drey’s thoughts:
The Underground Railroad has always fascinated me – especially the people who conceived of it and ran each station and provided the ways and means to get to the next – so I couldn’t wait to pick up Sarah McCoy’s The Mapmaker’s Children, a dual-timeline story featuring two strong women who find out that when life serves up lemons, well, you make lemonade…

Sarah Brown is the daughter of abolitionist John Brown, who figures out her family’s “business” and decides to use her artistic skills to further its purpose. She’s smart and strong, yet naive in her idealism. You know how people watching horror movies always have a “don’t open that door!” moment? Well, I had plenty of face-palm moments – i.e. whenever Sarah’s ideals overcame her common sense. (No, I don’t have a lot of patience for lack of common sense, but that’s on me.)

Eden has just moved to New Charlestown with her husband, thinking that this little town is the perfect place to get away from it all – including her latest loss. I disliked her at first “sight”. She’s rude, mean, and generally not very nice. It’s not surprising that her marriage is in trouble.

Finding a doll head in her cellar starts Eden on the path to finding Sarah’s story, and that, along with neighbor kid “detective” Cleo and roadside-pup Cricket, gets Eden back on the path to humanity.

I liked Sarah’s story, even when I thought she could’ve done things better. The history, backdrop, and societal norms of that time were so limiting for women, yet Sarah managed to work with her lemons and build a life that was meaningful. Eden redeemed my opinion of her by the end of The Mapmaker’s Children, and I credit that to Cleo, whose irrepressible good cheer is contagious.

I read The Mapmaker’s Children in spurts, mostly because I really didn’t like Eden and wanted to skip her chapters. I stuck it out for Cleo, though, and am glad I did. Add this to your summer pile for the days where you just want a chapter or two at a time.

drey’s rating: Pick it up!

I so, so, so wanted to love this book, but I've started it three times—with significant gaps in between—and just haven't gotten anywhere with it.

Loved this book
Didn't want it to end
Highly recommended

absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. Connecting the past and present made it especially interesting to me. I'd highly recommend this book!