The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater is one of my most favourite books. The Scorpio season is usually about October 23rd to November 21st and The Scorpio races themselves take place then. It took me a good while to realise that the races were named after the astrological season they take place in. This story is about those races, or rather the people and things that take part in them. Our main characters are Puck Connelly and Sean Kendrick (you may begin your swooning). Puck is a headstrong girl who takes part in the races to save her family and Sean is a pensive boy who has been surrounded by the races since childhood. The characters are all well developed and unique. With an ensemble of characters like this book has, it is very much character driven. Finn, Puck's brother, is OCD coded in my opinion and I feel he is quality representation (doesn't rely on stereotypes). That being said, in no way is the world behind The Scorpio Races lacking. The history of the island this story takes place on is well developed. From the parallels between the barn and Church's architecture to the festival and other ceremonies, even a cave painting briefly mentioned Stiefvater crafts a world that exists beyond its character's stories. Of course, I couldn't talk about The Scorpio Races without mentioning the water horses; the capaill uisce. I'm not familiar with the traditional mythology surrounding the water horses but in the book they are fearsome creatures and I wonder why the hell people ride them every year. The water horses also are well developed with training methods being shown in the book. Each water horse is also a unique character which shows a depth of skill on Stiefvater's part.
This book has become a seasonal occurrence for me since I first read it four years ago. It feels like a fall day. It can be warm just as it can be cold and the melancholy of the coming winter in fall is mirrored in this book somehow.
I recently had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and it is fantastic. Don't try to do anything while listening because you will be very unproductive (yes, I am speaking from experience). The emotion in the book is amplified and the voice acting is quite good.
Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races gets a full 5/5 stars from me.