Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races left me wishing that I could learn even more about the compelling main characters and continue to follow their lives, and that I could visit the charming, remote fantastical island of Thisby (which seems to be located somewhere between Ireland and Scotland's coast), where the story is situated. If you like horses, magical happenings, windswept coastlines, and small island life then you will enjoy this novel. Set in a time where the first models of automobiles exist, but technology has not yet exploded, this story merges magical horse legends from several cultures into one powerful tale that will keep you engaged until the end.

Puck is a fiesty teenage heroine, living with her two brothers (Gabe and Finn) in extreme poverty, the result of the loss of both parents earlier in the children's lives. They barely manage a living, and Puck is devastated when her older brother Gabe decides he's had enough of scraping out a tough island existence, and tells his younger siblings he's moving to the mainland. At the same time, Puck learns that she must come up with a good-sized chunk of money in order to repay lapsed payments on the mortgage for their simple cottage. She decides to enter a local, annual race - The Scorpio Races - in order to win the large purse that will help solve her problems. She knows her brothers will protest for a variety of reasons, chief among them the fact that her own parents were killed as a result of the capall uisce, the wild, magical water horses who rise up from the sea each autumn to hunt for anything living and breathing, and the very creatures that cause mayhem and death across the island.

The only problem is that there has never been a female rider in the races; Puck lives on an island that is decidedly behind the times.Sean Kendrick is older, brooding, and the best horseman on the island. An orphan, he works at the only stables on the island, and is frequently tormented by the rich owner's spiteful, violent son. As it turns out, Sean is also the one person on the island who knows how to ride the race in ways that keep the water horses from unleashing their killing frenzy. He also wants to win first place so he can take the prize money and purchase the most beloved item in his miserable existence - the tamed water horse Corr, the stately, huge beast that Sean has spent years breaking and learning how to love.

Puck needs to win the race. Sean wants to win the race. Reluctantly, he begins showing her how to handle her gentle mare Dove around the mythical sea horses, while also reminding her that he plans to cross the line first.

This novel has many layers and subtleties. The writing is exquisite. While reading this book, I was ready to book a flight to the mainland and take a ferry to Thisby so I could smell the salt air, walk along the rugged cliffs, and dip my toes in the chilly waters where the water horses hunt. The tale is spooky, ethereal, and fulfilling. I'd recommend this for older teens and adults. There are complex problems and events occurring, and the love story that unfolds is neither blatant nor rushed, which makes the story all the sweeter.