The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Reviewed by Sam!

What I drank prior: so I’ve had a bottle of wine with Parker. We caught up on Ted Lasso and then went back to Scrubs and I’m drunk and also exhausted so double duty.

I will also say that my right middle finger has a bandaid on the fingernail so the typing may be infinitely better than usual, so enjoy my typos friends.

Goodreads Overview:

A high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world.

As assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker, twelve-year-old Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future. In reality, her father is a conman—and in a kingdom where the status of one’s ancestors dictates their social position, the truth could ruin her. Sai seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn’t the only one aboard with secrets. When Sai learns that the ship might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands—a land of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining—she must weigh the cost of her dreams.

Drunk Overview: So this is a middle grade book about Sai. Sai is a poor girl from the slums who’s been faking her sociopath economic status and is an apprentice mapmaker for the best mapmaker in the country. Her dad is super abusive (emotionally, i think, not physically) and uses her for money grabbing schemes. ANYWAY, there’s a challenge that the empress puts out to find the lost continent of whatever for lots and lots of money. Her mapmaker master is invited to compete and he invites her to go along… once on the adventure, things go from there.

Spoiler-free Thoughts: this was surprisingly complex for a middle grade. Every character is complex and well rounded and has their own motivations. Incredible.

Characters: ok so not gonna lie I’ve had so so much to drink so i don’t remember a lot of names but because each of these characters were so unique, i know who they are. So I’ve got Sai, who’s awesome. She comes from nothing, has caught tooth and nail for everything she’s ever gotten and is so smart. She’s using the system against itself and that’s sort of fab. The mapmaker dude is also awesome. He clearly has a backstory and its mysterious enough that it kept me reading. Like, the money doesn’t seem to motivate him but WHAT DOES?! Then there’s the kid she finds stowed away. He’s hilarious and also smart and has his own history. Just wants to find his mom. There’s the nice chick who makes friends with Sai and opens her eyes to other points of view and other types of motivations. And then lastly there’s the captain, my favorite character. Just…. Oof i dont even know what to say about her other than i love her.

Plot: this is character driven. There’s a plot but it doesn’t really matter, it matters more about Sai and her journey and it’s beautiful.

Writing Style: so so cute. I hate saying that about a book but the writing style felt like a hug.

World Building: SOOOOOOOOOO cool. For a standalone so cool.

What to pair it with: This si a hot toddy. It’s like a hug and i loved it

Rating: 5/5 starts

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,
Sam