Review: The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater. The GoodReads summary:

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.

I don’t know where to start, you guys. I really don’t. Because this book was . . . perfect. Or, at least, it was a perfect Karen book. It was so, so amazing, and I’m having trouble finding the right words to describe it.

I think the thing that got me right from the start was the writing. It’s GORGEOUS. I read “Shiver” by this same author, and I honestly didn’t notice the writing. I heard everyone talking about how much they loved Stiefvater’s writing style, but I just didn’t get what they were talking about. But with this book, I so get it. It’s pitch-perfect for the story and practically had me tasting the salty air of the island.

Puck was the best protagonist I’ve seen in a while. Prickly on the outside, but a truly good person on the inside; a bit unsure of herself at times but brave when it matters. She was a heroine worthy of Robin McKinley, and I don’t say that lightly.

And Sean. Holy smokes--SEAN. Jonah Griggs will forever be my number one YA love, but Sean comes SO close. He’s quiet and still and strong. He doesn’t need to prove himself to anyone, because he knows who he is and what he wants. I have a thing for the strong, silent type in fiction, and Sean was everything I could’ve asked for.

I also have a thing for horse books, which is yet another way this book was perfect for me. Not only are there normal horses in this book, but there are capaill uisce--carnivorous water horses that are ferocious and dangerous and yet so beautiful. And with the deft way Stiefvater writes about them, I honestly wouldn’t be half surprised if they turned out to be real.

Read this book. Seriously though--read it. Because I didn’t even begin cover all the things I loved about this book. It’s not a fast-paced book by any means, but it had plenty of parts that had me forgetting to breathe and unable to tear my eyes from the page. I honestly didn’t want this book to end, and that’s not something I say very often.