This is an amazing book. The adventure is different than other middle grade books out there and it is perfect for middle grade readers. Excellent writing.

The Last Mapmaker is a heartwarming middle grade about Sai who comes from a difficult background, but through her apprenticeship with a mapmaker, ends up on the adventure of her life. I really enjoyed the writing and the character work. I really felt for Sai and what she'd gone through and overall I just really enjoyed all the characters. I'm not a huge fan of naval adventures, but I still enjoyed the plot for the most part and Soontornvat kept me intrigued. While it doesn't have a huge emotional punch for as an adult, I think many younger readers will really relate to Sai and enjoy her adventure. Highly recommended for middle graders and YA readers who like geography, sailing, and nautical adventures!

Thanks to OrangeSky Audio and Netgalley for an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I so loved this book and am so mad at myself for not reading it sooner! The audiobook was excellently well narrated and the entire adventure just felt unique and fun. This author can do no wrong so far - I am so excited for everything else she decides to write!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I really loved the vibes of this book. I loved that it was a historical fantasy, high-seas adventure. Sai was an interesting protagonist to follow; she made mistakes and her motivations were very clear, and she was easy to sympathize with. The side characters were very interesting, especially Master Paiyoon, the mapmaker. I wasn't a big fan of the little boy Bo who tags along with Sai, though. I found him annoying and distracting to the story, but this could be because this is a middle grade book and the author felt the need to insert some more humor into this story that deals with some dark themes like colonialism, death, and classism. I loved how this story weaved these important issues into a story that kept you entertained.

A beautiful story about finding family, belonging and fostering change in society. Sai is from the Fens, the destitute part of town, with no lineage she can rely on to get her a decent job. When an opportunity comes her way to be a mapmaker's assistant, she takes it and hopes that her true ancestry doesn't come to light. When the mapmaker ask her to join him on an epic journey, she jumps at the chance. Beautifully written with fantastic characters, you will fall in love with Sai and be rooting for her from the start. Highly recommended.

Fun, exciting, tense.
Compelled to keep reading to find out what was going to happen.
Loved the fantasy, it was just enough while still keeping the feeling quasi-historical and high-seas adventure.
Wish we'd gotten more of some characters, particularly her mentor and her father. I know it's exciting and high stakes to have this kid on her own, but I really loved the complexity of her guardians.

content warnings: classism, colourism, death, drowning, brief mentions of colonization/war.

Very cool read! Especially if you like boats and grand sea voyages. I hate boats and grand sea voyages but I still enjoyed this read immensely. Very cool to have some Thai-inspired fantasy in the middle grade world!

Thank you to Netgalley for the audio ARC of this book :)

The Last Mapmaker is a solid coming of age adventure story. It features interesting worldbuilding and a well drawn main character with interesting exploration of the role of ancestral stories in figuring out our own place in the world.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat.
The Last Mapmaker is a book that deals with social justice, honesty, and honor. Soontornvat creates characters that are three-dimensional and realistic. The suspense in the plot keeps the reader interested and turning pages. Once again, Christina Soontornvat has written a novel that will be easy to place in the hands of readers.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* 4.5, really liked this, would love if it was a series! liked the character and story, would buy and reread.

I really loved this one! Loved the characterization and the world. It stressed me out at times (why do characters make bad decisions!!!!) but overall was most enjoyable.

In a meshing of fantasy and adventure, The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat, tells an empowering tale of a young girl named Sai. Through the years, Sai has thwarted her low social status with cunning and ambition to gain a place as apprentice to the nation of Mangkon’s master mapmaker, Paiyoon Wongyai. Demonstrating an innate ability to recreate maps and transcribe words, Sai quickly gains trust with various tasks from her mentor. When an opportunity arises for Paiyoon to assist the queen on a mission to map uncharted waters, he accepts and invites Sai to assist him during the voyage.

Sai quickly jumps at the chance to leave her terrible life and criminal father behind. Her education in mapmaking continues aboard the ship while she also discovers the nuances of sea life. Drama and adventures ensue with Sai having to make decisions regarding her future path. Does prestige and the changing of her social status trump her willingness to endanger issues that Paiyoon believes are sacred?

Soontornvat’s storytelling is fast paced and enjoyable in this tale. I feel like sea adventure books are considered a thing of the past so it is refreshing to have this be the main setting. I also liked that Sai, along with some of the other main roles aboard the ship, were female characters. Sai’s growth on her personal path of discovery is authentic. She makes some bad choices and faces some difficult truths. There are also heavier topics adeptly touched upon through the story (social class, colonization, and the environment). The last two are pertinent in regard to how exploration of rich countries exploit and impact the land that is “discovered,” which becomes a central theme in this story.

4 stars for an imaginative tale that discreetly touches on serious topics. Special thanks to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an amazing read (listen)! Audiobooks always make me nervous -- you can love the author and hate the reader or vice versa -- but this was so incredibly done in BOTH respects. #ChristinaSoontornvat has created an amazing protagonist in young mapmaker's apprentice Sai. Her adventures on the high seas in search of the elusive Sunderlands make for an engaging read/listen for young readers. Dragons, seafaring adventures, mutiny, friendship, betrayal... what kid wouldn't love this story?

It's absolutely perfect for my middle school classroom! I can't wait to add this book and it's audio counterpart to my classroom shelf.

ARC provided by #NetGalley and #OrangeSkyAudio in exchange for a fair review.

Sai is the daugher of a con-man, someone who dreams of more. Although only twelve, she is a talented mapmaker and is able to play the part of a well-bred young lady. She is apprenticed as an assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker, Master Paiyoon, and joins an expedition to chart the southern seas. Her secret could ruin her if it gets out, but she is not the only one on board with something to hide. 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.

