ŷ������

*** 4.75 ***

A Buddy Read with the MacHalo Freaks, because mythical blood-thirsty Water Horses are awesome!!!

Let me start by saying that very few authors are capable of affecting me emotionally the way Maggie Stiefvater does. Her prose is magic! I am not just spouting words here. Her writing hits somewhere in the vicinity of my soul and I can't get away unscathed. She wounds with her beautiful prose, enchants with her lyrical cadence of melody made of letters, and heals with the hope for salvation, as unlikely as it might seem�� I have never been able to pick up a book of hers and put it down without feeling as if my mind is straddling both worlds - the real one and the one Maggie weaves us in. That is not to say that her work is perfect. It isn't and I am kind of glad for it, since it makes her more human and having read some of her interviews, if she reaches that panicle of perfection, she might decide she is over with writing and go on to music or any of the other talents G-d has gifted her with�� I am glad to say, she has to keep on trying by giving us more and more of her enchanting stories��

"��"“Tell me what to wish for." Tell me what to ask the sea for."
"To be happy. Happiness."
"I don't think such a thing is had on Thisby. And if it is, I don't know how you would keep it."��"

The Scorpio Races is not what the book is really about. They are just the event the author has chosen in order to show us the lives of the people on the Island of Thisby, a harsh and economically depressed place, with little hope for the locals, with the youth finding their way either away to the main land, or often killed by the creatures that make the Island unique among any others�� The capaill uisce, the mythical Water Horses which come to the beach every November and ride, taking down people as well as animals for their kills, and going back to the sea. Some know those as Kelpies and know how these horses born of mythology can be awe inspiring as well as blood-curdling terrifying. They are natural predators and their allure is what keeps the brave, sea-loving souls living on the Island, brings the tourists in November, which is the core of the local economy, and culls those who underestimate their viciousness, leaving behind widows, widowers, and many orphans.

"��"The water is still high and brown and murky with the memory of the storm, so if there’s something below it, I won’t know it. But that’s part of this, the not knowing. The surrender to the possibilities beneath the surface. It wasn’t the ocean that killed my father, in the end."��"

Puck and her brothers are just this type of orphans. She is only 17, but their parents were killed by the water horses years ago, leaving her, her older brother Gabe and her younger brother Finn to fend for themselves. The only thing she possess is her mare Dove and she cares for her as best as she can. Puck loves the island and wants to find a way to keep her life there. However, her older brother has been deeply disillusioned and is headed out, away from everything this Island represents for him, to the Mainland, promise of work and hope for the future. Puck is also faced with losing the house and in a move of desperation she enters the Scorpio Races, a race made for the capaill uisce, while Dove is just a regular mare. The odds are against her, the tradition of the islanders are against her, and her gender is against her, let alone that most of the racing horses are going to look upon Dove as a meal, not a competitor. But as scared and worried as she is, Puck is not backing down and her fiery personality jumps off the page, endearing her to the reader with her strength and vulnerability.

"��"“My mother always said that I was born out of a bottle of vinegar instead of born from a womb and that she and my father bathed me in sugar for three days to wash it off. I try to behave, but I always go back to the vinegar.��"��"

Sean Kendrick is also a capaill uisce orphan, a witness to the death of his father while participating in one of those Scorpio Races. But just as his father before him, the salt of the sea and the wild beauty of the Water Horses calls to Sean's blood and makes him a part of the ecosystem of the island, addicted to the uncertainty and daily fight for survival. He is only 19 and already has won the race four out of six times. He races on Corr, a Water Horse Stallion, with whom he has a deep bond, a connection deeper than any he has known. He has been trying to bur Corr off of his employer, the rich Horse Yard and stables owner and biggest businessman on the Island. However, the dude keeps Corr over Sean's head as a reason to keep him working for him, since Sean is irreplaceable when it comes to working with the water beasts. He captures them, trains them and rides them, as well as gentles them enough to be ridden by others. He is an expert in a trade known by less than a handful and his boss knows it. But so does the rich dude's son, who is jealous and kindles a deep hatred and need to bring Sean down. However, if he wins the race this year, Sean will get the opportunity to finally buy his beloved Stallion. But that was before he met Puck��

"…“Does anyone ask you why you stay, Sean Kendrick?"
"They do."
"And why do you?"
"The sky and the sand and the sea and Corr.��"��"

In some way the two of them, Sean and Puck, are the heart of the Island. They and those like them keep
Thisby alive and its traditions with it. No one knows why the Water Horses have chosen this Island to gather on, no one knows much about them at all. But they show and victimize, as well as personify the image of this otherwise poverty-stricken island�� As much as the locals hate the death the capaill uisce leave behind, they are also beholden for their economic existence to them, as well as defining their cultural uniqueness. The attempts of the locals to domesticate those wild beasts are more successful the farther away they are from the shore, since the Sea speaks and calls to them, making them wild with yearning for it, and able to tear all that stands between them and the water apart. However, they would not leave this island, thus not existing anywhere but there�� I was mesmerized by their duality of nature!!!

"…“Tell me what it's like. The race."
"What it's like is a battle. A mess of horses and men and blood. The fastest and strongest of what is left from two weeks of preparation on the sand. It's the surf in your face, the deadly magic of November on your skin, the Scorpio drums in the place of your heartbeat. It's speed, if you're lucky. It's life and it's death or it's both, and there's nothing like it.�� "��"

This story is slow, but so deeply emotional, it is worth every sentence with which it unfolds in front of us. It has Fantastic Water Horses, but it is raw and real as any Stainbeck I have ever read, and just as impactful in its own way. The beauty of both strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit are exposed with the gorgeous prose the author weaves around as a spell. Maggie's goal of the readers feeling like they have their toes in the sand and the chill wind of November pelting the salt of the sea into their skin, is achieved to a maximum and as I finished the story, I felt grief at losing those almost tactile sensations�� If I was to ask for anything more, it would be to have more of this world, more about our characters and much, much more of Corr and Dove:):):)

"…“It's easy to convince men to love you, Puck. All you have to do is be a mountain they have to climb or a poem they don't understand. Something that makes them feel strong or clever. It's why they love the ocean.��"��"

I love this quote!!!!!!

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a Good Book!!!