The Fast and the Fantastical: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Every October, the capaill uisce--water horses with a taste for flesh--begin to merge from the sea surrounding the island of Thisby. Every November, the Scorpio Races take place and riders attempt to control their deadly captured mounts long enough to cross the finish line. Some succeed. Others die. The somewhat stoic 19 year old Sean Kendrick is already a four year champion of the races but this year he's competing to earn his beloved capal uisce stallion--and his own freedom-- from his employer, the owner of the horse trading stables on the island. Kate 'Puck' Connolly has never wanted to ride in the races, especially not since her parents were killed by capaill uisce at sea a few years ago. But when her older brother declares his plan to leave Thisby and make his way on the mainland, Puck is desperate to give him a reason to stay with her and their younger brother, keeping what's left of their family together. So Puck enters the Scorpio Races with her trustworthy island pony as her mount, making her both the first female rider and the first to ride an ordinary land horse. But while both Puck and Sean are desperate to survive--and succeed--on race day, these competitors slowly develop a deep connection born of mutual respect and a shared love of the island. However, only one rider can win the Scorpio Races.

   

When I heard that Maggie Stiefvater's newest novel The Scorpio Races was going to be about dangerous, carnivorous water horses, I was intrigued and excited   When I heard Maggie herself speak about the novel, her inspiration, and the development of the story, I learned that it was about much more that fantastic mythological horses--and I was even more excited.  Fascinated since childhood by the pieces of Irish, Scottish, and Manx mythologies that describe various versions of violent, magical horses dwelling in the ocean, Maggie Stiefvater has been attempting to write this particular story for a long time.  She discussed her longtime interest and slight obsession with water horse legends and her multiple attempts to write about them when she visited D.C.'s own Politics and Prose Bookstore to kick off The Scorpio Races' publication in November.  She describes much of this process similarly on this page on her website.  Maggie is a very funny and very eloquent speaker and writer, especially when discussing the writing process and her personal journey of development as a writer.  When discussing the development of this particular novel, she noted that the piece never really came together until she realized that she adapt the water horse myth more freely and that this particular story was more about the island of Thisby and the relationship the characters have with the island than it was about the water horses.  And I believe that this very accurate observation describes the real strength of this book; reading The Scorpio Races is an absorbing experience that can transport you into a fully imagined and fully real world that manages to be simultaneously familiar and foreign.    

As Maggie discusses on her website, this novel is more about the island than the carnivorous horses (although they're also fully developed creatures).  Thisby feels very much like a real place with a clearly developed social structure, religious/spiritual life, and long held traditions, including a fully described traditional dessert.  I have always found Maggie Stiefvater's writing to be distinctly atmospheric; her Wolves trilogy wonderfully evokes the small Midwestern town and its landscape and seasons ground that particular supernatural romance in our own recognizable world.  The world of Scorpio Races   emerges even more clearly and the island is a character in its own right, equal in both value and complexity to the human characters.  By only a few chapters in, I wanted to book the next boat out to Thisby!  

However, the human characters, especially our narrators Puck and Sean, are also complex and well-drawn and their relationships with eachother, the island, their horses, and the supporting characters are equally interesting and well-crafted.  The novel is generally well paced and the final race itself is as heart-stoppingly exciting as any action scene in The Hunger Games.  There are occasional plot holes (supporting characters that appear and slip away, never to be mentioned again) but overall, the novel's otherwise rich characterization and world makes these flaws easy to overlook. 

For anyone who likes horse stories, adventure stories, romance, and/or fantasy, The Scorpio Races is a wonderful new read and a perfect book to curl up with on a snowy evening!

4/5 STARS

In My Mailbox #8

IMM is a fantastic meme in which bloggers list the books that they received over the last week via mail/bookstore/library.  It's hosted by the lovely Story Siren over at her awesome blog and you can go here to get more info about joining in!

The books in this week's In My Mailbox actually came in mail a couple weeks ago.  I signed up to get a bunch of ARCs at the Little Brown booth at ALA Annual in June and somewhat forgot about it.  Then a box full of beautiful ARCs showed at my doorstep and here are a few of them!

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone     Laini Taylor
• Queen of Kentucky      Alecia Whitaker
• The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight    Jennifer E. Smith
• How to Rock Braces and Glasses    Meg Haston
• The Rivals     Daisy Whitney
• Shut Out    Kody Keplinger

Hope everyone has a lovely book-filled week! 

Love In A Controlled Climate: Matched and Crossed by Ally Condie

Sometime I wish my life were more predictable.  For example when I wasn't sure if my grad school plans were going to work out or if I'd get a job after graduation, the appeal of a more securely planned future definitely appealed to me.  Predictability is comforting for us; at times, having our lives planned out for us based on science and research sounds great.  The plethora of dating websites promising better romantic partnerships based on proven matching systems illustrates the appeal of this general idea. 


But where does this comforting predictability cross the line into a sinister disappearance of individual choice? 

Thrills and Chills: A Review of The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

I love mysteries.  I am an unapologetic mystery fiend.  Since my first Nancy Drew in fourth grade, I have been a bit addicted to mystery stories. But I usually find my mystery reading from outside my preferred shelves of the young adult section.  So when I heard that one of my favorite YA authors, the brilliant Maureen Johnson, was publishing a murder mystery with a supernatural twist, I pretty much threw a party in excitement.  One of my favorite writers writing in one of my favorite genres? A dream come true! 


