The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Release Date: October 18th, 2011













Synopsis (from Goodreads)-

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


The Scorpio Races was my first Maggie Stiefvater book and I decided to read it instead of Shiver because it was a standalone! (yay standalones!) I really did not want to commit to a series right now but I did want to read a Maggie Stiefvater novel, so I picked up The Scorpio Races! :)


The plotline was very interesting. Sort of "Hunger Games-esque," but it did take me a while to get into it. Maggie Stiefvater is certainly a phenomenal writing. Like, I would be reading and have to stop just to take in the awesomeness of the writing. The problems were a) there was A LOT of detail, and I like some detail, but at some parts in this book there was too much detail which got boring.


This book took me a while to get into, like I said before. The first half is a bit dull. The beginning sort of drags out for a while, and then after the first 200 pages (yeah, it's a long book) I thought it was incredible. I just think the beginning should have been slightly shortened. The second half was great. Maggie Stiefvater's writing was thought provoking and lyrical and completely fantastic. During the second half of the book I could not stop reading! And the ending! The ending was phenomenal. Another aspect of this book I enjoyed was the family relationships and the romance. Very well done on Maggie's part there.


The whole "Water Horse" is really neat but also extremely creepy. Sort of like something out of a nightmare. And the setting was eery, but really fit in with the mood of the book. This book is not really paranormal, it's sort of fantasy, but I'd say more than anything it's mythology. So if mythology is something that intrigues you, then you should definitely check this one out.


 Onto the cover. Lately, I've read a few books where cover will only include one of the two or three main characters which bothers me. I feel like you should have all the characters or none of them on the cover. The Scorpio Races also has another cover (see right.) and that cover does not have either of the main characters (the book is told from two points of view), but I'm still not in love with either of the covers. 


Was The Scorpio Races worth the 200 pages of slowness? I think it was. This is definitely a great one for people who like mythology and/or horses and will likely appeal to a multitude of ages.


Other Reviews of The Scorpio Races


Books from Bleh To Basically Amazing (negative review)
GalleySmith (positive review)
Heise Reads and Recommends (neutral review- but slightly more positive)