The Last Mapmaker is a story about following your dreams despite the odds and restrictions against you. It is also a story of classism, family, values, greed and ambition. Sai is a character who has a lot against her, but is willing to work hard, to learn what she needs to achieve her goal. She is kind, smart, and undergoes change in this story. I enjoyed seeing her develop relationships with the various secondary characters, Master Paiyoon and Bo - the stowaway who tries to steal from her. This relationship is one that adds some humor to the story and Bo has his own secret that is eventually revealed. I really liked the theme of family in this book. Sai and her father have a tumultuous relationship, but it is because her father is unable to provide for her as he would like to. It seems like he doesn't care about her, but as the book reveals that is not true. Sai chooses others to be part of her found family such as mentors (Master Paiyoon) and even Bo the street urchin. This is a MG story with some serious themes written in a way that is relatable to the age, as well as honest and at times dangerous. I recommend this story to those who enjoy fantasy, adventure and history. The audiobook was narrated by Sura Siu and she does a great job with this story.

✨ Mini-Review and GIVEAWAY ✨
My 8-year-old and I read this book together and LOVED it. It's a story of 12yo Sai, a daughter of a conman and assistant to Mangkon's best mapmaker. She sets out on an expedition to map the southern seas. In this kingdom, family lineage is everything, a legacy that Sai doesn't have. The voyage proves possible to earn her this honorary social position, but what dangers will she face along the way? Will she find dragons or riches in the fabled Sunderlands? Will she keep her secrets covered long enough to safely endure the voyage?

The writing is beautiful, and we've been alternating between the audiobook and hardcover versions each night we read. And check out this gorgeous cover!

It's set in a Thai-based fantasy world, and the setting was rich and colorful. The family stories were pretty well fleshed out as well. The ending felt a bit rushed, but overall we enjoyed this book and the world it created for us.

I was also really impressed with how this book tackled the consequences of "exploration" and mapping -- by mapping a place, it creates a draw for others to come and take from its people and natural environment. Mapping a place changes a place, and Paiyoon, the master mapmaker, argues that this is a heavy ethical dilemma that a mapmaker must bear. I thought this handled questions of exploration and colonization with great nuance for a middle grades book!

The audio narrator also did an amazing job with this book, making it fun and exciting to listen to!

Thank you to @candlewickpress for sending me a copy of the book and to Orange Sky Audio and netgalley for an audio version.

I was provided an advanced audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sai is a mapmaker’s assistant, currently living a lie as she pretends to be a member of the upper class in her native town when she is actually a resident of the Fens, essentially the poorest neighborhood. Sai’s father is a conman and Sai is desperate to escape her life. She ends up accompanying the mapmaker on a sea voyage to chart the seas south of a certain point on the map, but learns of and becomes involved in a plot to seek out the rumored southern continent.

I loved this book. I enjoyed the story and the characters, especially Bo, and have discovered that seafaring adventures are my favorite. I really liked all the twists and turns the story took and was surprised by some of them. I felt the narrator did a great job, although she frequently mispronounced “bow,” as in the bow of a ship. She did a great job doing different voices for different characters, and I was drawn in to the story. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC audiobook.

Description from NetGalley:

In a fantasy adventure every bit as compelling and confident in its world building as her Newbery Honor Book A Wish in the Dark, Christina Soontornvat explores a young woman’s struggle to unburden herself of the past and chart her own destiny in a world of secrets. 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. Vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, this tale of identity and integrity is as beautiful and intricate as the maps of old.

This is a cute story with strong messages about who you are as a person being more important than your lineage. I felt for Sai as she is trying to make a place for herself that is more than what she was born into.

Overall: 3.5/5

I’ve had a hard time deciding whether I liked this book. There were things about it that I loved: scrappy Sai, her relationships (especially with Paiyoon), the intrigue aboard the ship, the mystery of what awaited them in the south. There were also things I didn’t love, but I suspect that many of them were because of the audiobook narrator, not because of the book itself. Many of the characters seemed juvenile or unintelligent because of how their dialogue was performed, cheapening the whole story for me. I enjoyed journeying on the ship with Sai and but I also felt like I was waiting for the plot to start when the book ended. I expected a little more adventure mixed in with all the internal conflict.

I did appreciate all the author’s strong messages in the book. Sai is a young girl who’s always been told who she can or cannot be, but she uses her skills to make her own decisions and to find her own version of family. She’s not afraid to be proud of what she can do and stand up for herself, even in the face of bad parenting or social pressures or fear. The story teaches that anyone can choose who they want to be—that even society’s dictates don’t have the ultimate power. Sai is still very young, but I think middle grade readers would connect with her and see the power in her story.

Overall, a pretty good book with a mediocre audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this one.

This is an adventure story many students will love, particularly with the twist of fantasy.

The Last Mapmaker is a high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired world of fantasy.


Sodsai Medawar is a young woman’s struggling to unburden herself of the past and chart her own destiny in a world of secrets. She is the assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker. Sai is twelve-years-old pretending to be a well-bred young lady with a bright future. But in reality, her father is a commoner in a kingdom where the status of one’s ancestors dictates their social position. This truth could ruin Sai. She gets an opportunity to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, and learns she isn’t the only one aboard with secrets. Now the ship,might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands which is the home of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining. This voyage may finally allow her to move beyond her status, but as she sails farther from home, she must to decide whom to trust and what sacrifices she is willing to make for this future.

This book is vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, that middle school fantasy lovers will devour. I recognize the really excellent writing but fantasy is not a genre I enjoy.