This week’s staff pick is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. 
Some race to win. Others race to survive!
Each October on the island of Thisby, the capaill uisce, or water horses, emerge from the sea. Predatory meat-eaters, they endanger the islanders—but they are also fast, far faster than land horses, and if captured and very carefully handled, with iron and magic, they can be trained. Every first of November, the water horses are raced on the beach of Thisbyin in an event known as the Scorpio Races; winning brings fame and fortune, but losing often brings death.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She is the first girl to ever enter the competition. Puck, pits her land mare against the water horses in an attempt to save her home. Gradually, the two of them become confederates. The final race, with Sean and Puck each protecting each other but both determined to win, comes to a pitch-perfect conclusion.
