The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Series: Stand-alone
Release Date: October 18th 2011
Pages: 404
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Series: Stand-alone
Release Date: October 18th 2011
Pages: 404
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Blurb:
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.
I was really excited to read this book because of all the positive reviews I read about it. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed, it's just that nothing happens in this book.
The book is about the yearly Scorpio Races, held on the island Thisby. Inhabitants ride the waterhorses, who will kill you in an instant if they get the chance. Puck and Sean both compete in the Races, Puck for her family and Sean to be able to buy his own horse, and slowly grow attached to each other during the preparations.
Story
Most reviews I read did say it was a character-driven story, not a fast-paced adventure.
Thus I was prepared for a slow-paced read, but in the end I found the book to be completely empty of action. And no, I'm not only used to fast-paced YA reads. I also read classics, so I can handle reading something without an exciting twist every page.
The problem was that the book would be about the Scorpio Races and with that I mean the real races, not the preparation for it. I was waiting for the races to begin from the start of the book And they began in one of the last chapters, and only lasted for a chapter. There is such a thing as too much buildup... This just really irritated me and kind of ruined the book for me. The slow pacing would not have been bad if something exciting had happened once in a while. Now when I got to the end I had the feeling the book still had to start, because nothing had happened at all.
The slow pacing and the lack of action were the only things I did not like about this book.
The world building was really good. The reader came to know everything about the island, the Races and of course the creepy waterhorses. Because it was such a slow book all details were explained very carefully and every piece of scenery was described, I liked that.
The concept of the races and the waterhorses I found very original, I've never seen anything like it in books. It gave a sort of paranormal/mythological twist to the story.
Characters
The book had a dual POV. This was pretty well-done. At first I thought Puck was a boy, because of her voice as well as her name. Puck and Sean's POVs both add to the story, but sometimes were not distinguishable.
Puck was a very strong heroine. She stood her ground among all the men participating in the Races and she was willing the sacrifice her life for her family. Overall she was very likable, although I still don't understand why she would risk riding a normal mare in a deadly waterhorse race..
Sean was an intriguing character. He seemed kind of inhuman at first, but him becoming acquainted with Puck made him a different person, much more likable. He was calm and down-to-earth, I really liked that in him. A great change from the typical YA bad boy.
I loved their romance. It had a great build-up and it wasn't overshadowing the rest of the story. They were very supportive of each other in the races, but I wasn't like they acted like they could not live without each other. So no instalove, bad boys, love triangle.. love it!
Conclusion
Apart from the slow-pacing and action-lack, I liked the book. The characters and world building were great, but cutting 100 pages or so wouldn't have hurt the book.
The book is about the yearly Scorpio Races, held on the island Thisby. Inhabitants ride the waterhorses, who will kill you in an instant if they get the chance. Puck and Sean both compete in the Races, Puck for her family and Sean to be able to buy his own horse, and slowly grow attached to each other during the preparations.
Story
Most reviews I read did say it was a character-driven story, not a fast-paced adventure.
Thus I was prepared for a slow-paced read, but in the end I found the book to be completely empty of action. And no, I'm not only used to fast-paced YA reads. I also read classics, so I can handle reading something without an exciting twist every page.
The problem was that the book would be about the Scorpio Races and with that I mean the real races, not the preparation for it. I was waiting for the races to begin from the start of the book And they began in one of the last chapters, and only lasted for a chapter. There is such a thing as too much buildup... This just really irritated me and kind of ruined the book for me. The slow pacing would not have been bad if something exciting had happened once in a while. Now when I got to the end I had the feeling the book still had to start, because nothing had happened at all.
The slow pacing and the lack of action were the only things I did not like about this book.
The world building was really good. The reader came to know everything about the island, the Races and of course the creepy waterhorses. Because it was such a slow book all details were explained very carefully and every piece of scenery was described, I liked that.
The concept of the races and the waterhorses I found very original, I've never seen anything like it in books. It gave a sort of paranormal/mythological twist to the story.
Characters
The book had a dual POV. This was pretty well-done. At first I thought Puck was a boy, because of her voice as well as her name. Puck and Sean's POVs both add to the story, but sometimes were not distinguishable.
Puck was a very strong heroine. She stood her ground among all the men participating in the Races and she was willing the sacrifice her life for her family. Overall she was very likable, although I still don't understand why she would risk riding a normal mare in a deadly waterhorse race..
Sean was an intriguing character. He seemed kind of inhuman at first, but him becoming acquainted with Puck made him a different person, much more likable. He was calm and down-to-earth, I really liked that in him. A great change from the typical YA bad boy.
I loved their romance. It had a great build-up and it wasn't overshadowing the rest of the story. They were very supportive of each other in the races, but I wasn't like they acted like they could not live without each other. So no instalove, bad boys, love triangle.. love it!
Conclusion
Apart from the slow-pacing and action-lack, I liked the book. The characters and world building were great, but cutting 100 pages or so wouldn't have hurt the book.
