Escape to the River Sea

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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. Journey to the River Sea won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for reader ages 9–11. It was identified as runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize [1] and it made the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal; [2] the Whitbread Award, Children's Book; and the Blue Peter Book Award. Rosa Sweetman, a young Kindertransport girl, longs for her family to claim her after being the only child left at Westwood, a rambling country estate in the north of England, where she'd taken refuge seven years earlier. Carroll drives the story past friends old and new, alongside traditions, people and the fragility of the gorgeous, perilous River Sea world.... Read Full Review

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. 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. 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. 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. Many commentators have pointed to the way Hamas and Netanyahu engineered the recent conflict for their own political ends. But Hamas and Netanyahu are as much the products as causes of the conflict. The fundamental problem, as Tony Judt observed in 2003, is that Israel seeks to be both a democracy and “a state in which Jews and the Jewish religion have exclusive privileges from which non-Jewish citizens are forever excluded”. Judt, once a Zionist, came eventually to accept that the only lasting solution would be a single, secular, binational state in which both Jews and Palestinians possessed equal rights.Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times It’s a joy to rediscover ­Ibbotson’s original characters Maia and Finn alongside a new generation in this gripping adventure What a joy it is to return to the River Sea! Emma Carroll's thoughtful tribute to Eva Ibbotson's much-loved classic is perfectly pitched. Full of glorious adventure, it's a true delight. -- Katherine Woodfine It was a huge privilege to be allowed to review this adventure. Thank you to Emma Carroll, MacMillan Children's Books, and NetGalley. It's a joy to rediscover Ibbotson's original characters Maia and Finn alongside a new generation in this gripping adventure - The Daily Mail 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.

Miss Emily taught Maia in her boarding school before she left for Brazil. Miss Emily is very close to her sister, Miss Banks, and has a very strong bond with her. She is a comforting presence for Maia. She is in her 40s and is very kind. All the magic, heart and scope of Ibbotson's classic adventure - I read it in one breathless sitting." - Natasha Farrant 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. The Nazi occupation Vienna finds eleven-year-old Rosa Sweetman separated from her mother and elder sister, and evacuated to the crumbling stately home of Westwood, in the north of England. 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.

Characters in Journey to The River Sea [ edit ] Maia Fielding - An orphan (Main Character) [ edit ] Rosa is a lovely character, strong willed but also with flaws which is what makes her character so realistic and rich, she’s also very likeable.