by A.L. Tait
Book Review by Jubilee Anderson
Quinn is a farm boy, content with his quiet life, when suddenly he is chosen to participate in a race to the end of the world: a race in which he must be the first to draw a map of the entire world. He faces great challenges, including strange sea creatures and natives who want to kill him, but the greatest challenge of all is yet to come…
With themes of forgiveness, friendship, self-control, coming-of-age, courage, and maturity, this upper middle grade thriller fantasy is a perfect gift for your pre-teen boy.
I was pressured into borrowing The Mapmaker Chronicles from some good friends of ours. (Hence, why they were pressuring me.) I already had a stack of books and thought I didn’t need anymore. Apparently, I was wrong.
The themes connected to me so much. The line that stuck with me the most was, “You cannot change what others do. You can only change how you react to those things.” And I thought, “That’s so true!” The story leaned heavily on luck, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from giving Race to the End of the World 4 stars.
TAKEAWAYS: As I said before, I loved the theme of controlling one’s actions. I would like to add that as a Christian, I believe it takes God to change our hearts to not only be able to control our actions, but also to forgive. I wish Quinn had forgen his rivals instead of smiling at their misfortunes at the end. It’s not about what we can muster, it’s about what God changes in us to forgive even when they don’t deserve it.
Have you read Race to the End of the World? What were your thoughts? Let me know here!