma’s vivid scenes and the rich language she uses are a joy to explore. Carroll has created something truly magical and seeming impossible - a book that is both the perfect follow-up to Ibbotson's classic, and yet entirely original. Rich, beautiful and compelling - I read it in one go. Absolutely brilliant. -- Katya Balen Escape To The River Sea was a very entertaining read. I was enthralled from the start. Emma Carroll captures and fires up the reader’s imagination with her stories.Yara becomes ore secretive and disappears early one morning, her twin siblings are not happy and with Rosa they go after her. The adventure starts here. It's a joy to rediscover Ibbotson's original characters Maia and Finn alongside a new generation in this gripping adventure - The Daily Mail It was a huge privilege to be allowed to review this adventure. Thank you to Emma Carroll, MacMillan Children's Books, and NetGalley.

The story is suitable for possibly y3 (depending on reading competence) onwards. It contains quite enough adventures to keep any child happy. This is the first Emma Carroll story I've read (despite buying in others for school) and I will definitely be looking out some more.A large portion of the book speaks about colonisation and the destuction of habitats with the impact on both native peoples and the local wildlife. The author portrays the bond between the young girl and a magnificent jaguar, who along with other zoo animals was also evacuated to the crumbling mansion in the countryside. This is to be a bond that will forever remain and is beautiful to see. All the pent-up love finds a release as the young girls pours her love into the big cat. Likeable (and very unlikeable characters) with depth of personality, engaging personal journeys, a beautiful setting and heart-stopping adventure come together to create a captivating story. Escape to the River Sea will now be at the top of my suggestion list. A modern story with a classic feel -- Kate Heap - https://scopeforimagination.co.uk Since one of the banes of contemporary public debate is the charge of “false equivalence”, often used to dismiss arguments without bothering to refute them, let me make clear that I am not equating Likud and Hamas. However degrading the Israeli treatment of Palestinians, there is freedom and democracy in a Likud-run Israel that would be unknown in a Palestine ruled by Hamas. What I am suggesting is that both Hamas and Likud play to the dangerous fantasy of a single state that caters for the needs and desires of only one group of people living in it.

The tragedy today is that on one side in the Israel/Palestine conflict, “escaping oppression” has come to mean rebuilding a Jewish state in Palestine and conquering Jerusalem. And, for too many on the other side, freeing Palestine has come to mean freeing it of Jews and of denying Jews the right to escape oppression. Whatever one’s views on Zionism, the aspirations of the 6.9 million Jews now living in the region cannot be ignored. Nor is corralling Palestinians into their own territories while denying them control over their lives any “solution”. From the river to the sea, “self-determination” in that piece of contested land that is Israel/Palestine can only be the self-determination of all the people who live there, Palestinians and Jews, in a single shared future. Finn Taverner is the son of Bernard Taverner. Finn is the real heir of Westwood. Sir Aubrey sent the crows to find Finn as he needed the son of Bernard Taverner to inherit Westwood. He was really adventurous and loved to spend time with the nature. He wanted to become a doctor who used many natural medicines and herbal cures. He had two personalities; one was the Indian side and the other was the European side. His main goal was to reach to the Xanti who were his mother's relatives. He was a true and good friend to Maia and Clovis. He had a boat named Arabella, on which he travelled and collected the medicinal plants of which he was so fond. The novel is set at the end of World War II as we follow a young girl who was sent to England from Austria before war started as she was Jewish. Her mother and sister were left behind. Now war is over, and she is looking and waiting for the post with a letter to say her mum and sister survived. The reader can ‘feel’ the tension and disappointment as each day passes with no news. However, she still clings to hope. I read ‘Escape To The River Sea’ on a whim given that I have not (yet) read ‘Journey To The River Sea’, it came up as an audiobook available from my library and had skipped through a few audiobooks that I just couldn’t get into. This was a welcome relief. Each setting is vividly described with the beauty of the rainforest and its creatures celebrated whilst highlighting the threats it is facing. Emma Carroll also broadens the story, developing a new thread and mystery to solve, but I don’t wish to give any spoilers..!Writing a sequel to a much-loved book that has deservedly achieved ‘classic’ status is no mean feat, but Emma Carroll has risen to the task masterfully. While it is a delight to meet again characters such as among others, Maia, Finn, Miss Minton and Clovis, this is a unique story with its own distinctive voice. It is such a relief that there has been no attempt to pastiche the voice or style of Ibbotson. Carroll is esteemed in her own right as an author of gripping historical adventures, and this is no exception. Escape To The River Sea by Emma Carroll is an exciting children’s historical novel that is guaranteed to entertain all those aged eight years and over. Beautiful and full of adventure, Escape to the River Sea is Emma Carroll's compelling novel inspired by Eva Ibbotson's bestselling, classic masterpiece, Journey to the River Sea. Along with the story of Rosa's friendships, first with Billy, then with Yara's family that, until she gets on a boat to Panama with Yara, she has never met, is the story of her parents and where they are, no one has heard from anyone from the time Rosa arrived in 1938.