The Scorpio Races Summary

About nine years ago, little Sean Kendrick watched as a horse ate his dad. Mr. Ed
must have been really hungry that day, and they were all out of peanut butter.
Flash forward to the present. The island of Thisby is bustling with activity as the
bloodthirsty water horses, known as capaill uisce, emerge from the seas dripping
wet and hungry for human flesh. It's like the Galloping Dead, except these horses
aren't zombies.
Puck Connolly, ne Kate, has decided to enter the Scorpio Racesan annual
event in which all the people who manage to catch and tame a water horse race
them. Many people die. The Kentucky Derby this ain't. Puck decides to ride her
own horse, Dove, in the race, half because she can't afford to purchase a water
horse, half because no one will sell her one, and half because she's scared of
them. Okay, that equals 150%, but you get the point.
The journey to the races is difficult, and not because Puck is fighting to keep her
fingers from being bitten off. She has to face a lot of prejudice as a result of being
the first female to ever try entering the races. She's the Sally Ride of water horse
racing. To make matters worse, her brother Gabe has decided to leave Thisby,
and if Puck doesn't win, the family will lose their house.
Meanwhile, Sean Kendricknow all grown upis a studly sea-horse whisperer,
training his horse, Corr, for the races as he does every year. Tensions between Sean
and the stable owner's son, Mutt, have reached a new high. Jealous of Sean's
success, Mutt tries to sabotage Sean every step of the wayattempting to get him
killed, trying to injure his horse, peeing in his boots, etc. The peeing in the boots part
is just gross.
Eventually, Sean and Puck team up to train together for the races. Along the way,
Puck tries to understand why Gabe is leaving, and she grows closer to her other
brother, Finn, who sells his car so they can afford food for Dove (Puck's real horse
who she'll be racing). No one would sell her a water horse, and she thinks that
having a real horse gives her an advantage.
Sean has money problems of his own. He wants to buy Corr, but Mr. Malvern won't
sell him. An American stable owner, George Holly, tries to hire Sean, but he won't
leave without Corr. Finally Sean convinces Malvern to sell him Corr if he wins the
races one more year.
On race day, Mutt Malvern makes his last move. Knowing Sean has the hots for
Puck (they've been smooching ever since Sean went to Puck's for dinner), he gets
his scary horse, Skata, to attack Dove. Sean intervenes, driving Malvern into the
sea, never to be seen again. Puck wins the Scorpio Races and all the money that
comes with it. Hooray!
She wants to help Sean, but she doesn't have enough money to pay off their
house and buy Corr. Luckily, nice brother Finn ended up betting on Puck to win.
She was a long shot, so he's rolling in dough, and he lends Puck the cash to buy
Corr.
Sean buys Corr and decides to set him free, believing he'll be happiest at sea. Corr
has other plans, though. He refuses to go to sea and returns to Sean. They all live
together happily ever after.

Author Biography
Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916, in Llandaff, South Wales. In 1953, he
published the best-selling story collection Someone Like You and married actress Patricia
Neil. He published the popular book James and the Giant Peach in 1961. In 1964, he
released another highly successfuly work, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was
later adapted for two films. Over his decades-long writing career, Dahl wrote 19 children's
books. He died on November 23, 1990, in Oxford, England.

Schmidt, Gary D. 1957

Personal
Born April 14, 1957, in Hicksville, NY; son of Robert H. (a bank vice president) and Jeanne
A. (a teacher) Schmidt; married Anne E. Stickney (a writer), December 22, 1979; children:
James, Kathleen, Rebecca, David, Margaret, Benjamin. Education: Gordon College, B.A.,
1979; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.A., 1981, Ph.D., 1985. Religion:
Christian Reformed. Hobbies and other interests: Gardening.
Career
Author and educator. Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, professor of English, 1985,
department head, 1991-97.
Member
Children's Literature Association, Early English Text Society, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Alpha
Chi.
Awards, Honors
Honorable mention, Book Award Committee, Children's Literature Association, 1993, for
Robert McCloskey; Best Books for Young Adults citation, American Library Association
(ALA), 1997, for The Sin Eater; Newbery Honor Book designation, ALA, Michael L. Printz
Honor Book designation, ALA, and Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book designation, all
2005, all for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy; Newbery Honor Book designation,
2008, for The Wednesday Wars.