The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races

Bibliographic Information: Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races. New York: Scholastic, 2013.

Plot Summary:  Every November the Scorpio races take place.  Tourists come from all over to the island of Thisby to watch riders mount their capaill uisce, magical water horses, and try to survive and win the Scorpio Races.  These water horses are deadly.  Their magic pulls them to the ocean where they want to take their mounts and drown them in the sea. The Scorpio Races are dangerous.

Sean Kendrick watched his father die on a capaill uisce, and it is now his turn to race to win the water horse, Coll, that he has raised since it was a baby.  Since Sean lost his dad, he has been working for the Malverns to raise and breed horses.  Sean is known on the island for his unique abilities to deal with the capaill uisce.  Tensions rise between Kendrick and Malvern's son who is jealous of Sean.  Mr. Malvern makes a deal with Sean that if he wins one race, he will be allowed to buy Corr, the horse he wants more than anything in the world.

Puck Connelly also lost both of her parents to the capaill uisce and soon finds that her oldest brother that was contributing to their survival on the island is leaving.  Puck decides to join the races on her regular mare Dove.  The need to win intensifies when she finds out that her family has not been paying on the house and will be evicted by Mr. Malvern by the end of the races.

The island is not happy that a girl is entered in the race let alone on a regular horse.  Everything is on the line for Puck and Sean in this exciting fantasy novel.

Critical Analysis:

Sean and Puck are protagonists that the reader will root for throughout the story.  I love that this book goes between both a female and a male point of view and allows for readers of both sexes to identify with a protagonist of the same sex.  The characters have needs that readers will identify with creating a bond with both main characters in the story.  The magical horses become so real in the story that the reader will believe in the water horses despite their disbelief in these impossible magical creatures.

The story's setting is a fictional island that is painted by the author as a fictional Celtic island with roots of the water horses from Irish and Scottish myths.  As the plot unfolds, readers become immersed in this realistic fictional horse race that is a story more about the characters and their interactions than the contest itself.  The details of the island and the tourists bring to life this story of water horses that drown those who fall under their spell.  The author builds a strong sense of community between the natives of the island making the story believable.  The tourists come from real places and some of the characters talk of going to the “mainland” which would provide for more opportunity than just the island. 

The theme of the story is that good conquers evil.  Love is more important than things of the physical world.  The characters make sacrifices for love and the good of others on during the story which will draw in readers to the reality of this fantasy.  The author's style is one of the major factors that makes this story such an interesting read.  She creates a fictional world that seems realistic.  The language differs between characters, natives and tourists, adults and young people creating a unique story that readers will enjoy.

Rewards, Recognitions, and Review Excerpts:

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (2012)

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Young Adult Literature (2011)

Michael L. Printz Award Nominee (2012)

Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2013)

The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky (2012)

Carnegie Medal Nominee (2013)

 Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas for Mejor novela extranjera independiente (2013)

Odyssey Honor (2012)

“[A] taut, chilling, romantic adventure....Masterful. Like nothing else out there now.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Stiefvater masterfully combines an intimate voice (think I Capture the Castle) with a fully evoked island setting with sensory-rich language (think Margo Lanagan) with a wealth of horse detail with a plot full of danger, intrigue, and romance. ... Stiefvater sets not one foot wrong as she takes readers on an intoxicating ride of their own. ... Stiefvater’s novel begins rivetingly and gets better and better…all the way, in fact, to best.” – The Horn Book starred review

* "A book appealing to lovers of fantasy, horse stories, romance, and action-adventure alike; this seems to have a shot at being a YA blockbuster." – Booklist starred review

Connections:

Have students research the mythology behind the capaill uisce (water horses)

Have students create a poster about the Scorpio Races promoting the races

Pull other books by Maggie Stiefvater:

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception ISBN 0738713708 

Shiver ISBN 0545123267

The Raven Boys  ISBN 0545424925

Have students create a brown bag book report with featuring items that may have been found in the story and decorate the bag with the theme of the book.

Pull other similar books that students may like:

The Returning  ISBN: 0142424773

Midwinter Blood ISBN: 1780620098

Seraphina ISBN: 0375866566

Blood Red Road ISBN: 1442429984

References:

"Editorial Reviews." Amazon. Accessed April 23, 2017. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054522490X/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=054522490X&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2.