Book Review: Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher:  Scholastic Inc., October 2011
Number of Pages: Hardcover, 409 pages


Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy > Horses, Mythology, Animals, Adventure

Personal Thoughts:
I'd been looking forward to this book for months - so I bought it as soon as I could on kindle. It only took me a few days to read it, but it did start off a little slower than I would have liked.

The story revolves around this teenage girl named Puck, that's not her real name though. The races are an annual event that take place in November in their island town. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses until they reach the finish line. Some riders survive, some die. It's tradition.

Puck was never meant to compete in the races, but it seems that fate has something else in store for her. She enters the races to win the money, to help her self and her brothers survive on the island with no parents. She's the first girl to ever enter the races and she has no idea about all the hard ships that will he laid out in front of her.

Sean on the other hand is the boy that has won for many years in a row now - he's trained these wild water horses and is not a man of many words.

Some how Sean and Puck form a connection, one that will either help them both survive the race or kill the both in the process.

I'd never read a book about the mythological water horses before - this one really caught my attention. The story was attractive in many ways and the characters added to the dynamic of the story well.


Recommended Age Level:18+

Rating: 4.3

Reviews/Awards:

2012 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature
2012 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Nominee
2011 LA Times Book Prize NOminee for Young Adult Literature
2012 ALA Teen's Top Ten Nominee
2012 Printz Honor