In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • The Scorpio Races
  • Karen Coats
Stiefvater, Maggie . The Scorpio Races. Scholastic, 2011. [416p]. ISBN 978-0-545-22490-1 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-10.

Every November, the island of Thisby hosts the Scorpio Races, which feature the deadly water horses, or capaill uisce, who come to the island out of the sea. The horses, if they can be tamed, are the fastest creatures alive, but the carnivorous [End Page 225] animals think nothing of eating the man who feeds them; what's more, if the sea calls to them, they will rejoin it, rider and all. Sean Kendrick loves one of these animals, a red beauty named Corr, despite the fact that his father met his death at the teeth and hooves of another one. Puck Connolly, on the other hand, has no love for the capaill uisce, who killed both her parents. She wants to race, however, so that she can make enough to save their house now that she and her brothers are orphans. As Puck and Sean prepare for the races, they battle island prejudices about Puck, who is the first woman to ever compete in the race, and Mutt Malvern, who is determined to keep Sean from his fifth victory. A win for Sean is the only way Benjamin Malvern, Mutt's father and Sean's boss, will allow him to buy Corr; hence Puck and Sean, despite their growing feelings for one another, both need the win to realize their heart's desire. Though the plot arc unfolds slowly, Stiefvater does a masterful job in creating an immersive world with well-developed traditions, history, prejudices, and complex social relations. The book credibly depicts the subtle tensions of a developing romance between two stubborn and taciturn people with a multitude of concerns: their training for the races, Puck's worries about money and the splintering of her family, and Sean's love and care for his horses, among other things. Those willing to take it slowly will be richly rewarded with a story whose mythic dimensions stand easily with its more quotidian ones, thus embodying the tensions between the water horses and their humans.

...

pdf

Share