From a terrifying sail across the North Atlantic to an extraordinary Amazon River journey, the latest crop of fiction for older children and teenagers does not disappoint. Packed with gutsy characters (especially ones of the female variety), thrilling escapades and lyrical, compelling writing, these works cater for every possible taste.
It was no surprise to learn that Eve Ibbotson has an ongoing passion for South America and has extensively studied that part of the world. She is best-known for her fantasy and witch stories such as The Secret of Platform Thirteen. Most of her latest novel, Journey to the River Sea (Macmillan, £9.99 in UK), takes place in 1910 in the ancient Brazilian city of Manaus, 1,000 miles up the Amazon.
The book opens in an exclusive London girls' school, The Mayfair Academy for Young Ladies, and what at first seems old-fashioned and very Frances Hodgson Burnett develops into a charming and engrossing adventure novel. Maia, an orphan (in the great tradition of Victorian and, indeed, more modern children's books, such as the Harry Potter series) is sent from this safe and cosy environment to stay with distant relations, the wonderfully portrayed Carters, complete with nasty mother, eccentric father who collects the glass eyes of famous people, and spoilt blonde twins - Beatrice and Gwendolyn. When she meets another orphan, Finn, whose father ran away from his wealthy English family and married a girl from the Xanti tribe, and the wonderfully named Clovis King, an English child actor (also an orphan), together they plan a great journey down the Amazon to find the Xanti and save Finn from being shipped back to his father's family in England.
If it all sounds a little unbelievable, it is. But it's also great fun. Ibbotson describes the Brazilian landscape and wildlife in glowing colour; you can almost smell and touch the "watermelons bigger than babies", "the flashing birds" and the "litter of capybaras" with their "funny snouts and sandy fur". Overall, a delightfully escapist holiday read.
Witch Child by Celia Rees (Bloomsbury, £5.99 in UK) is also set in the past, in the witch-hunting era of the mid-17th century. Mary's grandmother, Alice Nuttall, is a witch, and when the old woman is burnt at the stake Mary is spirited away from England to America on a crowded ship with a Puritan congregation. On the difficult voyage Mary discovers that, like her mother and grandmother before her, she has "the gift" - the ability to see the past and the future, which, combined with her healing abilities, makes her a powerful but dangerous witch.
When the ship reaches its destination - the Salem of 1659 - the congregation makes its way to a settlement called Beulah, which is under the leadership of the sinister Rev Johnson. Here, Mary must gather all her wits and courage about her if she is to survive undetected. The meticulously researched historical detail is seamlessly woven into the story; the plot thunders along at a well-judged pace; and, in Mary, Rees has created one of the most rounded, strong and fascinating characters in recent fiction. I found this book so completely involving that I finished it in one enraptured sitting.
Sharon Creech is a highly respected American author who won the Newbery Medal for the wonderful Walk Two Moons, her first teenage novel. Her new book, The Wanderer (Macmillan, £3.99 in UK), is the story of journeys, literal and metaphorical. Thirteen-year-old Sophie, together with her three uncles and two male cousins, Coady and Brian, sets sail across the Atlantic to "the nubby green fields" of Ireland en route to England to visit Sophie's grandfather, Bompie. Along the way, they encounter a horrific storm and have to fight to stay alive. Creech captures all the majesty, force and unpredictability of the ocean in these powerful storm chapters. Sophie is an orphan with a tragic past and it's only through telling stories to her cousin, Coady, that she begins to figure out what happened to her as a child - and who she now is. The meticulously layered plot leaves us guessing the truth about Sophie until the very end of the book. Fluidly and competently written, this book is a joy to read. Creech's descriptions are refreshingly original and striking - The Wanderer was the only sailboat scuffling into the harbour where fishing boats were crammed, triple- and quadruple-parked, "as if it were a big city parking lot".
And, finally, the second part of The Wind on Fire Trilogy, Slaves of Mastery (Mammoth, £10.99 hardback in UK) continues William Nicholson's saga. When the Manth people are taken into slavery, only Kestrel is left behind. She must find her twin brother, Bowman, and together they must discover the secrets of the Singer tribe and break the power of the Mastery. An imaginative and highly readable book, part-fantasy, part-thriller, this is perfect for any fan of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights.
Sarah Webb is children's buyer and marketing manager for Eason.
Her latest book, Always the Bridesmaid, will be published next month by Poolbeg