Cara’s family is still learning how to deal with the accidental death of Cara’s older brother Nate when it’s time for Cara’s freshman year in high school to start. Things are pretty weird but Cara’s interest in art, particularly in drawing maps, seems to be providing her with some of the solace and healing she needs. She’s good enough that the art teacher at school recommends her for a summer program specifically for mapmakers. Cara’s world is rocked again when Damian, Nate’s best friend, introduces Cara to a side of her brother that she and her family never had any clue about: Nate was an artist too. And his last work is unfinished . . . Recommended. ( )

Great story about dealing with death and entering high school. ( )

Wow, this book was outstanding. I could tell from the first page that I was going to be hooked and that I was going to love it. It's all about Cora and her family dealing with the death of her older brother. All summer Cora avoided going places and stayed inside isolated, drawing maps. Maps of places that she wanted to go when she got out of her town. Then school starts and everything changes. She connects with Damian, her brothers best friend, who was in the car with him when it crashed. But he got out alive. Her family hates him, blaming him for the death, but Cora starts to see that he knew a completely different side of her brother, and that maybe she was wrong about him.

I could really relate to Cora, and her growth throughout the novel was brilliant. The way that her brother was a part of the story through flashbacks was great and I felt like he was as much a character in the book as anyone alive. Damian's character was drawn perfectly. He had so many layers. I thought that the romance between Cora and Damian was paced perfectly also. It wasn't a "boom they're in love" or a "I'm going to have them fall in love on the last page" thing, it was perfectly in between. I would normally tell about something that I didn't like, but I don't think that there was anything. ( )

A Map of the Known World is an elusive book. I cannot seem to grasp the right words needed to form a complete thought. So let us start from the beginning—my expectations.

I was quite ecstatic that it was actually written as a novel rather than a verse poem. I wanted to see how Ms. Sandell would use her poetic method into paragraph forms. Will it still contain the lovely lyrical melody? Or would it fall flat like a sinking rock? There were some scenes where I can definitely see the melody she once had in the Song of the Sparrow. It came alive when she described the artworks—vivid imagery and creative use of mediums. Many authors would have stuck to paint or graphite but she went out of the way and used organic materials as well as metals—moss, fabrics, nuts and screws. But aside from that, the tone was strictly basic. But still good nonetheless.

I thought that Ms. Sandell captured the relationship with Nate and Cora well. It was through flashbacks that she presented Nate before the self-destructive persona came along. The caring brother and his road to anger came and went relatively quick. I think that if she spread it over the course of chapters then it would have had a greater effect. But it was still nice to find little hidden treasures of Nate everywhere.

Damien, however, was in and out. I felt like he was forced into the scene then forced out. The relationship between Cora and Damien was iffy and tremendously fast paced for me.

Speaking of Damien, in the book she mentions that his mother is black and his father is white. It seems to me that international backgrounds are becoming less scarce. Think about it, first there were Perfect Chemistry with Latinos, then North of Beautiful and the Chinese background, and now Damien with his mixed heritage. I think it is quite nice to find an expansion of this. Either that or the authors are writing about some fantasies—oh la la la…I am so off topic now. Moving on…

Overall: A Map of the Known World was a creative and fun outlet. Fans of Song of the Sparrow will be pleasantly surprised by this latest novel. ( )

Cara’s family is still learning how to deal with the accidental death of Cara’s older brother Nate when it’s time for Cara’s freshman year in high school to start. Things are pretty weird but Cara’s interest in art, particularly in drawing maps, seems to be providing her with some of the solace and healing she needs. She’s good enough that the art teacher at school recommends her for a summer program specifically for mapmakers. Cara’s world is rocked again when Damian, Nate’s best friend, introduces Cara to a side of her brother that she and her family never had any clue about: Nate was an artist too. And his last work is unfinished . . . Recommended. ( )