Reading the summary, I was expecting a Hunger Games Version horse race, which is absolutely not the case in the end. True, the race remains central to the plot but it happens (very) late in the novel. I even wondered if it was really going to be right in the end ... Under the sign of Scorpio, it is not just about fighting to win the grand prize, but above all inner struggles to overcome his own fears and excel.
I thought the tone was more adult than in Shiver: Scorpio running is hard and cruel and Maggie Stievfater spares us nothing. Although at first it was a little hard to get into the universe, it soon became familiar with the pen of the author, which gives the plot of the novel a special poetry, especially when it comes to portray the island of Thisby or to express the feelings of heroes.
The main characters are also more mature, stronger: Puck is not a heroine who lets do it for repartee. Finn, his brother, is endearing and Dove, their mare, downright lovely. Special mention to Sean taciturn, which is more interested in horses than human beings. The relationship he has with Corr, his mount touched me enormously. Sean is like a sea horse, difficult to tame but terribly fascinating, and the duo he forms with Puck is full of charm. And what a joy to have a plot where romance is not in the foreground, without a shadow of a love triangle
Bewitched by the small island of Thisby, its people and their customs, so excited I turned the last page of Under the sign of Scorpio. The mythology of sea horses updated by Maggie Stievfater is original and conquered me by force that emanates so much so that I have to wonder what book deal after this novel whose characters continue to me haunt!
