MAGGIE STIEFVATER'S violent, stand-out fantasy, "The Scorpio Races," is set on the fictional island of Thisby, in either a near past or a dystopian future where there are cars and radios but no mention of television or the Internet. Here, young men are drawn to the barren beaches of the Scorpio Sea each November to compete in a brutal race astride capaill uisce (CAP-ul ISH-kuh), commonly known as water horses. Stiefvater, most recognized for her "Shiver" werewolf romances, not only steps out of the young adult fantasy box with "The Scorpio Races" but crushes it with pounding hooves. Adapted from Celtic legend, the meat-eating mounts of this inventive, tightly woven tale have the ability to lull their human riders into a stupor whereby the fairy horses can then carry them back to the ocean to be devoured. The two likable and well-realized main characters have been born and raised in this rough and isolated but tightknit island society. Kate Connolly, or Puck, as she is called, has already lost both her parents to the capaill uisce. Now her older brother Gabe is threatening to leave the island, and the only way Puck can keep her impoverished family intact is to enter the Scorpio Races and win the pot. Sean Kendrick, another orphan and locally lauded for his ability to calm the capaill uisce shares Puck's fierce determination. Sean works for the callous owner of Thisby's largest horse yard; he has ridden Malvern stables' champion stallion Corr to victory in the last four races. Now 19-year-old Sean is ready to call his life his own. Two sides of the same coin, their stories told in alternating first-person, Puck and Sean both love Thisby and its horses. Yet Puck embodies forward-looking progress in challenging her beloved islanders' exclusion of women racers, while Sean looks to the ancient pagan traditions surrounding the water horses as a way to preserve what is best in Thisby. This chasm engenders a romance, born of mutual respect. But of course, both riders can't win, and this tension drives the novel to its bloody but satisfying conclusion while leaving the stall door open for further installments. Stiefvater's descriptions of the small island community, from the gossipy butcher shop to the sacred hush of the Malvern stables, are poetically rendered and steeped in a belief system that feels entirely real. The pull between the island's pagan past and it's seemingly Catholic present creates a well-constructed metaphor for teenagers struggling to understand current frictions between religion, politics and pop culture. The islanders' fight to maintain their heritage even as their economy lags behind the mainland's - and of the Americans who show up to watch the races - also feels relevant to those suffering the effects of recent financial upheaval. If "The Scorpio Races" sounds like nothing you've ever read, that's because it is. The capaill uisce are exhilarating, frightening creations, far more fascinating in their quivering, carnivorous rage than lovelorn vampires or angsty fallen angels, the current paranormal darlings of Y.A. literature. Stiefvater has successfully plumbed lesser-known myths and written a complex literary thriller that pumps new blood into a genre suffering from post-"Twilight" burnout. Jennifer Hubert Swan is the middle-school librarian at the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School. She blogs at Reading Rants.

From the author's original music to the sweeping drama of Sean Kendrick and Puck Connolly's quest to win the deadly annual water horse races, the dual performances of West and Hardingham drive the narrative to its satisfying conclusion. This 2012 Odyssey Honor award winner showcases how a listening experience can raise a strong narrative to an even higher level as the tension builds. Common Core Standard: RL.9-10.5. Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. Content Standard: Illinois State Board of Education (English Language Arts) State Goal #1: Read with understanding and fluency C. Comprehend a broad range of reading material1.C.4e. Analyze how authors and illustrators use text and art to express and emphasize their ideas (e.g., imagery, multiple points of view). (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.