The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Puck and her brothers live alone. Their parents are dead, and for money, they do odd jobs--painting teacups, fixing things, anything to get food on the table. When the Scorpio Races come around, Puck realizes that this is her chance to save her family. But is she brave enough to ride one of the wild, carnivorous capaill uisce?
Sean Kendrick is known all over the island of Thisby as the boy whose father died in the Races, who has an incredible connection with all horses, and has won the Scorpio Races five times. When he sees a girl on his beach, he has to know why.
You probably don’t know this, but I love horses. My favorite animal, I always have something that has horses on it around me. So, I absolutely loved this book! Oh, wait, I should probably explain the capaill uisce. It is pronounced cap-all ish-ka. When you read a lot of fantasy, you notice that some of the old, mythology/folklore terms are italicized. That’s why it’s in italics, in case you were wondering. Anyway, the capaill uisce are deadly man-eating water horses that come up out of the sea around October and November. They come in all colors, coats, and temperaments. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Kelpies!” No. These don’t change shape. They’re very similar, though.
The protagonist in this book is Puck Connolly. She’s determined, and will do anything to protect her family, including riding in the deadly Scorpio Races as the first girl to ever do so. As most protagonists are, she is likable, and certainly interesting. She’s fascinated by Sean Kendrick, not exactly a professional, but close to it: he’s won the Scorpio Races five years in a row, planning to make it six. You can imagine what she does. I like Sean, too. Like Puck, he will do anything to protect his family, except he doesn’t have one. All he has is a capaill uisce that he tamed, so of course he is one of the tortured boys that I just happen to come across in Stiefvater’s books. ;) These characters are not my favorites from her books, but I did like them. Now, you all know I love her books, so since I always comment on writing style, I’m going to say that I love her style. Oh, and this is a stand-alone, as far as I know, and I loved it. It’s refreshing not having to wait for another book to know the ending.
Once again, Stiefvater creates a misty world of sacrifice, love, and breath-taking competition.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia
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