1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races. New York: Scholastic Press, 2011.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
From Scholastic Press: "It happens 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; many die. At nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He’s 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."
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is a magical and bloody ride. The two main characters begin to circle each others stories like water flowing down the drain. The island described is small, with the only strangers described are the tourists. Despite the size, Puck and Sean have not ever met or heard of each other. Both are enduring a dangerous training that is guaranteed to end in blood. As the days draws closer to the race, the pair also draw closer to each other. Each character is a mirror image of the other. Both Sean and Puck are smart and strong willed. The characters have a great love for the animals in their care. The text expertly describes the experience of riding a horse and the experience of training a horse for a race. The texts switch from Puck and Sean's point of view. I enjoyed that the romance aspects of the book were barely a side note in the greater adventure of the race. The book holds a strong stance of women's empowerment in male dominated sports, like equestrians. The book is set just before women's suffrage movement in America. The island of Thisby is close to "the main land" of England. There is an American character that comes to visit the island for the races that shows the financial differences between the tourists and the island locals.
The Scorpio Races was an exciting read that was difficult to put down. Once the book ended, I immediately looked for the next book. Sadly, Stiefvater has no current plans to write a sequel... but we can always hope. :)
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
New York Times Notable Children's Book 2011
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year 2011
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2011
A Horn Book Fanfare Book 2011
A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book 2011
ALA Notable Children's Books 2011
Michael L. Printz Honor Book 2012
Jennifer Hubert Swan from The New York Times: "Stiefvater not only steps out of the young adult fantasy box with The Scorpio Races but crushes it with pounding hooves... If The Scorpio Races sounds like nothing you've ever read, that's because it is."
From Publisher's Weekly: "A study of courage and loyalty tested... utterly compelling."
From Horn Book: "Stiefvater's novel, inspired by Manx, Irish, and Scottish legends of beautiful but deadly fairy horses that emerge from the sea each autumn, begins rivetingly and gets better and better... all the way, in fact, to best."
From Kirkus Reviews: "Masterful... like nothing else out there now."
From Booklist: "A book with cross-appeal to lovers of fantasy, horse stories, romance, and action-adventure, this seems to have a shot at being a YA blockbuster."
From School Library Journal: "Upon the sea-battered and wind-swept isle of Thisby, fall brings the famed and feared capaill uisce, or water horses, and with them, death... The author takes great liberties with the Celtic myth, but the result is marvelous."
Darienne Stewart from Common Sense Media: "Maggie Stiefvater serves up a terrific mix of action, magic, and romance that defies neat categorization into any one genre."
5. CONNECTIONS
Other Books by Maggie Stiefvater:
Shiver ISBN 9781741697551
Linger ISBN 9788184776188
Forever ISBN 9788817058780
Sinner ISBN 9781407145754
Lesson Plans:
The above link is also a great lesson plan from the publisher's. See it again here: Discussion Guide
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