The Last Mapmaker - Christina Soontornvat

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Author: Christina Soontornvat

Narrator: Sura Siu
Genre: Middle-grade fiction
Rating: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: An interesting story of adventure and coming of age with some magical elements and dark themes thrown in for good measure.

Story:
12 year old Sai, the daughter of a conman, pretends to be from a well-bred family to ensure a better future in her job as the assistant to Master Paiyoon, the best mapmaker in the kingdom of Mangkon. An upcoming expedition is to the fabled Sunderlands which many have heard of but no one has entered. Paiyoon grabs at the opportunity to be part of this trip, and Sai doesn’t hesitate at her chance to escape from her miserable life because the residents of Mangkon judge everyone based on lineage or valorous achievements. But the trip turns out to be far more than they bargained for. Will Sai get what she dreams of – a better life?
The book comes to us in the first person perspective of Sai.


Where the book worked for me:
😍 Sea adventures are so uncommon nowadays in middle-grade fiction so this one worked as a wonderful change of topic. It does complete justice to its tag of adventure.

😍 Sai’s character is carved very well. Unlike most MG leads, Sai isn’t a goody-goody girl. She has her dark and selfish side. So to see her make mistakes and grow towards personal betterment is a nice experience. Master Paiyoon’s character and a couple of other characters are also quite interesting.

😍 The story moves along nicely and quickly, with enough elements of suspense and fun to keep its young readers happy. There are some convenient coincidences but that is expected in this genre.

😍 Though a children’s book, it covers many dark themes and serious issues.


Where the book could have worked better for me:
😑 The blurb says that this is based on a Thai-inspired fantasy world. I wish I knew Thai mythology better to correlate this story with. I tried searching online for some reference point but couldn’t find anything to substantiate the content of this book. I enjoy retellings better if I understand what elements it has taken from the original, even if I don’t know the original tale completely. That didn’t happen with this work.

😑 Except for a mention of some Thai foods and the names of the characters and some exotic-sounding locations, the story doesn’t feel “Thai” at all. The dialogues of the child characters have a lot of UK slang.

😑 I expected more magical elements. It touches upon the fantastical bits but doesn’t go deep into it.

😑 I couldn’t figure out the relevance of the title. Who was the “last mapmaker”?

⚠ Trigger warning (No spoilers): There is a traumatic whale hunting scene. If your child is sensitive about animal violence, this scene will be too much on their emotions. Even I felt uncomfortable reading it.


The audiobook experience:
The audiobook clocks at 7 hrs 20 min and is narrated excellently by Sura Siu. I loved her performance and would certainly recommend the audio version.


All in all, this is a very interesting MG adventure and except for the hunting scene mentioned above, delivers to a great extent. It was my first book by this author and I am certainly interested in trying more.

My thanks to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Last Mapmaker”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

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