The Last Mapmaker

When twelve-year-old Sai is invited on a special quest for the Queen as Mapmaker Paiyoon’s apprentice, she accepts and hopes to leave behind the secrets that could threaten her status. But her adventures on the ship take her on the ultimate journey of self-discovery as she faces danger, death, dragons, and uncovered secrets. Themes of family, identity, friendship, prejudice, anti-colonialism, and environmentalism are broached in this suspenseful fantasy novel, making it a suitable choice for independent reading in an intermediate classroom. Because it can complement Social Studies units on colonialism, government, human rights, and discrimination, teachers may include it in their collection and connect it to literacy activities surrounding these themes.