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January 19, 2023 by Steven Engelfried 10 Comments

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: THE LAST MAPMAKER by Christina Soontornvat

January 19, 2023 by Steven Engelfried   10 comments

Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Angela Erickson

Two-time Newbery Honoree Christina Soontornvat’s fantasy adventure THE LAST MAPMAKER invites readers to accompany Sai, a scrappy 12-year-old mapmaking apprentice, on a ship chartered for a voyage to lay claim to a mysterious continent. The journey itself is an exciting and dangerous one; however, perhaps more compelling to readers of all ages is the intrigue in discovering that each character aboard the ship has their own agenda for participating on the expedition. 

There are two Newbery criteria that I wish to highlight that make this story particularly compelling to kick off this discussion: 

Delineation of characters

Sai is a survivor. Even though she has been raised in a morally ambiguous environment, she has a strong sense of integrity. Nonetheless, she is an unreliable narrator insofar as she is naive to many of the situations surrounding her. Readers experience the world through Sai’s limited perspective, but Soontornvat deftly weaves in secondary characterization so that readers have a growing awareness that not everything is quite how Sai perceives it to be. This nuanced characterization is not easy but Soontornvat makes it seem so.

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Interpretation of the theme or concept

Soontornvat introduces her readers to some heavy conceptual understandings related to classism, animal cruelty, exploitation of natural resources, and colonialism, but handles them in a way that is age-appropriate and relevant for her young readers. 

Sai and all the characters on the ship must navigate a society that adheres to a rigid social class system as is shown in various passages when lineals, chain-link items of jewelry that act as social class indicators, are described or discussed. This system of refusing mobility to its citizenry is further reinforced by having a founding ideology “The Tail is the Teeth” which is a visual metaphor describing that one can never escape one’s past.

However, the larger overarching theme is about colonialism and offers a commentary about one country’s ambition to lay claim over another land and exploit its people and resources. Soontornvat handles this particularly well when Paiyoon explains the probable future impact of a voyage like the one they are on: 

“Do you know what it looks like for one country to take over another? Do you know what happens to the people who live there?”

The question sent a shiver through me. I swallowed and shook my head as Paiyoon stood up slowly and began to pace the room.

“How about Wilna and Dusak, all those faraway places that our Queen has never set foot on but now claims for her own? They have been stripped of their forests, mines have been dug into their mountainsides like open wounds, and their people have been given no choices but to work in them. Mangkon has grown into a bloated beast, devouring all her neighbors. And how does she find her next meal? She uses my maps.”  (p 232)

It is a writerly challenge to avoid being heavy-handed and overly moralistic when it comes to sharing these ideas with young readers, but since Soontornvat allows her reader to learn alongside her naive narrator, this novel works and therefor should be a strong contender for the Newbery.

Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Please start with positive observations first; stick to positives until at least three comments have been posted or we reach 1:00 pm EST. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!

Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock

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About Steven Engelfried

Steven Engelfried was the Library Services Manager at the Wilsonville Public Library in Oregon until he retired in 2022 after 35 years as a full-time librarian. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily Mroczek says

    January 19, 2023 at 11:34 am

    Thanks for writing our final post Angela! This one has been a Heavy Medal favorite and Betsy Bird named it her Newbery pick- https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/01/18/final-prediction-edition-newbery-caldecott-2023/

    I really appreciated Sai’s character and here development. That is something not easy to do. And I also think the secondary characters were excellently portrayed… with their good sides/ bad sides and (confusion on if they were “bad or good”).

    . I’m still team Ogress and the Orphans over here (you can read me and Steven’s comparison post) https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/01/18/final-prediction-edition-newbery-caldecott-2023/

    Reply
  2. Roxanne Feldman says

    January 19, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    I find many positive traits in this book – and one thing I thoroughly appreciated is how effortlessly and organically the author incorporates women in positions of power: building a world where there is no pause of consideration of men and women being equals. And these women also form a complete tapestry of reliable, honorable, and also villainous characters. Wondering about how others feel about this book. Also – HI, Heavy Medal!!! It’s been too long 🙂

