REVIEW: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvator

Description

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shiver and Linger comes a brand new, heartstopping novel.
With her trademark lyricism, Maggie Stiefvater turns to a new world, where a pair are swept up in a daring, dangerous race across a cliff--with more than just their lives at stake should they lose.

About the Author

Maggie Stiefvater is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels Shiver, Linger, and Forever. She is also the author of Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception and Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children.

Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (October 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 054522490X
• ISBN-13: 978-0545224901

SOURCE:  AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

***slight spoilers***

Kate (Puck) Connelly's parents are dead, leaving her and her two brother orphans.  The cause of their death is a Sea Horse,  Capaill Uisge, a horse that is born of the sea, but unlike anything you have ever heard of before.  These horses are ruled by the magic of the sea and surface to hunt what ever is in their path with true viciousness.  Kate is an excellent rider and has a mare named Dove.   Sean Kendrick works in the stable of a horse racing magnet on Thisby, a vaguely Irish island which has modern features, but also old fashioned.  He is a paranormal horse whisperer and can communicate and coerce the water horses with his incantations and touch.  He has won the last four of six Scorpio Races on Corr, a horse he has an incredible bond with and unlike any other rider of the capaill. 

Puck and Dove enter the Scorpio Race in order to save her family home from the landowner and racing magnet, who is also Sean's boss. Although Dove is not a water horse, Puck has trained her to race with them and tolerate their ferociousness.  The story builds as Puck and Sean train for the climatic race which takes place every November.  At the beginning of this story, I wasn't expecting any romance, but one does develop between Puck and Sean quite naturally.  The weird ambiance of the island even adds to the pair to make them more perfectly matched in their single mindedness when it comes to horses and life in general. I am giving away the bit of detail about their romance, but nothing about the race itself which has a thrilling conclusion.

I truly enjoyed this fantasy.  It was an effortless read and wasn't easy to predict where the story would go.  Kate's nickname of Puck is very apt since she has a "puckishness" about her.  Sean is very likable even though he cuts himself off from most people except the horses.  I love the strength of each character and how they work together while not losing site of their goals.  There are some violent images throughout the story with a few kisses here and there, but overall safe for those over 13.