The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. 416 p. Scholastic Inc., October, 2011. 9780545224901.
Teen Tuesday features one of my favorite books, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. It's a dual narrative set on the fictional island of Thisby, off the coast of Ireland. Capaill uisce (cup-all ish-ka) or water horses live in the ocean off the coast of Thisby. These fierce man-eating beasts are very hard to tame but Sean Kendrick has a gift with both horses and the capaill uisce. In fact, he has won the famed Scorpio Races for the past four years. This is a race held every November and the winner earns fame and fortune. Unfortunately, the losers often lose their lives. This year, Puck, a seventeen-year-old orphan, desperate to save her family home, enters the race with her land horse, Dove. The superstitious islanders are outraged because no girl has ever entered and riding a land horse means she has little chance of surviving. The story starts out a bit slow but both narrators reveal compelling stories and the island and water horses work their magic. It's an exceptional story and a superb audiobook as the two narrators are Irish and pronounce the Irish words fluidly. Additionally, the music in the audiobook was written and composed by the multi-talented author who is also an artist.
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