The Girl of Ink & Stars

Adventure fantasy for older children set on an island in a parallel world, in which a young girl Isabella goes on a quest to save her friend, who has ventured into the dangerous and unknown heart of the island. Isabella is a cartographer's daughter and has a special affinity and ability with maps and navigations.

I liked the setting and the mythological elements, and at the beginning and the end the relationship between the main characters, but the dialogue was often clunky and the jerky pacing the most unsuccessful part of the book for me. It felt like there was about so many great themes in this book (maps, monsters, gods, the nature of myth, ecological degradation and disaster, injustice, political corruption, friendship, grief, fathers and daughters...) but most weren't fully well-explored and developed--just chucked in there and left to dissolve in mix. Characters were disposable, with multiple unnecessary deaths.

I would would given a lower rating, but in a week where I've been thinking a lot about the climate crisis, I found myself reading the final chapters as having poignant metaphor for the catastrophe the world - and particularly Pacific Island nations - are facing. Maybe the author intended this, or maybe not, but either way it made me glad that I read this otherwise patchy novel.

Isabella is the daughter of a cartographer and best friend to the Governor's daughter, Lupe. Her mother and twin brother are dead, and it is alluded to that the Governor's harsh regime contributed to their fate. When one of their classmates is found dead, Isabella blames Lupe and the two fall out. The next morning Lupe is missing; she's gone to find the killer and prove that she's not rotten.

In order to join the search party for Lupe, Isabella disguises herself as a boy. I'm not a huge fan of this trope; first off why can't girls have adventures anyway? Secondly, I find it hard to believe a haircut and some trousers is enough of a disguise.* Slightly redeemed by the fact one person who knows Isabella isn't fooled. Why are fictional fantasy worlds always a bit sexist? Demon dogs fine, gender equality? Nah, no one will believe that.

Isabella inhabits an alternate world, with similar place names but clearly a world without our level of technology. The island of Joya is based on the real life Canary Island of La Gomera. With all the volcanic activity of these islands I can imagine their mythology is full of danger from beneath, and this is brought through in the book.

As well as the supernatural elements it also has an undercurrent of colonial tensions. The Governor came from another land and took over the island. He brought it laws preventing the native people from leaving and split the island in two. If you break his laws, you are banished to the other side, never to be seen again.

I think it would be a lovely addition to your child's bookshelf though. And don't be annoyed by the fact it has girl in the title, for once it is actually about a girl! In the US, it's called The Cartographer's Daughter, but I was pleased to hear that the UK publisher didn't want to use that formula. She's more than just the daughter of a man, and it turns out she's just as much a cartographer of him, using ink and stars to navigate and create her own maps.