The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

This book is excellent.  I really liked Stiefvater’s Shiver trilogy, which was more like a darker werewolf beach read (as opposed to a lighter werewolf beach read; I mean exactly what I say), but I loved The Scorpio Races.  It is a fantasy, but unique from many other fantasies I have read over the last few years.  

The Scorpio Races takes place in this world, sometime before 1950, possibly between the World Wars, maybe before both of them.  It takes place on a small island off the coast of the United Kingdom: most likely Ireland, since Kate Connolly and Sean Kendrick are the names of the main characters.  Every year in October, the water horses start coming out of the ocean.  Those who are inclined catch and train these horses in time for the Scorpio Races in November, which draw tourists from several parts of the world.  Water horses look like regular land horses, but they are violent and carnivorous.  They will kill man and beast alike if hungry and left to their own devices.  Sean Kendrick is a four-time winner of the Scorpio Races and something of a water horse whisperer.  He works for one of the most wealthy and powerful men on the island, and wants his freedom.  Kate Connolly lives with her two brothers in their dead parents’ house, and enters the Scorpio Races with a mind to win them herself and so avoid eviction of her family.  She is the first girl to enter the Scorpio Races in the history of the island.  Both Sean and Kate embark on unforgettable journeys that cross paths with each other; they learn, among other things, what it is to love this harsh island that is their home and how to make firm decisions about their lives so that they can continue to live there.  It’s a beautifully written story and I highly recommend it; it’s really for readers 13 and older, though a mature 12-year-old could probably read it (there are some graphic depictions of the carnage instigated and left behind by the water horses).  If this book had come out when I was 12, I probably would have read it; then again, I read a lot of things at age 12 that were far advanced in writing style and content.  In any case, The Scorpio Races is a great read.