The Map to Everywhere #1 by Carrie Ryan and John Park Davis

My name is Fin, and no one can remember me. The wizard Ardent says it's not magic, but even he forgets me once his attention changes. Marrill is the only exception, and we have a common goal of finding our mothers. She says the Pirate Stream, a river of creation that touches every place and time from the beginning to the end of history, suddenly appeared in someplace called Arizona. Ardent says there's a map that can locate places you need to go, but it's been separated into several pieces. We've found one piece, but finding the second piece was a lot more difficult. I didn't tell the others that I stole a key belonging to a crazy, powerful wizard called the Oracle, and he's the reason the Gibbering Grove was left in flames. Now, he's hunting us down and won't stop until he has the key and the map in his possession.

This book told an entertaining adventure through the lands along the Pirate Stream. This flowing mass of magic would kill anyone trying to drink it, and it transformed objects that fell in. The kids thought it would be fun to experiment until a pepper shaker turned into a sea monster. Fin's character was definitely the most interesting. As I said above, everyone forgot him and some didn't even notice his presence. This helped him become an excellent thief, but it was upsetting that no one cared about him. For that reason, his motivation to find his mother was very powerful. Marrill's character created new difficulties for him, since she considered him a friend. He'd never had a friend before and wasn't used to worrying about anyone else. Escaping captivity from animated vines was more troublesome once he remembered Marrill was left behind. The Oracle's insanity amped up the suspense, since his vision of the future would result in the Pirate Stream's destruction. This would cause the obliteration of all lands surrounding it. Overall, the story was creative and kept my interest, so I recommend you give it a shot.