The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

genre: young adult fiction

This book was recommended to me by two different people and BOTH of them recommended that I listen to it instead of read it.

So I did.

And was it enjoyable?  Quite.

The Scorpio Races is the story of Puck (a girl) and Sean, two teens living on the island of Thisby.  Both have had a rough go of it and both of them have a desperate love for their horses.  Puck's, an island pony and Sean's, a capaill uisce - a water horse.  Capaill uisce are fierce and fearless creatures that are claimed from the ocean and taught to race.  The Scorpio Races themselves will determine if either Puck or Sean are able to overcome their losses and get what they truly desire.

As a person that's not super into animal books (although I seem to have read a lot of them lately, right?), this one was a total winner.  Not BECAUSE of the horses, but because of these two people, Puck and Sean, and their relationships with those horses.  The island itself is a quirky and interesting place, where everyone knows your name and your business - but once a year fills to the brim with tourists, anxious to watch the races.  I liked the secondary characters in this novel an awful lot, more than usual.  One in particular, an American gentleman, brought an interesting depth and thoughtfulness to the story.

And the story is beautifully written, evocative and sometimes truly frightening.  It's also earthy and violent while never going over the edge into TOO much.  I was also thinking about how amazing it is that Stiefvater made such a bizarre premise - crazy, bloodthirsty ocean horses being raced on a beach - into something completely plausible.  That takes some skill, I tell you.  I loved Sean and Puck and their slow path to trust - I think the readers of the audiobook did a phenomenal job of making me feel like I was right there in the action.

I love a good audiobook :)

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