#2017HW Review ~ The Scorpio Races ~ Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: October 18, 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: Purchased in Hardcover
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2017HW, #ShelfLove
Goodreads 

Synopsis
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

First things first - I love Maggie. I always have. Her writing is so lyrical and her stories so engrossing. So it pains me to say that The Scorpio Races didn't grab me immediately. I can't even tell you why but I kept putting it down. Maybe too much YA too close together? I'm not sure but by 100 pages in, I was hooked. And by the end my heart was galloping to the rhythm of the race.

The story revolves around Kate "Puck" Connolly and Sean Kendrick, two souls bound to the island by circumstance, participating in the Scorpio Races in an attempt at gaining freedom. These two are, to quote Mr. Malvern, "a strange pair." Puck describes Sean as having sharp edges and angles. Puck herself, in my opinion, is sharp edges and angles in personality. They're both unconcerned about what anyone else thinks and their closest friends are horses. They have much in common and when they meet each other, they're intrigued. I adore them both but Puck in particular as shes bucks island tradition by presuming to be the first girl in the races. It never occurred to her that she shouldn't be in them.

Some of the things I found so fascinating about The Scorpio Races are:

• freedom as a central theme, both for Puck, Sean, and Puck's brother, Gabe, as well as for the capall uisce, the water horses
• the mythology of the capall uisce and how Maggie made it her own
• the personification of Thisby island, where the story is set

The characters endeared themselves to me and the story was beautifully rendered. I'm so happy I pulled this one off the shelf!