A ‘Piece of Passion’ from Scholastic Children’s Books Senior Fiction Editor Zoe Duncan:

I have always felt privileged to work with Maggie Stiefvater. She is immensely talented and all her books have been absorbing, brilliant and completely impossible to put down. When I was first sent The Scorpio Races, I was so excited. Here was a brand new story that Maggie had put her soul into. I stayed up all night and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was blown away.  The Scorpio Races is exceptional. It’s exhilarating and special. It will make your heart race.

In creating the savage water horses, the cappaill uisce (pronounced COPple Ooshka), Maggie has brought to life dangerous yet beautiful creatures. As they gallop along the beach you can smell the sea and hear the waves. You understand why the sand is soaked with blood.

One of Maggie’s many talents is her ability to make you fall so completely for her characters. Her heroes in The Scorpio Races feel incredibly real. They are fascinating and complex. I wish I was half as brave as Puck. I wish everyone had Sean’s silent strength and honest goodness.

The Scorpio Races is an adventure, a fantasy, a heart-wrenching ride, but more than anything it’s a love story. And no one writes love like Maggie.

You can also hear from Maggie herself. Click here to read a very special letter from Maggie Stiefvater about her new book.

And as an added bonus: Maggie's publisher Scholastic have created a fabulous free newpaper for teens featuring a variety of their fantastic teen titles. Click here to have a read.

Synopsis

Every November, the Scorpio Races are run beneath the chalk cliffs of Skarmouth. Thousands gather to watch the horses and the sea that washes the blood from the sand. The mounts are capaill uisce: savage water horses.

There are no horses more beautiful, more fearless, more deadly. To race them can be suicide but the danger is irresistible.

There is a downloadable extract from this book for you to read. Please note that it comes from an uncorrected proof.

About the Author

Maggie Stiefvater is a twenty-seven year old writer, artist and musician. Her debut novel, Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception, was published by Flux in 2008. She lives in rural Virginia, USA, with her husband and their two young children. As well as being an author, Maggie is an award-winning artist and plays several instruments including the Celtic harp, the piano and the bagpipes. Maggie says her greatest literary influences for Shiver were Crow Lake and The Time Traveler’s Wife “because they tell quiet, bittersweet love stories.”   Maggie Stiefvater on Maggie Stiefvater: All of my life decisions have been based around my inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space and coming to work in your pyjamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor or technical editor (all of which I've tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists, musicians and artists (I've made my living as one of these since I was 22). I now live an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with my charmingly straight-laced husband, two small kids, two neurotic dogs, one criminally insane cat and a 1973 Camaro named Loki. I'm an avid reader, an award-winning coloured pencil artist and play several musical instruments, including the Celtic harp, the piano and the bagpipes. I also make great cocktail party conversation. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation