Synopsis: 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
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
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| Caralyn, Ramon, and Hannah |
I’m really excited about this – it’s the first joint review here at In the Best Worlds. My very good friend, Caralyn is new(ish) to the YA world. She read The Hunger Games this summer and then couldn’t stop – she’s fallen for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and Divergent, thoroughly enjoyed The Name of the Star and now she’s making her way through the Shiver series. We both read The Scorpio Races at the same time and we always have awesome book discussions, so I invited her to join me in putting our conversation down in print. She’s turned into one of us YA fanatics, so I’m so happy to welcome her here to share her first review.
(Interesting thing to keep in mind: I read The Scorpio Races after reading and loving the Shiver series. Caralyn read The Scorpio Races first. I don’t know how that would tint the reading, but I’m sure it did somehow – I do think I had higher expectations going in than Caralyn did…)
Writing Style:
Hannah: I put off reading this book because I loved Shiver so much and I didn’t want to be disappointed. Once I picked it up, it took a bit of getting into – but suddenly I felt the grasp of Thisbee Island tighten and I was thoroughly hooked. I think this is how Maggie writes. It’s always subtle, slow, and magical. I love to savor her words, because they are all so beautiful. The story woven here is so decadent that you almost have to go slow, just to let the story, the characters, the settings seep into your mind so you find yourself completely transported into the book.
I think it’s Maggie’s brilliant writing style that creates a perfect place to explore the myth of water horses. I’ve never read anything about these myths, so between this relatively unexplored magic and the gorgeous writing – Maggie has created a timeless story – her own legend that will be important for a very long time.
Caralyn: Agreed. Her writing is so dense, but in a thrilling and catching way. You slowly make your way through her world. Nothing is rushed. No detail is spared in describing the island or the characters’ attitudes toward it. Since I had never read the Shiver series before this I was not used to Maggie’s style of switching between the main characters of the story. Some of the story is documented by Puck, the heroine trying to keep her family together, while the rest is seen through the eyes of Sean, who up until now has only had eyes for horses.
At times it was difficult to keep track of who’s thoughts I was entering because the two characters share similar views and feelings about their home of Thisbee. And I will admit, I had a difficult time pushing through the beginning of the story because the reader is somewhat tossed into the middle of the action with very little explanation, but the story steadily unravels and grips throughout the book.
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Confusion over Gabe:
Caralyn: Something I could never quite grasp about this book was Puck’s older brother, Gabe. Puck has a younger brother also who is flushed out in the book more so than Gabe, who is mostly MIA. Stiefvater does explain a bit of his absence and why he feels the need to leave, but it didn’t quite cut it for me. Family comes off as an important element of the story; the characters are either trying to keep the family they have left together or trying to find a surrogate family if their family is inadequate or nonexistent. Gabe doesn’t follow this mold. He wants to just be on his own, and I just didn’t understand this move. His story was never fully developed throughout the book, which left me confused and ultimately frustrated when nothing really came of him. I think it would’ve made the story stronger and more interesting if Gabe had been given a little bit more depth and personality. His character lay flat on the page.
Hannah: While I definitely think that Gabe's character could have been fleshed out more satisfactorily - I totally got him. One of the major things in this book that I related to were ties to the place you grew up. Puck treats the island as the only place on earth - most of the characters do. So because Gabe was different, he rejects the island and becomes the odd character out. I'm from a small town and one of my best friends was one of those people who couldn't understand why anyone would want to leave. I was Gabe - I wanted out. I get Gabe and I think that the confusion that comes with him (because I admit he was a bit elusive) comes from no longer belonging in the island, or even his own family.
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Plot and Characters:
Hannah: If you are having trouble getting into the story, stick with it. I tell you this because the way it unfolds seems impossible. I love that somehow Maggie can write her characters into impossible situations – which just adds layers and complexity to the story. I felt like whatever way this book would end would be terribly sad. I cried. A lot. Even so (I won’t tell you the end) it was one of the best endings of a book. EVER. I’m still marveling over the way I found myself completely entwined with the emotions of two different characters who turned out to be at odds with one another. I wanted them both to win, knowing that whoever lost would have a hard time of it. In situations like this I can generally pick a side, but I loved both Sean and Puck so much – I couldn’t root for one over the other. And as a side note – The villain in this book, Mutt, might be one of the most teeth grinding, wanna punch someone in the throat, scratch my nails down a chalkboard, characters I’ve read in a long time. He really pushed my buttons.
Caralyn: So true. I was also worried about getting to the end of this book knowing that either way, it would end badly for someone; there’s just no getting around it. At the same time, I was going crazy just to get to the race because the entire book is a slow, methodical build-up to this unnaturally quick and dangerous race. Every character seen through the eyes of Puck or Sean adds to the emotion of the upcoming race. You know exactly what each has had to go through in the weeks before the race and just how important it is for both of them to win. Only, one of them won’t.
I think it’s also important to mention the island itself as a character and as a plot device. It’s the driving force of the novel. I was a little confused when I first started reading because Thisbee seems like it should be some small island off the coast of Ireland; all the names are Irish-sounding and talk of the “mainland” gives the impression of a small island community trying to hang on to their own culture before being sucked into the modern mainland. But it’s not. Thisbee is a magical place that falls somewhere between fiction and reality. It seems so real at times that I’d like to start looking for it on a map!
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Theme of Ownership:
Caralyn: One thing that really struck me while reading this book was the constant theme of ownership and what it truly means to ownsomething. Puck and Sean share this common bond since they are both painfully aware of the things that are important to them and the possessions they have to fight for, which may or may not be tangible things. And even beyond Puck and Sean, Maggie creates this world of the-haves vs. the-have-nots where those who have the most cherish nothing and those with very little are beyond passionate to the point of putting their lives at risk for them. Like Hannah, I was SUPER emotional by the end mainly because one of the characters finally realizes the strength and bond of genuine ownership...and oddly enough it has nothing to do with money.
The importance of what you have and own, for me, is seen in every facet of this story. Everyone wants a piece of the island, but before you take you must sacrifice. This something that the residents of Thisbee know all too well, but outsiders will never understand. Stievfater really delves into the dynamics of this small, tight-knit community and how it is constantly threatened either by those who don’t love it or those that don’t live there. I probably shouldn’t give away any more details, but loving a place so much that you can’t imagine being anywhere else is definitely something I can relate to and I would defend it as well.
Hannah: Well, I think Caralyn covered that pretty well, so I'm going to wrap up here. Basically, we both loved this book - it has earned a permanent spot on the shelf. Thanks for sticking around and reading this massively long post. Now I invite you to join in on our conversation. Leave a comment and let us know what you thought!
