Hello hello my friends and also hello November,
there are some dates in literature that just have that special meaning to some readers. For example the first of September because the new school year at Hogwarts starts. Or, the first of November for fans of The Scorpio Races.
I actually read the book two years ago but until now it is still my favourite book written by Maggie Stiefvater. And because it is November 1st, why not make a little blog post on the book and its author?
What’s the deal with November 1st in this book, you might ask. Well, the first sentence is “It’s the first of November and so, today, someone will die.” Hence the title. Why is somebody going to die?
Maybe I should start at the beginning. What is this book even about?
At the first day of November there is a race. A race of brave or foolish men on wild, blood-thirsty horses. The horses return to the sea again, the constant pull of the ocean deeply rooted inside them. Some of the men might die. But there will only be one winner.
One of the competitors is Sean Kendrick. Young, not much of a talker and good with horses, he has been a part of the Scorpio Races since he’s been a child, first as a spectator cheering for his dad, later a racer himself. Puck Connolly is the first ever girl to participate. And then she doesn’t even plan to ride on a water horse, but her very own mare.
Why do I like this book so much? – Well, the whole atmosphere has this whole “stormy autumn weather” vibe. It’s just very gloomy. And you can feel the cold wind in your hair, the splashes of sea water on your skin, sand everywhere. It is so easy to picture everything and it is quite magical even though there is no magic at all. To be exact, with the exception of water horses the story is quite realistic. But then the water horses are what makes the story unique. Because these animals are so majestic and deadly and strong and I maybe fell in love with them a little bit (or a lot).
And the characters were great as well. Especially the main characters and their horses. Two people who love their horses endlessly, there’s so much trust and friendship between them. Both of the humans have lost so much but they are both strong and brave and nice. Yeah, nice doesn’t even cover it a little bit but they are just so good and somewhat sweet, but they can both be pretty harsh if they need to be. And yeah, I’d recommend this book for cold November days when the wind is howling and it rains against the window but you can snuggle up inside and just read.
What other books has Maggie Stiefvater written? You have probably heard of The Raven Cycle already. I had some problems with this series at first because it was just so hard to get into. But when I finally didn’t care about it anymore and other stuff was explained, I started to enjoy the series a lot. A lot a lot a lot, to be honest. Not that I ever became a total fangirl and made edits and stuff, I’m not aesthetic enough for that. But eh, that fandom is one of the most aesthetic fandoms I know. I don’t know any other way to describe it. What TRC is about? Some nerd trying to find a dead Welsh king with the help of some more nerds, his friends. It gets dangerous and funny and magical. And I just realized I have to reread the series at some point. I don’t really know how to describe the series. It’s very weird but very good.
The other series by Maggie Stiefvater I’ve read were the Wolves of Mercy Falls. This series has some awesome female characters and literally the sweetest boy in existence. Really. He is such so sweet and cute and caring. And also a werewolf.
And yet again Maggie Stiefvater manages to create such a vivid atmosphere, cold winter days and warm houses. Friends and survivors, enemies and lovers. And even though it is a rather slow series, there are so many cute details and wonderful characters in it that I enjoyed it a lot nevertheless.
