This
weekend, I'm beach camping with my family at Assateague Island, known
for both its beauty and its ill-tempered wild horses. Naturally, I
decided this was the perfect time to pick up Maggie Stiefvater's The
Scorpio Races, a twist on a Celtic myth about flesh-eating fairy
horses that the ocean spits up. Apparently, I thought camping with my
toddler and preschooler wouldn't be enough of an adventure — I
needed to embellish the horses a little, too.
Before
I go any farther, I know what you're thinking: “Didn't Maggie
Stiefvater write those awful werewolf romance books? And why do I
want to read about killer horses? That sounds weird.” I thought
the same thing until I read it. The Scorpio Races are worth
your time.
On
the fictional island of Thisby, every October the Capaill Uisce
emerge from the ocean. They are horse-like, but larger, meaner, and
much more prone to eating the nearest human. And every October, men
capture the Capaill Uisce and attempt to tame them for the Scorpio
Races and its lucrative cash prize.
The
narration in this story alternates between two competitors: Sean
Kendrick, four-time winner of the races, and Kate “Puck”
Connolly, who has entered the races to try to keep her home and keep
her orphaned siblings together. Although the races hold the story
together, this is really a coming-of-age story about fighting for
what you want, staying true to yourself, and relating to the place
that made you what you are.
For
me, the best part of the book was the setting. Stiefvater nailed the
feel of a small Celtic island. I like that she captured the grit and
determination of the locals, the allure of the mainland to the youth,
the competing religious traditions that somehow coexist, and the
complicated relationships that occur between people that have always
known each other and always will.
The
setting gave her story a timeless feel. I don't see much of that in
the YA genre, which tends to either revel in its of-the-moment appeal
or reject our current world entirely. I feel like if I just pretend
the Capaill Uisce are the wild horses I'll see this weekend, the
island itself could really exist, and it could exist this way any
time after the model T.
I
also loved the way Stiefvater made the mythology her own. Although
some criticize authors like Stiefvater for playing fast and loose
with mythology, anyone that has spent any time studying it knows that
myths have always changed with the storyteller. Stiefvater selected
the parts of the myth that contributed to the story, and cut the
things that would have detracted.
I,
for one, don't feel like I'm missing out because there are no scenes
where the horses turn into men and seduce unsuspecting maidens into
the water to eat them. If that's your thing, well, I'm sure your
local B movie rental store has something that will satisfy that need.
All
in all, this is a great stand-alone adventure story with strong
character development, pitch-perfect writing, and a beautifully drawn
setting.
Read
this book if...
The
latest dystopia's premise seems too far-fetched to buy into, but you
also want an escape from high school drama. You don't have suspend
reality very far to get into this story.
You
love a good cast of minor characters. Stiefvater has drawn them well
in this book.
You
like adventure books, but don't like staying up all night reading
because you have to know what happens next. The pacing is a little
slower on this one.
Erin
Cowles is a mother of two, living in the Washington D.C. suburbs.
Before motherhood, she used her masters in library and information
science in a law firm library. Now she uses it to find good books for
her family at her local public library. She teaches part time for a
SAT prep company, where she enjoys the challenge of making rather
dull subject matter interesting and making college a reality for her
students. During women's history month, she profiles Mormon women
that inspire her at ldswomenshistory.blogspot.com.
Erin
currently serves as a counselor in her ward's primary
presidency.