The Scorpio Races ~ Maggie Stiefvater
“It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.” ~GoodReads Description
Brittney Joy’s Review ~ I’ve had “The Scorpio Races” on my to-read list FOREVER because I continuously hear such great things about Stiefvater’s writing. Plus, a fantasy book with horses? Yes, please. Here’s what I discovered — I found a new favorite author and I will be devouring every Stiefvater book I can get my hands on!
The Scorpio Races was not exactly what I expected. I wasn’t sure what a “water horse” was or what a “scorpio race” would consist of. What I found, was that water horses are a mythical creatures that come from the sea, eat meat, and will kill you if you turn your back on them. Yikes! And, the Scorpio Race is a “horse” race in which the winner takes all and you might not make it out alive. This was not my normal warm-and-fuzzy-horse-book read. In fact, there’s only one real horse in this Story (Puck’s horse, Dove) and I was continuously scared for her life. Still, even using mythical creatures, this story shows the strong, intuitive connection between human and horse — even when that “horse” has the capability of being a monster.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat, especially towards the end. Once the actual race started, I knew I was not capable of putting the book down and I had to finish it — to see what happened. From the very beginning of this book, I had a sense that Stiefvater was the type of writer that was capable of “killing off her darlings.” In other words, I didn’t know which characters would make it to the end of this book and the fear of that kept me glued to the story. Basically, I was worried for everyone.
Also, Stiefvater writing is hauntingly captivating. The setting (an island) comes to life on the page. The horses (real and mythical) are written as characters (not background) and it became obvious to me that Stiefvater is a rider herself. Futhermore, The Scorpio Races is written in dual point-of-view…my favorite! I loved the rotating perspective between Sean & Puck and I was rooting for both characters in the race. The dual POV made the race extremely intense… because there’s only one winner, right?
One of my favorites. I’d definitely recommend to all fantasy readers.
“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”