Shannon's Library

LET’S GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK!

Once a year on the island of Thisby, magical water horses rise up from the sea. Those islanders brave enough to catch and tame one of these horses will race them along the shore in the Scorpio Races. Some will finish, some will die and only one will be the champion. Sean Kendrick will race for respect and reputation. Puck (Kate) Connolly will race to save her family home from foreclosure. Both will put their lives on the line and their honor at stake in this fierce competition. Who will you be rooting for? Read my full review of “The Scorpio Races,” below. After reading the novel, let me know in the comments what you thought about it and who you were rooting for to win the race!

Shannon’s Rating — PG-13 (because of the brutality of the water horses that may or may not be delightful…)

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LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!

“Tell me what it’s like. The race.”

“What it’s like is a battle. A mess of horses and men and blood. The fastest and strongest of what is left from two weeks of preparation on the sand. It’s the surf in your face, the deadly magic of November on your skin, the Scorpio drums in the place of your heartbeat. It’s speed, if you’re lucky.  It’s life and it’s death or it’s both and there’s nothing like it.”

Once a year on the island of Thisby, magical water horses known as capall uisce rise from the sea. They’re fierce, lethal and hungry for blood. Every November first, those islanders who were brave or crazy enough to have caught and trained a water horse, race each other along the island’s sandy shore. Sean Kendrick has won the Scorpio Races more than anyone else and is poised once again to win on his water horse, Corr. Puck (Kate) Connelly has entered the race for the first time in the hopes of saving her family home from foreclosure. Not only will she be the first woman to ever race but she will also be the first person to race in the Scorpio Races riding a regular horse, named Dove. And so, the stakes are set. The novel alternates points of view with some chapters narrated by Sean and some narrated by Puck. Sometimes I don’t love alternating points of view in books, but I liked it in this one. I found myself rooting for both Sean and Puck to win the race and was super conflicted over how I wanted it all to end up.

Maggie Stiefvater talks about how she loved checking out “An Encyclopedia of Fairies,” from her local library as a child. This was where she first learned about the mythology of the water horses and it became one of her favorite fairytales. As she grew up and started writing stories, she knew she wanted to write about these magical water horses. Most of the water horse myths had a creepy shape-shifting element to them. Often the water horse would arise from the water, turn into a handsome young man and lure young maidens into the sea to devour them. Stiefvater attempted to write a novel based on this mythology but finally realized this wasn’t the part of the story she wanted to write about. After abandoning the shape-shifting and only keeping the elements of the story that really fascinated her, Stiefvater was finally able to create, “The Scorpio Races.” While the plot of the story is centered on these magical water horses and their yearly race, the novel is rooted in deeper themes of family, loss and ultimately the pursuit of true happiness.

To celebrate the Scorpio Races a parade is held on the streets of Skarmouth. The mare goddess walks through the crowds wearing a stuffed horse head. As she walks, she drops sand and tiny pebbles from her hand. Over the course of the night, she will drop one, and only one, seashell and whomever receives the shell will be granted a wish. Many years ago, Sean was the recipient of the shell and wished to be the Scorpio Race champion. This year, as the race looms and the stakes are higher than ever, the mare goddess once again approaches Sean on the street.

“The mare goddess seizes my chin with her hand. The shale eye stares at me. The hair around it is matted with age, too long since death. ‘Sean Kendrick,’ she says, and the voice is throaty, barely human. I hear the sea in it. ‘Did you get your wish?’ I cannot look away, ‘Yes. Many times over.’ The shale glints and blinks. The voice again takes me by surprise. ‘Has it brought you happiness?’ The question is not one that I would normally consider. I’m not unhappy. Happiness isn’t something this island yields easily; the ground too rock and the sun too sparse for it to flourish. ‘Well enough.’ Her fingers are tight, tight, tight on my jaw. I smell blood and I see, now, that fresh blood, soaked into the shirt, has dripped onto her hands. ‘The ocean knows your name, Sean Kendrick,’ she says. ‘Make another wish.’ She reaches up and smears the back of her hand across both of my cheekbones. Then the mare goddess turns away to follow the drummers, just a woman in a dead horse’s head. But there is something hollow inside me, and for the first time, winning doesn’t feel like enough.”

On the eve of the race, Sean and Puck sit together on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Sean thinks about how the mare goddess told him to make another wish. “It feels thin as a thread to me now, that gift of a wish. I remember the years when it felt like a promise.” When Sean asks Puck what he should wish for she replies, “To be happy. Happiness.” Sean says in return, “I don’t think such a thing is had on Thisby. And if it is, I don’t know how you would keep it.” Now if I told you that a romantic kiss occurred at some point during this conversation, that would be a major spoiler. So, I won’t. But it might have happened…

Years ago, when I picked this novel for a book club discussion, I remember telling one of my friends that it was a “delightful” book. When we met to discuss the book as a group, my friend was kind of mad at me. She emphatically declared that this book was NOT delightful! She wondered how I could find violent, fierce and blood-thirsty water horses “delightful!” I guess my definition of “delightful” is more liberal than hers! Yes, the horses were savage and vicious and there were definitely some gory parts during the novel. I concede that. But I guess I figure that’s true of a lot of fairytales, especially before Disney got ahold of them!  I think a story can be both delightful and brutal. This juxtaposition is why we love fairytales in the first place. They’re messy and harsh but also lovely and enchanting. Very much like how Sean describes the capall uisce in the novel…

“The water horses are hungry and wicked, vicious and beautiful, hating us and loving us.”

If you are looking for a fun, possibly “delightful” fall read, I highly recommend “The Scorpio Races,” by Maggie Stiefvater. For even more fun…read it on November 1^st.  For as the opening line of the book states, “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” (Okay. Maybe I shouldn’t describe this novel as “delightful!” But it’s still a great read!!)