The Scorpio Races
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.
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.
(summary from goodreads.com)
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This book is the epitome of a great YA fiction book. Extremely well written with complex characters and a nicely structured storyline. The romance was slow and sweet versus hot and heavy - it was so lovely. And so sweet. I really enjoyed the slight tenor of fantasy in the book - without the water horses (vicious horses that live in the sea) this could have been contemporary fiction. I liked the sense of regional character evoked in the book (Ireland probably?) but it added to the book rather than distracted from it. Sometimes dialects and accents and word choices confuse more than they add, but not in this case. I can tell the author spent time writing this book - it is amazingly well crafted.
This book is written with two point of views, which can also be distracting sometimes, but worked well in this book. Hearing the story from both Puck and Sean gave us a fuller picture than we would have received from just one POV, especially during the race scenes. I really liked seeing the race from two different angles and two different focuses. As a reader, you connect with both main characters better when you see into their heads. It also made me conflicted - I wasn't sure how I wanted the race to end up, because I cared about two contenders.
I think this is a great book for teens and adults who love both fantasy and contemporary fiction - the fantasy is so light that it is a great introduction to the world of fantasy, but the story is adventurous enough to delight hard core fantasy fans as well. This story is gripping and heart rending and I loved it.
Mom note: As
a mother of readers, I also
want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or
would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I
forget. Violence: some vicious horses fighting both men and animals. Profanity: none that I noticed.. Sex: very mild kisses, an occasional mild innuendo that would probably go over most heads, a few comments about lovers from secondary characters.
You're just making me want to go buy books and never do laundry again!
ReplyDeleteOne thing you should add is you should always say whether you think Brent would like to read it :)
ReplyDeleteI just finished this book and I loved it! I agree with your whole review. It took me a while to figure out where this island was, they just dropped a few hints as the book went along. I kind of wished they had been more clear at the beginning so that I could visualize it more. I went from thinking it was in the south pacific (with red heads?) to realizing it was probably off the coast of England somewhere. This book was so well written, and the characters were believable. Thanks for the recommendation!
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