What is the name of this fiction book?

OK, I read this a loooong time ago but this is what I remember.
It was about some girl who had a little brother and her parents were some kind of sailors they studied sea creatures and stuff like that. And i remember at the beginning of the book they pulled up at some dock cause her father was going to talk to some guy who made this girl feel uncomfortable always. Anyway, this father of hers always would tell her a story about some forbidden magical waters that would lead you to a magic island or something and then they were in a storm, the parents somehow were lost( I think they went overboard) and she ended up with her little brother on an island. A short time after vines from the jungle started wrapping their boat up and pulling it away leaving her and her little brother with no method of transportation. Then they met some crazy man on the beach. And they went in to the jungle, some kind of magical amazon or something. And they met some people who lived in trees and were afraid of some child kidnapper, ( a woman) who later kidnaps her and some other girl from that tree village. Then they escape somehow. And the girl and brother set out to look for the parents again and come across some village where their father was. And I remember pirates had a bunch of boats with names and it turns out her boat belonged to these pirates then at the end they find the parents and the dad almost dies.. I think the name of the boat was Pamela Jane.

Books like Alchemist-Paulo Coelho? If possible mention a little description about the book you recommend just to generate initial interest.?

Have any catchy title ideas? the story is about a cheerful and big dragon who fall in love with a grumpy small rabbit, a romantic comedy?

How do I go about writing the beginning of a story?

I'm really bad at leading into the climax of a story but i can write conflict and the end just fine. I get ahead of myself and then don't know how to "forget" how it ends up so i immediately want to go there without reasoning why. Is there a good drafting tool anyone can suggest?

Where/when would be a good setting for a time travel novel?

It's not about a particular event you would like to see, it's about the setting. For example, the Scottish Highlands have been SO overdone that they're right out. Can you think of any exciting, interesting times and places that HAVEN'T been overdone? Historians, any suggestions?