This week we are discussing The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd, Ch. 19-End.
Content Warning!!! This book contains situations and subjects related to: parental death, murder, blood, fire, kidnapping.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post is full of spoilers for The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd.
Discussion:
Jacilyn: Hello friends and welcome to our final discussion of The Cartographers! I could not guess what the ending was going to be, but I have to tell you - I extra wasn’t expecting this ending! The implosion of the Cartographers was awful to read. It really was like watching a car crash. The lies began to dig the cracks even deeper and it all came to a head so fast. Rom finds out about Francis’ collaboration with Wally and his cheating, she leaves, Bear has his own secrets and needs her help, and then there’s the final confrontation where Tam dies and all the maps were destroyed - supposedly. It blew my mind.
Michaela: I did not know how the ending of this was going to play out but I did already suspect Wally was actually William and that Tam was still alive. But I had no idea what was actually going to happen between all the characters and William kind of kidnapping Felix and then KILLING SWANN. My heart is actually broken. I know his kindness really made me suspect him in the beginning but I came around and he’s too sweet for this world. See the complete train wreck of the end of that summer in the flashbacks was just awful. I felt like I was seeing it through Bear’s emotions of just wanting the group to stay a family and it all just falling apart and ugh…just horrible.
Wally really lost it at the end of that summer. Burning all the maps while everyone was in the room. Sir, you are literally insane. “Killing” his best friend and putting others in danger included a three year old child. However, despite all that I still don’t know that I can fully get behind Tam deciding to stay in the town “to protect Nell from Wally”. Protecting the town and to make a map of it, totally get that part. But specifically to protect Nell from Wally is just, mmmeeehhh. Feels a little reachy. He put Nell in danger but not on purpose with the fire. Also would not the safest place for Nell and Daniel have been actually in the town that Wally could not get into? It's definitely on my list of suspend the disbelief for this book, which there is quite a bit of by the end of this book if I’m being honest. I did like it and it was super dramatic which we know I live for but there’s some holes for me personally.
Jacilyn: I am honestly a bit unsure about how I feel about the decisions that were made to protect Nell from Wally. I think that it was reasonable to think that Wally may be willing to hurt her or Tam if they stood in the way of his goals, but I’m not sure that Tam staying hidden was the logical choice. The thing that got to me the most with that, though, to be honest, was the fact that Tam was alone, in a phantom town, for three decades and somehow still seemed totally of right mind. I’m sorry, but there’s no way. Even if she was finding ways to communicate with Daniel, it still doesn’t hold up for me. Perhaps I’m just not good enough about suspending my disbelief for certain books.
Another thing I had trouble understanding was how in the hell Felix and the others managed to explain things to police. “Oh yeah, Tamara has been considered dead for the last thirty years, but really she’s just been in a town that only exists under certain circumstances. This guy, Wally, killed Swann to get to this town. Oh, and that same town has disappeared and taken Tamara’s daughter with it, oops. We’re gonna go get jobs at NYPL now thanks byeeeeee.” The book never addresses how they smoothed things over with police, but I don’t believe that even in this world of magical realism they would be able to manage this.
Michaela: How did that woman not need major therapy? And then even after being found her daughter immediately goes missing for months afterwards. But Tam just goes on with life and starts working for the NYPL. Literally stop it, there’s no way. Also people just being totally accepting of her literally coming back from the dead….please. I feel like this book has really made my suspend the disbelief ability struggle. Also Felix getting Daniels old position after literally only having like an internship and 7 years experience in a different field….make it make sense.
Along with my failure to suspend disbelief is the whole Haberson map. It identified Nell as the primary suspect and the police just went with it. But the map itself is explained and referenced in such an abstract way throughout this whole book that it gives Wednesday night crime show hacker character. Which I love those characters as much as the next person but in a book it just doesn’t work for me nor did it make a lot of sense since it was never actually explained and just referenced.
And since I’m on a little rant here. Nell decided to expose Agloe to the cartography community to not let anything like what Wally did happen again……Ma’am, how is doing that not making it even more possible for this exact thing to happen again and worse things. Maybe I watch too many crime shows but my first thought was that people will now use this knowledge to create hidden spaces to keep stolen goods or even people! Again I feel that it’s unrealistic and overly optimistic. This book is definitely a romanticized version of the cartography world. Also, how does she send the invites? Can she leave the town with her moms map or did she plot herself a post office. Also also, did Tam literally have to plot a toothpaste tube and a pringles can on a shelf in the grocery store to get her supplies to survive? Listen, I need this all explained to me and it never was and I’m so sad about it. The magic of the phantom settlements was the most interesting concept for an adventure ever and I feel like we didn’t get enough insight into it.
Jacilyn: I had similar thoughts when it came to exposing Agloe to the cartography community. Does that mean that people would then purposefully create phantom spaces or whole towns? That just anyone could do so? My mind immediately went to the criminal uses of something like that, too. It just opens up so many more questions, and I felt a bit unsatisfied that they weren’t answered. Although, I did enjoy the book ending with Felix receiving an invitation to see Nell again. I thought it was a sweet way to wrap things up, even though I really didn’t get attached to Nell and Felix as a couple in this book.
Well, friends, that does it for The Cartographers! Thanks for joining us, and we will see you soon with our next book!
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