Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
I usually really enjoy Stiefvater's writing, although it often takes me a little while to get into. This book was no different and while it was a little slow at first I really enjoyed it in the end.
The book takes place on the island of Thisby around the beginning of the 20th century (I assume. Its never really stated out loud when exactly it is). This island is visited by waterhorses every fall, and the locals catch them, train them and race them once a year in the Scorpio races. This year our main protagonist Kate, Puck to friends, decides to race in order to keep her older brother from leaving the island for the mainland. However, the waterhorses are too wild for her and she decides to race her own horse, born and raised on land. Throughout the book we follow her struggles with family and race officials that think a girl and her land horse does not belong in the races.
The book also has a second narrator, Sean Kendrick, who is a master horseman and who has won the races 4 times over. He has his own struggles and reasons to race and he and Kate strike up a friendship.
As I said I usually really enjoy Stiefvater's writing and this was no different. She paints a vivid picture of the gloomy little island, its inhabitants and the waterhorses. I enjoyed all of the characters although for a few of them I was struggling to understand their motives. Like why the older brother Gabe handled his leaving in the way he did, for example.
I also really enjoyed watching the relationship between Sean and Kate blossom without it taking over the narrative. And there was another relationship that wasn't fully stated in the book, but that I choose to believe was happening.
I gave this book 4 stars out of 5 because it was a little slow in the beginning, but then it really picked up. Maybe like 4,5, really.
The book takes place on the island of Thisby around the beginning of the 20th century (I assume. Its never really stated out loud when exactly it is). This island is visited by waterhorses every fall, and the locals catch them, train them and race them once a year in the Scorpio races. This year our main protagonist Kate, Puck to friends, decides to race in order to keep her older brother from leaving the island for the mainland. However, the waterhorses are too wild for her and she decides to race her own horse, born and raised on land. Throughout the book we follow her struggles with family and race officials that think a girl and her land horse does not belong in the races.
The book also has a second narrator, Sean Kendrick, who is a master horseman and who has won the races 4 times over. He has his own struggles and reasons to race and he and Kate strike up a friendship.
As I said I usually really enjoy Stiefvater's writing and this was no different. She paints a vivid picture of the gloomy little island, its inhabitants and the waterhorses. I enjoyed all of the characters although for a few of them I was struggling to understand their motives. Like why the older brother Gabe handled his leaving in the way he did, for example.
I also really enjoyed watching the relationship between Sean and Kate blossom without it taking over the narrative. And there was another relationship that wasn't fully stated in the book, but that I choose to believe was happening.
I gave this book 4 stars out of 5 because it was a little slow in the beginning, but then it really picked up. Maybe like 4,5, really.
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