Natalie Knaub has—and while I’m getting ready to go to a writers’ conference, I’m going to let her tell you about The Scorpio Races, in a post she also ran on her own blog.*

Review: The Scorpio Races (YA)

There are books you read and think, That was pretty good. Then there are books you read that you wish you could crawl inside and live. That’s how it was for me when I read Maggie Stiefvater’s best seller The Scorpio Races.

The premise: Every November, wild horses emerge from the sea onto the shores of a tiny island. Many of them are captured for the annual Scorpio Races, whose winning purse is enough to move off the island. The main character, Puck, is the first girl to ever enter the races. She needs the money to save her family’s house.

Oh, and the horses—kelpies, actually—like to eat people.

My mother is rolling her eyes right now because she knew there’d be some violent aspect to it if I liked it. But really, there’s so much more than that. The man-eating perspective adds to the stakes and the suspense, but Maggie has a thousand other hooks in you before you’ve finished the first chapter.

First: phenomenal voice. You follow two characters through the book, Puck Connolly (and I consider her the main main character) and Sean Kendrick, the returning champion and mysterious stable hand for the island’s biggest stable. Maggie really lets you get to know these two, holding back no thought as the characters deal with the problems handed to them. Good things, bad things, things in between—you know it all.

Second: an I-want-to-visit setting. Maggie brings the fictional island of Thisby alive in every way possible, from the hard-working locals to the colorful, out-of-place tourists, to the damp, cold ocean air and the whispering sea. You can smell the hay and dust in the stables. You can feel the salt on your skin by the shore.

Third: girl knows her horses. As someone who rode for years, I would be incredibly surprised if I learned Maggie has never been on a horse. The way the horses are handled and the scenes in which Puck or Sean are riding are so expertly done that I know she’s writing from experience. The bond between animal and human is also very authentic, with nothing over- or underdone.

Fourth: emotion, emotion, emotion. I felt for these characters as I rarely have in other books. I cried at the end over a horse. Only one other author, in all of history, has been able to make me cry tears down my face (twice, in two different books) and that is Mr. Patrick Ness.

I could gush for hours, so I’ll just tell you now to go out and get the book. Even if you’re not a horse lover, this is a fantastic read. Don’t believe me? Look at this partial list of awards and honors The Scorpio Races has won:

Michael L. Printz Award Honor, 2012
Los Angeles Times Book Times Award Finalist, 2012
ALA Notable Books for Children, 2012
The New York Times Notable Childrens’ Books of 2011
Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of 2011
Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best, 2012
School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year
Kirkus’ Best Teen Books of the Year (2011)
YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2012
2012 NCTE/ CLA Notable Children’s Book in the English Language Arts

Now go get the book!

* Natalie Knaub pursued an information technology degree in college because she wasn’t sure she could get a job with an English degree. Then she started writing books—which still doesn’t mean she’ll make a living, but, hey. You can find her at her blog and on Twitter.

Tweet: There are books you wish you could crawl inside & live—like The Scorpio Races.
Tweet: Phenomenal voice, can-feel-it setting, equestrian thrills, & it made me cry.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”