THE SCORPIO RACES

1.    BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stiefvater, Maggie. 2011. The Scorpio Races. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 054522490X

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Each year on Thisby Island, the water horses come from the sea.  They are brutal, flesh eating beasts that the bravest people of Thisby like to capture, ride, and race in the Scorpio Races.  At nineteen years of age, Sean Kendrick is the reigning champion who has a special way with the creatures, one that no one else seems to understand.  Puck Connelly is a young woman who has lost her parents and will soon lose everything else if she does not compete in and win the races.  This book is about the island, the people, the horses, and the unlikely partnership of two people who, for their own reasons, desperately need to win The Scorpio Races.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Sean Kendrick and Puck Connelly take turns narrating this riveting, mystical story about faerie type horses that live in the sea most of the year and the people of Thisby Island whose culture is shaped by them.  Both characters quietly stir the hearts of the readers with their melancholy stories and their hope for the future, but each has an individual voice that offers unique insight into the plot.  The descriptions of the island and the mysterious capill usice, or water horses, are vivid and integral to the creation of the beautiful, yet intense, mental images of this fantasy place.  Amazingly, even the frightening sea horses draw compassion from the reader through the masterful telling of this story.  The book reads like realistic fiction with the exception of the horses, so it feels very believable, like Thisby could almost be real.

Puck’s quest to race and win is at the center of the story, but doing so will not be good for Sean.  And as their relationship begins to form and grow, this becomes a conflict for both the characters and the reader. “I say, 'I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick.' Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, 'It's late for that, Puck.”  A resolution is not apparent and the tension magnifies as the plot moves toward its end.  One asset of the book is the realistic, subdued relationship between the main characters.  Themes of love, identity, trust, and sacrifice emerge and resonate with the reader and add to the relevance of the story. 

The Scorpio Races was a delight to read and unlike any other book I have had read.  I highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers, but I believe even non-fans will enjoy this unique spin on the genre.   

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

 “[A] taut, chilling, romantic adventure....Masterful. Like nothing else out there now.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Stiefvater masterfully combines an intimate voice (think I Capture the Castle) with a fully evoked island setting with sensory-rich language (think Margo Lanagan) with a wealth of horse detail with a plot full of danger, intrigue, and romance. ... Stiefvater sets not one foot wrong as she takes readers on an intoxicating ride of their own. ... Stiefvater’s novel begins rivetingly and gets better and better…all the way, in fact, to best.” – The Horn Book, starred review

5. CONNECTIONS

For older readers, grades 8 and up, and also by Maggie Stiefvater is the book The Raven Boys.  I have not read it yet, but look forward to doing so! Here are some exciting reviews:

“Simultaneously complex and simple, compulsively readable, marvelously wrought. The only flaw is that this is Book 1; it may be months yet before Book 2 comes out.” - Kirkus, starred review

“. . . the book is marvelous, for not only is it filled with marvels, it is also a marvel of imagination and, more prosaically, structure. Rich, too, in characterization, this fantasy/mystery rises to the level of serious literature” - Booklist, starred review

“It’s a tour de force of characterization, and while there is no lack of event or mystery, it is the way Stiefvater’s people live in the reader’s imagination that makes this such a memorable read.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The Raven Boys is an incredibly rich and unique tale, a supernatural thriller of a different flavor . . . The Raven Boys delivers." - School Library Journal, starred review