Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

onyxdarkling
Aug 3, 2014
2 min read

Every October, the island of Thisby witnesses the rare and deadly capaill uisce appear more and more frequently on the beaches. The brave - and the foolish- attempt to catch the deadly, man-eating animals to race them in the Scorpio Races, which take place on the first day of November. The hard part of the race is not so much the route or the competition one may have with other riders, but the horses. The capaill are ruthless on race day, driven mad by the call of the sea. And when blood is spilled, more will follow. No amount of magic or charms can still the water horses, and not every rider makes it to the finish line.

The story is told by two characters. The first, seventeen year old Kate "Puck" Connolly, never planned on entering the races. But when it's her only option, she has to. Refusing to race one of the animals that killed her parents, she instead enters her normal horse, Dove. This alone would stack the odds against her, as the capaill are vastly superior in speed and strength to land horses. But Puck is also the first girl to ever race in the Scorpio Races, which is met with strong opposition from those that believe that only men should race.

The second, nineteen year old Sean Kendrick, is the returning champion of the races. But this time, the stakes are unusually high for him. Matthew, Sean's employer's son, hates Sean, and his cruel pranks and acts against the boy are taking a dangerous turn. Sean also wants to buy back his horse, Corr, from his boss. But the only way he can afford to do that is if he wins the races. And not many people can cheat death in the races a fifth time.

After a near-deadly encounter with a water horse, Sean and Puck strike up a friendship. But, although they wish each other the best, only one of them can win the Scorpio Races.

The Irish mythology in the story made for an interesting read, and this was actully one of the first book I've read that had Irish lore in it. I like how the author build up Sean and Puck's friendship instead of being a friendship-at-first-sight kind of thing. All over the characters are deep and give you something to think about, which I enjoyed. The story line was exellent, powerful, and very moving. The plot was well paced. All in all, 5/5 stars.