The Uprising: The Mapmakers In Cruxia (No.1)

August 2, 2022

‘“Where are we? What is this place?” Sal stood, half asleep, beside the coach that seemed to have stopped in the middle of nowhere...’ begins The Uprising: The Mapmakers In Cruxia, by Eirlys Hunter.

This is a gripping story about Sal, Joe, Francie, Humphrey and their mother, Angelica Santander (all of whom you would have met in the first book, The Mapmakers Race, which you should read first), and their search for their father, Leopold Santander. This quest leads them to Cruxia, a town battling a corrupt corporation trying to take their burial grounds.

The book was a slow burn initially, but after a couple of chapters I started to enjoy it more, and quickly found that I couldn't put it down.

The journey starts with an airship (dirigible) trip from Porto Pearls to Cruxia, and then on to an infirmary where one of Leopold's friends is treated. From there, the Santander family goes to a hotel, where they see a group of old enemies from the previous book, and make a quick getaway. These events set up the rest of the story, and introduce the main antagonists, who you also know from the previous book.

I really enjoyed the characters, and although I couldn’t relate to their experiences, I still found that I could relate to their emotions, as they are written so well.

Sal, the oldest, is really good at maths, and she doesn’t like being a mapmaker as much as the others. Joe is the second eldest, and is Francie’s twin. Joe is ‘normal’, as he puts it, but he is like a living compass - he can always identify north, even when blindfolded, and he is great at pathfinding, which is quite useful in this story. Francie is Joe’s twin, although she seems younger than him. She is mute, and loud noises scare her. Francie is really good at drawing and she can ‘fly’ (kind of seeing everything from a bird's eye view, but she's lying on the ground). Humphrey is the youngest, and he likes to think that he is quite good at spotting things. Humphrey isn’t described as much as the other characters, and he seems to get in the way a bit.

I quite liked how the point of view (POV) character switched every chapter, I just wished that there was more from Francie’s point of view, as we only got her point of view when she was flying, and there was a lot from the other siblings’ points of view.

I really enjoyed this book, and I liked how the Santanders all have different skills. Although there are no adults for most of the story, the family and their new friends manage to save the day. This book is like neurodivergent siblings going on a steampunk quest.

A quote that sums up the story is: “Tell me, how did you manage? …” “We were cold and hungry a few times…But it was worth it. …”

Dylan is 13 years old and lives in Auckland.