It is always a highly anticipated event for a bookworm when an author writes a book that seems very different that previous novels.  It's sort of a gamble: will it be brilliant or will it flop?  While I was at ALA this June I was lucky enough to be at the YALSA Young Adult Authors' Coffee Klatch.  So I got the opportunity to hear Maureen answer the question that she has likely already grown sick of hearing: why write a murder mystery about Jack the Ripper and a secret London police force? She said that she had always wanted to write a mystery.  Well, I for one am very glad that she has finally been able to pursue that interest! 


Maureen's other novels (which include The Bermudez Triangle, Suite Scarlett, 13 Little Blue Envelopes) usually fit very clearly into the sub-category of young adult realistic fiction; the delightfully supernatural Devilish is an exception to this statement.  The Name of the Star seems, initially, quite different from these other novels. It begins like many of the best mysteries: with an intriguing murder.  Then we meet Rory Deveaux, a native of Louisana whose arrival in London coincides with a brutal murder that appears to mimic  the first of Jack the Ripper's famous crimes.  Starting senior year of high school in a foreign country is already pretty terrifying and confusing but soon it appears that Rory is going to have to worry about something much scarier than British slang and unfamiliar classes as the murders continue and she finds herself caught up right in the middle.  


Rory is what I like to think of as a classic Maureen Johnson heroine: smart and spunky with a solid sense of humor.  She is likable, admirable, and realistic.  As usual, I completely adore her.  She is a great narrator, interspersing her narration with sharp and often self-deprecating observations about the world and stories about her kooky but beloved Southern family.  The novel is spot on in its descriptions of the wonders and confusions that come with studying abroad (especially in England) as well as the more universal experiences of being a teen (kissing, high school politics).  But amidst her signature elements, Maureen Johnson slowly sneaks in not only a compelling mystery but also a great supernatural twist.  By the last page, I was simultaneously thrilled and furious to remember that this book is the first in a series; it left me eager for more but frustrated that I now need to wait to get it! 


So definitely be watching the shelves of your local libraries and bookstores this September for the release of Maureen Johnson's newest, The Name of the Star!


5/5 STARS


* The copy of The Name of the Star I read and based this review on was a free (and signed!) ARC I received from the publisher at ALA Annual 2011.  
  

What I Learned At My First ALA Conference

Me and my book haul :) 

1.) When people tell you to wear comfortable shoes, they are deadly serious.  You will walk miles just getting from one event to another in the convention center. Miles, people.


2.) Publishers actually give away FREE books before they are published.  Really.  FREE BOOKS.  You will want all of them.


3.) Therefore--you should perhaps pack an extra duffle bag in your luggage to use as a checked bag. Or plan to mail at least one to two boxes of books.


4.) IF you do need to mail books to yourself (or your parents' house where there is still some empty space left!), do it before 1pm on Monday.  Do NOT go into the Exhibit Hall Post Office at 1pm on Monday--that way lies madness and chaos.


5.)  Bring your own sturdy tote bags.


6.) Pack granola bars or other snacks because sometimes waiting in line for exciting advanced readers copies (ARCs) is much more important than lunch.  Or dinner.


7.) ARCs and galleys are the same thing: free copies of awesome books you can read before they get officially published.


8.)  The Exhibit Hall is a shiny land of great temptation.  This is where the free books dwell.


9.) There is this amazing invention called Hair Glimmer or Tinsel.  If you tie it in your hair, you look like a metallic fairy.  Thank you, Lauren Myracle, for introducing me to this wonder.


10.) YA authors really are as cool as you always suspected. And even nicer.


11.) Plan ahead but be flexible! If you spot a wonderful program that you missed in your pre-conference plotting, go to it! You can free yourself from your Excel spreadsheet.  


12.) I am so proud to call myself a librarian.  

Bound for New Orleans: ALA Annual and A Review of Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Well, tomorrow morning at some horrible hour, I am flying out to New Orleans--for my first ever American Librarian Association Annual Conference!  I am both excited and nervous, especially because I'm still in the middle of my last term of grad school classes and two internships and haven't had much time to prepare!  But it does help that other librarians have offered some great advice.  The awesome librarian/blogger GreenBeanTeenQueen, for example, did a wonderful ALA Annual advice post on Monday.  


Ship Breaker seemed like a perfect book to post a review about in celebration of the beginning of this exciting event.  It is this year's Printz Award winner and the story, like that of last year's winner Going Bovine, leads us through New Orleans! 


Nailer works light crew, crawling into the beached wrecks of oil tackers to strip them of valuable copper wiring.  He lives day to day dependent on his ability to make quota and to avoid the unpredictable rage of his drug addicted father.  But suddenly it looks like Nailer has finally had some good luck when he stumbled upon a beautiful abandoned clipper ship--only to discover that it is not quite abandoned.  Now Nailer must decide between survival and the risky chance at a better life.  


Ship Breaker seems like a very apt choice for this year big YA lit prize, the Printz Award.  First, it's superb example of the dystopian/speculative fiction trend that has been so popular with teen readers this year. Bacigalupi paints a beautifully desolate and harsh picture of a future in which environmental exhaustion has helped the gap between wealthy and the desperate widen to catastrophic levels.  For Nailer, life is truly a struggle to survive day to day and Bacigalupi's writing places us right in the struggle with him.  


The novel also provokes a huge range of questions dealing with topics pulled right from the headlines: dependency on oil, environmental changes, the manipulative power of corporations, and people left behind by an unequal society.  It is a page turning adventure that will also make you think.  Ship Breaker also should appeal to diverse group of readers.  Older teens who enjoy thrilling adventure or were hooked on The Hunger Games would be likely be pretty quick sells on Ship Breaker.  


I couldn't put this book down and after finished it, I immediately paged back to reread the climax again so I could relive the thrill!  Check it out!   


5/5 STARS