Review: THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater

Remember when I said I wasn't sure about what scenes to include in my next manuscript? Well, Maggie Stiefvater makes me feel better about this--she wrote in her acknowledgements at the end of The Scorpio Races that it took her several years to work out just what story she wanted to tell. I'm not much of a NaNo writer. It takes me much longer to write a book. I suppose I did write one 65,000-word book in February, but I ended up having to rewrite the whole thing. Anyway, thank you, Maggie, for mentioning this! It gives me courage.

And now for my review. I don't think I've ever heard anyone slander Maggie Stiefvater's work. Well, okay, one person, but that's it. Stiefvater is abundantly praised in the publishing world, and for good reason. She weaves a story and makes it beautiful as well. I remember thinking the dual points of view were confusing in the Shiver series (I would often forget whose POV I was reading) but not in The Scorpio Races. Puck and Sean were different enough.

The book was hard for me in the beginning, but I expected this. She starts her stories slowly, and I'm a product of television: I like an instant hook. But after floundering for several days with the beginning pages, I got sucked in today and really loved the world of the water horses, the sweet/innocent romance between Sean and Puck, and was sufficiently swept up in the race at the very end. Puck made for some endearing commentary, and Sean was the perfect combination of quiet and solidity.

My greatest surprise? I'm not much of an animal lover, but I adored Sean's connection with his horse, and I almost wish these particular water horses exist. Stiefvater made them beautiful, terrifying, and tragic.