    Reply
  3. Maura Bayliss says

    January 19, 2023 at 1:16 pm

    My top pick keeps changing — a wonderful problem to have. I loved the female power vibe of this book as Roxanne mentioned. Sai’s emotional evolution was so well done, from her desperation to escape Fens to weighing her options, risking betraying of Paiyoon, to self reliance and eventually confidence and resilience. Angela mentioned that the author made it look easy and I agree, since it was complicated and plot details had to coincide with Sai’s changing thoughts and feelings. I admire Soontornvat’s ability to keep it all straight while writing beautiful prose. Combined with her ability to teach about colonialism in a subtle way while wrapping it all up in a high seas adventure, I’m retracing my steps to read more from this author. This is high on my list but I still have a giant soft spot for VIOLET AND JOBIE for some of the same reasons: a female character who also evolves as depicted by a skilled author who maintains the theme throughout and keeps the reader entertained through adventure.

    Reply
  4. Aryssa says

    January 19, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    I so loved this book, and I’m not usually a more adventure-book reader. Soontornvat is such a strong writer and engages readers so effortlessly with her prose. The world building this has is stunning. I think the themes stay well-atuned to children’s needs as readers without becoming too pedantic as Maura points out.

    Reply
  5. Kate McCarron says

    January 19, 2023 at 3:27 pm

    I agree with Angela in that the characterization is what makes this book so exceptional. I have always been a Christina Soontornvat fan and this book does not disappoint. I love that characters have depth; they are not one dimensional. While many of their actions may be evil and manipulative and motivated by greed (aka Rian) you do see her take a risk to feed the theft who was outcast from the Prosperity. Mud is seemingly a bad guy who wants Sai to forge a letter, chases after Sai, takes her money yet it is later revealed he left the money tin for her when she returned to Fens. His love was apparent as he attempted to provide the best birthday for her (although it was all gotten illegally) I love Sai’s relationship with Bo as well as with Master Paiyoon. I still am unsure about the top honor. Many of the books meet Newbery criteria. I am interested to listen and learn how to pare the list!

    Reply
  6. Jenny Arch says

    January 19, 2023 at 8:10 pm

    THE LAST MAPMAKER is an adventure story, a fantasy (thar be dragons!), a coming-of-age tale, and a critique of imperialism, colonialism, and unequal societies. It’s elegant, exciting, and a deeply satisfying read; Sai is a character with much to learn, but great integrity and grit. The seafaring adventure reminded me of LALANI OF THE DISTANT SEA by Erin Entrada Kelly and THE LEFT-HANDED FATE by Kate Milford, though this book’s themes were different – and, as others have said, delicately handled, so that they are clear but not didactic. Exploration, “discovery,” and colonialism (“Do you know what it looks like for one country to take over another? Do you know what happens to the people who live there?”) and humans’ desire to transcend the limits imposed by a hierarchical society, and do so with a moral compass (” I cannot change the path behind me….But I can chart a new course ahead”). This is a very strong contender and could be a winner, though it didn’t get me in the heart the way VIOLET & JOBIE and THE ROVER’S STORY did.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer Whitten says

    January 19, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    Angela your introduction was helpful for me to see the way Soontornvat developed different themes. It helped me relook at this book as a Newbery contender. When I read it initially, I loved it and thought a strong contender but then the ending felt too neat and contrived. Now I am reconsidering this one after reading the discussion comments!

    Reply
  8. Amanda Bishop says

    January 20, 2023 at 9:30 am

    Thanks for the great introduction! I think you described this book perfectly. I absolutely loved the theme of this book and the complex social structure Soontornvat created. Sai was a delightful character to follow and I loved her journey as well as the other characters. I liked how you pointed out her naivety and how that shaped how she interacted with others on the ship.

    I think this is a strong contender for the Newbery this year.

    Reply
  9. Courtney Hague says

    January 20, 2023 at 3:06 pm

    I completely agree. This book shines in so many areas. I think the characters are very believably written and nuanced. But the way the themes are so effortlessly woven into this book really elevates it for me. This did not feel heavy-handed even when the themes were themselves heavy.

    Reply
  10. Ellen Peterson says

    January 20, 2023 at 10:04 pm

    I really enjoyed this book. I think the theam and characters are done well. I think the setting is good. This book wad able to keep me engaged throughout with some twists I wasn’t expecting. It could have had a bit more development at the beginning and the end was a little rushed but overall still a really enjoyable book. This has been a top contender for me for a while though after thinking about it and seeing others comments I wouldn’t say it’s number one anymore. I could defently see this getting an honer.

    Reply

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