The "Scorpio Races" take places on the first of every November on a remote island called Thisby. They're horse races, but not your typical horse races. They involve racing the mysterious "capaill uisce", or water horses - vicious, man-eating, predatory horses captured out of the sea to be trained for their sheer speed and mysticism. As you can imagine, racing these beasts is quite dangerous, and in Thisby's history, only men have entered the races. Well, that all changes when the book begins, as main character Kate "Puck" Connolly seeks to enter the races on (gasp!) her pony - not a capaill uisce. Puck has to win the races to save her home, but can she beat the dangerous capall?To be honest, it took me a while to really get into The Scorpio Races. The first page grabbed me, with the opening line, "it is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die." But then I got lost/bored for a little bit. I kept at it though, and by about a third of the way through the novel, I was totally hooked. I loved the idea behind the race, and the way the island of Thisby was described. I am sad the school year's over because I can think of two students who would absolutely love this book!
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