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'Mapmaker' Book Club: Day 3 [end]
By: OwlCrate Jr![Mapmaker Book Club: Day 3 [end]](http://www.owlcrate.com/cdn/shop/articles/OwlCrateJR_BookClub_October22-1_pico.png?v=1666216333)
“Home is wherever we are together.”
Today we are covering pages 201 through to the end of MapMaker by Lisa Moore Raméw! When we left off, Walt was starting to feel suspicious about Fenn's intentions. Let's find out what happens next...
Take it away, Cheryl!
The Story Continues . . .
Walt’s instincts are right! Fenn disappears but quickly returns with a snack for the group - some delicious brown bean pods … but turns out they’re poisonous! Walt, Van, and Dylan all fall asleep!
They wake up to discover Canter (the angry patrol officer from the 7-11, who dislikes Walt and all mapmakers). Fenn has made a deal with him: trade in the mapmaker for a wishing talisman that he can use to wish his family back. Apparently Fenn made a bad wish before that resulted in everyone in his village disappearing! Canter clamps caged metal handcuffs over Walt’s hands and through the use of one of his special ray guns opens a portal to another world that he and Walt disappear into!
They arrive in a desolate place with dead trees, puce green clouds, the smell of rot, and terrifying, misshapen creatures. This is Bliss, Canter’s home. Canter has the ability to smell magic and Statica destroyed Bliss when Canter refused to use his ability to find Walt and deliver him to Statica. Canter agrees to take off the hand cages if Walt tells him where to find Statica. But when Walt tells Canter that Statica is at the Windmill, he removes the cuffs and abandons Walt!!
Things are looking pretty bleak. Walt has no way to escape, it’s freezing, and dangerous creatures are stalking nearby. But then, a loud whoosh, and Van, Dylan, and Fenn (a little worse for the wear after a run in with Van’s fists) appear! They were able to use the time machine to find him!
Fenn feels badly, he didn’t realize Canter’s plan, he just wanted the magical talisman to get his family back. Walt knows Canter won’t be able to best a mapmaker - only a mapmaker can fight a mapmaker - and forms a plan. Using Fenn’s magical talisman he wishes for a pencil, eraser, and map of Djaruba and he quickly draws a portal that connects Bliss to Djaruba that they escape through.
Back in Djaruba Walt and Fenn leave behind an unwilling Van & Dylan and fly off to the Windmill upon Heckett. Walt’s plan is to use the compass (that his landlord neighbour gifted him) to draw a “cloaking” circle around him, hopefully rendering him (and his ideas) invisible to Statica. Fenn will then go into the Windmill and tell Statica that he will deliver Walt to him in exchange for bringing back his family. Once the people are safely back, Walt will use the eraser to erase Statica…
So, as plans go, it wasn’t perfect. Immediately upon entering the windmill they discover that Canter ran into serious trouble and may even be dead as he is lying on the floor covered in thick, red rope things that may or may not be bloodsuckers? Ewww… Fenn abandons Walt and Statica, even though he can’t see him, can smell him and knows he is there.
Statica seems nice, sweet talking Walt about the plight of Mapmakers. He lures Walt in to see the beautiful map he is working on and grabs Walt! Quickly everything about Statica changes - no longer sweet talking he now tells Walt it is the job of Mapmakers to cull and destroy worlds! Statica will destroy Earth or Djaruba —Walt can make that impossible choice— and he will keep Walt as his prisoner, in a nest of glowing eel-like creatures that will siphon & drain his energies for Statica’s personal use.
But Walt fights back by stabbing Statica with his compass needle and getting out of his grasp. A blast outside distracts them as the windmill sails catch on fire and then Van, Dylan and Fenn emerge from the stairs. A lot of back and forth scuffling commences but ultimately the group get the better of Statica and push him into the nest of eels and escape with the maps! They rescue Canter by using his business card that he gifted Walt back at the 7-11, and he is magically transported to them. Walt quickly gets to work erasing the windmill from the map - bye bye Statica and evil bloodsucking creatures - and draws back into existence Fenn’s town and family. He draws and draws until he passes out!
He awakes woozy, but okay, Canter gives him a magical talisman that is good for one wish, before he departs. They say goodbye to Fenn and Heckett with promises to return and then it’s back home via the time machine!
They quickly find their parents - but they are frozen in place - apparently their landlord neighbour is a witch after all and has cast a little “freezing spell” to buy them time. She says Van has powers too that will someday awaken! She undoes the spell, Walt finally tells his dad he doesn’t actually like football and doesn't want to go to camp - and he takes it surprisingly well! The tired and hungry trio celebrate with pizza, while making plans for tomorrow. Only one question remains: How will they ever top this day??
Discussion Questions:
- Some teasers were left open at the end of the book: Van may have her own powers and Statica likely isn’t dead. Do you think there will be a sequel? If there is a sequel whose point of view would you like to hear from next time? (I vote for Van!)
- Mapmaker gave me strong StrangeWorlds Travel Agency vibes … are there any other books it reminded you of?
- What are your overall thoughts on the book? Who would you recommend this story to?
