The Scorpio Races ( 404 Pages-paperback)

Maggie Stiefvater has written a Printz 2012 Honor novel that intrigued me through out. It is part fantasy, but with enough reality to make it believable. It is a story about horse races that occur every November on an imaginary island called Thisby. But don't get hooked on the imaginary island bit; Stiefvater has created a believable  world. This idea of creating a world never hit me until I read her acceptance speech for the Printz Honor award.  This would be a terrific assignment for students because it is so much more than setting! This book includes a young girl (Puck Connolly) and boy (Sean Kendrick) who gradually fall in love with each other and with their horses. Both have been orphaned, but Puck has two brothers. In addition to the development of  these two characters, there is also the conflict that the older brother has about staying on the island. He keeps saying he can't take it any more.  I can not end this review without telling about the horses in the Scorpio Race. They are water horses, and I believe they are part of an old Irish, Scottish, or Welsh fairy tale. They're called capall uisce pronounced " CAPple ISHka "- something I could never say correctly and ended just gliding over the name. These were not ordinary horses. They came from the waters surrounding the island, and they were fierce. They were meat eaters so animals and humans were not safe near them, and yet men rode them in the race every November. Men riders that is, until Puck decided to enter the race and became the first female to ride on a horse that was not a water horse. She rode in order to save her family's home. There are, of course two characters that are so mean, the reader can't help but hate them. There is also a wonderful handsome, wealthy man from California- there to purchase a horse. I was so surprised at the way this book grabbed me, and grab me it did!