REVIEW: The Scorpio Racesby Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Release Date: October 2011, Scholastic Press
Format: eBook (Nook)
Source: Purchased from BN.com

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.

MY THOUGHTS

Some of you might recall that after reading and reviewing Forever, the last book of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, I wasn't sure if I would read anymore books by Maggie Stiefvater. I had loved the first book, Shiver, but after that, each book went downhill. However, a few of you had commented that The Scorpio Races was excellent and very different from the Wolves of Mercy Falls, so in the end I decided to give that a try.

So... I can't say enough good things about this book! I will say that I have always enjoyed Stiefvater's writing style and I think I love it even more inThe Scorpio Races. Once again, we have a dual first-person point of view, which at times can take some getting used to, but I did love being in both Puck's and Sean's heads to see both sides of their story. And what a story it was -- this take on the legends of mythical water horses (called capaill uisce) is so different from anything I have read! It did not take me long to get sucked into the story and I hated the times that I had to put it down to, you know, attend to the rest of my life. ;-)

As you might suspect from the synopsis, given that Puck and Sean are the only characters mentioned, there is a brewing romance between them, but Stiefvater really does not make that the focus of her story and I, for one, appreciated that. The anticipation certainly kept me turning pages, but there was so much more to those days leading up to the Scorpio Races... The story Stiefvater paints is breathtaking, horrifying, touching, raw -- so many different emotions ran through me as I read this book. And I absolutely loved the ending. In a rare moment for me, I even shed a few tears. I don't know that Stiefvater could have ended it any more perfectly and this despite the fact that there is certainly an open-ended feeling to it, as well. Not in the sense that another book could follow, but just that the possibilities are endless for Puck and Sean. Speaking of there not being another book to follow, I will also say that it was great to read a stand-alone YA paranormal book. It seems that so many books are written as trilogies or series that it is quite an accomplishment to produce a work so phenomenal and contained within the covers of just one book.
Read this book...

- If you have already read any of Stiefvater's other books and enjoy her writing.
- If you have a love of horses. This is certainly a different type of horse, but I think horse-lovers would appreciate the story.
- If you enjoy YA paranormal reads.
- If you are looking for a stand-alone book, as opposed to a series.

**This is my fifth book towards the #TakeControl March 2013 TBR Challenge.