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Adventure and adventurers. Juvenile fiction.
Cartographers. Juvenile fiction.
Imaginary places. Juvenile fiction.
Quests (Expeditions). Juvenile fiction.
Adventure and adventurers. Fiction.
Cartographers. Fiction.
Imaginary places. Fiction.
Quests (Expeditions). Fiction.
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)
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)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)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Soontornvat-s (
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Newbery Medal (Tue Feb 07 00:00:00 CST 2023)
Starred Review for Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal Starred Review
Horn Book (Thu Oct 03 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
A Golden Morning
I must have looked like all the other Assistants standing in line for breakfast that morning at the Three Onions Café. We all wore the same starched white shirts, gray trousers, and stiff black cotton aprons with deep pockets. The Assistant's uniform was meant to put each of us on the same level, making us equals for the one year we would spend in service.
What a joke.
We may have worn the same clothes, but it was still clear as glass where we stood. We knew without asking who among us had carriages and who had to walk, whose mothers held important positions on this or that council, which of us had maids and which ones had to clean out their own bed pots. No one ever said anything, but we knew.
I lingered at the back of the line, doing my impression of the shy girl: feet tilted inward, head tipped down, looking like someone who had nothing to add to the conversation. You could learn more about people if they didn't think you were worth talking to, and I had a whole list of other details I needed to pay close attention to if I was going to play along with them.
Hair: combed free of lice and braided lovingly by my "mother" (or even better--my "maid"). Fingernails: cleaned out and filed. Shoes: the right kind, purchased from the right shop, shined, and with nothing icky sticking to the soles. Spine: held straight, as if I were proud of where I came from and had a bright future to look forward to.
Grumble!
I coughed to mask the sound of my growling stomach. A full belly was the one thing I couldn't fake, and coming to the Three Onions in the morning only made the grumbling worse. The steam in the wood-paneled restaurant smelled of fresh oysters, chopped garlic, and green herbs. It took real effort not to stick out my tongue and lick the air.
Something felt different from other mornings, though. The kids in line were chattier than usual. A tall Assistant leaned her elbow on the counter while the others pressed in close, hanging on her words.
I called her Tippy because of the way she tipped her head back to look down at the rest of us. I didn't know much about her except that she worked for a Master Pastry Chef near the temple square. Tippy had always been popular and pretty, but that morning, she was glowing.
She laughed and smoothed her long braid over her shoulder. The light from the café windows bounced off something golden and shiny at her wrist.
So that was it. A lineal.
A pang of jealousy worked its way into my empty stomach. She must have turned thirteen the day before.
The other Assistants pushed in closer to gape at Tippy's gold bracelet. "Hold it up so we can all see!" said one of them. "Oh, it's so pretty!"
The others oohed and aahed as Tippy held up her wrist and gave the bracelet a little jangle.
"How many links is that--five?" asked another girl, unable to hide the envy in her voice. That spring, she had been the first among us to get her lineal. She touched it now self-consciously: four golden loops hanging from a brooch pinned to her blouse.
Tippy answered, a little too loudly, "Actually, it's seven."
Everyone murmured and pressed in closer to count the golden rings of her bracelet for themselves.
Each link in a lineal represented one generation of ancestors--ancestors whose names you knew, ones you were proud to claim.
In my mind, I let out a snort. With a background that fine, what was she doing as a baker's Assistant?
Suddenly, I realized that all the eyes in the café had turned to me.
Tripe! At least I thought I'd snorted in my mind.
Tippy narrowed her eyes at me. "You, at the back of the line. What's your name?"
"Order forty-nine!" shouted a shrill voice behind the counter.
Thank the heavens!
I squeezed past the girls to get to the counter, then bowed to Mrs. Noom and took the container of porridge from her. "Thank you, ma'am," I said in the meekest version of my shy-girl voice. "I had better be going. I'm already late!"
I could feel the other Assistants' eyes on me as I passed. I knew they were sizing me up. They couldn't look down their noses at me until they figured out which rung of the ladder I stood on.
And what if they knew the truth--that I wasn't even on the ladder? That in a few months, when I turned thirteen, there wouldn't be so much as a cake crumb, let alone a lineal celebration? I had no proud family line, no noble ancestors. There was exactly one link to my past, and it certainly wasn't made of gold.
If they knew the truth, they would think I was nothing.
And who could blame them?
Excerpted from The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
A Newbery Honor Book
A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Teen Readers
“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.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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.