The Last Mapmaker

Starred review from February 14, 2022
Soontornvat’s (A Wish in the Dark) imaginative Thai-inspired fantasy centers 12-year-old Sodsai, who goes by Sai and assists the royal navy’s Master Mapmaker in the fictional Kingdom of Mangkon. While other kids gained Assistantships through familial connections, Sai landed hers by chance, purposefully obscuring her modest background. When the queen announces “a venture to extend the boundaries and glory” of Mangkon, with a hefty prize for those who succeed, Paiyoon invites Sai, who agrees immediately. She’s desperate to leave her “lowlife” father and delay the traditional 13th birthday ceremony during which kids are given a lineal, a bracelet whose gold links represent each generation of ancestors—“ones you were proud to claim.” Through Paiyoon’s growing guilt about his role in the empire’s expansion, Soontornvat deftly discusses themes of colonization and “discovery,” complicating Sai’s desire to visit the fabled Great Southern Continent, rumored home to dragons. Employing a presumed Asian cast of well-developed crew members with various skin tones and plenty of emotional depth, this high seas adventure deftly explores complex power dynamics and class hierarchies while maintaining a fast-paced clip. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary.

February 15, 2022
Grades 4-7 Though 12-year-old Sai is playing the role of an upper-class girl fulfilling her year of service as an apprentice to Paiyoon, master mapmaker for the Mangkon Royal Navy, she has actually led a hardscrabble life. Wanting nothing more to do with her con man father's schemes, she leaps at the chance to join Paiyoon on a voyage that might discover the legendary Sunderlands. Once she's aboard, Sai avoids a crew member who might recognize her, while ingratiating herself with dashing Miss Rian. Meanwhile, she discovers a stowaway, a boy named Bo, and secretly helps him survive. When disaster strikes, their only option is to escape the ship and seek shelter on a small, desolate island. The novel touches on many themes, from class structure to the effects of colonialism to the bond between children and their parents. Action drives the narrative forward, creating a real page-turner with intriguing characters whose individual goals lead to inevitable, sometimes violent clashes. Blending Age of Sail historical fiction, adventure, and fantasy within a Thai-inspired setting, this original novel will leave readers hoping for sequels.

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Starred review from May 1, 2022

Gr 3-6-Living a squalid life helping her conman father with his get-rich-quick schemes, Sodsai Mudawan uses her own cunning to secure an Assistantship with the Master Mapmaker of the Kingdom of Mangkon. Fortune favors her bravery even further when a declaration from the Queen provides an opportunity to join her master Paiyoon on a daring voyage to chart the shadowy Sunderlands, a region rich with secrets and sea monsters. The monetary prize attached to the expedition is just what Sai needs to free herself from her troubled past, but as her master wrestles with his culpability in the kingdom's expansion, Sai begins to have her own conflicted feelings over what she is willing to do (and sacrifice) to make her dream a reality. The spare, evocative prose immediately places readers in the hold of the story, and the Dickensian colorfulness of the characters and Sai's clipped delivery will have kids tearing through pages at an eager pace. Soontornvat brings a naturalness to her worldbuilding in this Thai-inspired landscape that will allow fans of magical realism and high adventure to find a tale worth cherishing. VERDICT A gripping story with multiple layers, including action, magic, and a thought-provoking through line of colonization and the role of manifest destiny, this original novel will leave middle grade readers wanting to journey through this land of dreams and dragons again and again.-Jose Cruz

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2022
Following Newbery honoree A Wish in the Dark (rev. 5/20), this is another middle-grade fantasy from acclaimed author Soontornvat. Sai comes from the humblest of humble beginnings but manages to fake it as assistant to Paiyoon Wongyai, Master Mapmaker of the Kingdom of Mangkon. Her exquisite skills with pen and ink are second only to Paiyoon's, perhaps even surpassing his as he ages. When Paiyoon is commissioned to chart the course of a royal ship en route through dangerous, mythical seas, he takes Sai with him. Deception, treachery, and temptation await her -- quite apart from violent storms, sea dragons, and a beleaguered stowaway for whom she feels responsible. Shipwreck and revelation come together, as Sai and the stowaway fend for themselves on the shores of a fabled continent. Class structure, imperial greed, and environmental ravages underpin the narrative arc of this fantastical adventure story, resonating with our own contemporary issues. At the same time, Soontornvat's Thai-inspired culture and geography provide a vivid backdrop. With emphasis on an intricate plot and quick, accessible prose, Soontornvat provides plenty of excitement while bringing questions of expansionism and decolonization to young readers. Deirdre F. Baker

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from February 1, 2022
Sodsai Mudawan has worked her way onto a ship sailing toward the unknown--as long as no one discovers the truth about her past. Twelve-year-old Sai is from the marshy Fens, an area whose residents are looked down upon. But with the right clothing and some quick thinking, she's earned an Assistantship with Paiyoon, the Mangkon Royal Navy's Master Mapmaker, at least until her 13th birthday, at which point, when she does not receive a lineal, or golden bracelet whose links represent the recipient's noble ancestors, her lowly status will be clear to everyone, including Paiyoon. Luckily for Sai, before her birthday Paiyoon secures a spot on a royal ship bound for the south--the direction of a mysterious, shadowy continent and rumored dragons--that is tasked with claiming treasure for the kingdom. Paiyoon takes Sai with him on a voyage that could finally allow her to move beyond the Fens, but as she sails farther from home, she will have to decide whom to trust and what sacrifices she is willing to make for her future. Mangkon is inspired by Thailand, and most characters are implied to be Asian. One supporting character has a parent from a foreign land that is allied with Mangkon, allowing room to address questions of exploration and colonization. Exploits on the high seas and complex characters combine in a tale full of both excitement and heart. An engrossing adventure with the feeling of a whole world to be explored. (map) (Fantasy. 9-13)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2022
Following Newbery honoree A Wish in the Dark (rev. 5/20), this is another middle-grade fantasy from acclaimed author Soontornvat. Sai comes from the humblest of humble beginnings but manages to fake it as assistant to Paiyoon Wongyai, Master Mapmaker of the Kingdom of Mangkon. Her exquisite skills with pen and ink are second only to Paiyoon's, perhaps even surpassing his as he ages. When Paiyoon is commissioned to chart the course of a royal ship en route through dangerous, mythical seas, he takes Sai with him. Deception, treachery, and temptation await her -- quite apart from violent storms, sea dragons, and a beleaguered stowaway for whom she feels responsible. Shipwreck and revelation come together, as Sai and the stowaway fend for themselves on the shores of a fabled continent. Class structure, imperial greed, and environmental ravages underpin the narrative arc of this fantastical adventure story, resonating with our own contemporary issues. At the same time, Soontornvat's Thai-inspired culture and geography provide a vivid backdrop. With emphasis on an intricate plot and quick, accessible prose, Soontornvat provides plenty of excitement while bringing questions of expansionism and decolonization to young readers.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)