Reviews with content warning for Racism - Ninth House

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

106 reviews

mutterwithtutter's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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dixiecarroll's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

An interesting take on the dark academia genre though I would call this more of a murder mystery with some dark academia in it - Alex Stern is not in a secret society, she is the “law and order” for them (vague take). I ultimately think this was trying so hard to be an adult book that it was over complicated and confusing, but I had fun and I’m excited for the sequel!

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alicemaras's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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bubblxgumwitch's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Severos trigger warnings pero qué libro más chulo.

“Cuando Darlington había calificado ese estilo de ‘brutalista’, Alex había dicho: Sí, es verdad que parece que los edificios te quieren dar una paliza.”

TW: Violación, agresión y abuso sexual.

Me gustó muchísimo este libro y lo recomiendo sobre todo si os gusta la magia y odiáis los EEUU, la policía y las instituciones universitarias. En mi reseña de Reino de ladrones dije que Leigh Bardugo no se cortaba un pelo haciendo crítica social real en su mundo fantástico. Bueno, pues en el mundo real se corta menos aún.

Lo que más llama la atención de esta novela es la premisa: las sociedades secretas y elitistas de Yale (reales, por cierto) se dedican al ocultismo y a la magia (esto no es real o al menos no demostrable). En un intento para regular su actividad, se funda una novena casa para que supervise a las demás. La novena recluta a Alex, una chica de los bajos fondos de Los Angeles, y ella tendrá que investigar a los niños pijos de las otras ocho casas para resolver un crimen.

El personaje más interesante es Alex. Su personalidad, su trasfondo, sus secretos. Darlington me gusta también, pero palidece en comparación. Además, por cómo se estructura el libro, sus capítulos son flashbacks y paralizan el transcurso de la trama. Y aún encima su voz narrativa es mucho más pausada que la de Alex y a veces era un poco frustrante de leer, porque lo que yo quería era saber cómo avanzaba la historia y en vez de eso tenía que leer sobre los padres de Darlington. El resto de personajes son bastante chulos también, mención destacada al desarrollo de Turner Y SOBRE TODO a Pamela Dawes. Un besazo, reina.

Como siempre, Bardugo brilla en los diálogos. Alex es tan sarcástica como Kaz en sus mejores momentos y es una delicia leerla.

El mayor problema de este libro creo que es el ritmo. Soy muy consciente de esto, cuando algo me gusta mucho y lo quiero recomendar no puedo evitar sacarle fallos, como si la gente me fuera a reclamar si no le gusta. La verdad es que La novena casa tarda en arrancar (aunque, una vez que lo hace, engancha), avanza un poco a trompicones y las pistas de la resolución final podrían haber estado mejor distribuidas, porque en los últimos capítulos hay algunas cosas que salen un poco de la nada. No es que la trama del misterio y la investigación esté mal, ya digo que me gustó mucho el libro, pero podría haber estado mejor repartida. Tampoco soy muy fan de la traducción, pero prefiero no entrar ahí. En otras reseñas he leído que a alguna gente le pareció repetitiva tanta descripción de Yale y de la ciudad, pero a mí me gustó mucho, y cada vez añadía un detalle interesante.

Siguiendo con el worldbuilding, la magia está muy bien entrelazada con los elementos reales de la universidad. Cada sociedad secreta se especializa en un tipo de magia bien definido y eso me gustó mucho porque me encanta clasificarlo todo. Hay un glosario al final con todas las casas y sus ex-miembros más ilustres al que recomiendo un montón echarle un vistazo (Jodie Foster hace magia de glamoures??? sign me the fuck up), y también recomiendo utilizar el mapa del principio. Aún así, sí que es verdad que hay algún elemento de la construcción del mundo que no aparece hasta el final de todo y me da mucha pena porque parece que sale de la nada. Me habría encantado que se hubiera insinuado un poco antes.

Los temas del libro son odiar a la gente rica, elitista, misógina y racista. Hay más cosas por ahí, pero el meollo es ese. Un mensaje que puedo apoyar al 100%, lo recomiendo mucho si os identificáis con ese sentimiento. Ya he dicho que tiene sus fallos, pero merece la pena.

Al parecer va a ser una trilogía y la segunda parte ya ha salido. No tengo muy claro cómo me siento al respecto, porque, aunque evidentemente queda una cosa por resolver, el misterio ya está resuelto, ya se cayeron las caretas. Quizás me equivoco pero tengo la sensación de que en la segunda parte el tema ya no va a ser odiar a la gente rica y me da un poco de pena que la crítica social pueda perder fuerza. Aún así, me parece que se puede leer este y no leer los siguientes. El cabo suelto que queda es bastante grande, pero (dependiendo de qué aspecto te interese más) no necesariamente importante para la trama, podría haber sido autoconclusivo perfectamente si Bardugo hubiera querido.

Conclusión: lo que dije al principio. Cuidado con los trigger warnings, pero muy recomendable.

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gretchenplz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Before I go any further, please check the TWs before picking this book up — There are graphic descriptions of sexual assault, child molestation, and rape, as well as domestic violence, racism, drug abuse, overdose, non-consensual drugging, and relationships between a minor and an adult.

I overall really enjoyed this book, which was unexpected, since I DNF'd the second book in the Six of Crows duology. I thought the story was really unique and layered expertly.

My main quarrel is with Leigh's tendency (this is why I DNF'd Crooked Kingdom) to tell you rather than show you. What I mean by that is that there is very little dialogue and more paragraphs and paragraphs of text that are hard to focus on and make progress slow. I also was VERY concerned during the first 60 or so pages of this book, because we are thrown right in with NO context, and you just have to read and try to retain the information for when it is finally explained (it is finally explained, I promise). There are a lot of terms that you have to wrangle and a lot of characters to keep up with, but it is worth it to push through.

I loved the characters (Alex is my gf, I really hope we get more of Darlington in Hell Bent because I have a huge crush on him just from the Manuscript Party scene, Dawes is my other gf, North is my pining bb) and I thought the plot was really good. Dark academia, secret societies, a murder mystery, ghosts?! It's full of good stuff.

Can't wait to read Hell Bent!

Content Warnings

mac96's review against another edition

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it was gross, it was so gross i feel like vomiting.
explicit child rape
and a whole bunch of racist, classist bullshit. refer to the review by user: vader for a fuller picture on just how bad this book gets.
for me, this is a hard lesson in reading content warnings before picking up a book. please do yourself a favor and leave this one on the shelf.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Writing: 5⭐️/5

The writing in this novel is stunning. Bardugo moves easily from highly controlled and crafted prose to snippy, sassy quips with ease. Part of the reason it took me a few hours longer to read than I would have guessed is because I spent so much time writing brilliant, eloquent quotes into my notes app. Absolutely stunning writing.

Characters: 5⭐️/5

The characters felt real and fully developed. I enjoyed how much time was spent seeing characters from other character’s perspective, giving us insight into how each character presents themselves, as well as their internal bias and judgement they push onto others. Certain characters that, at the beginning felt fairly flat, were given time and space to showcase their personalities later, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way the female relationships were explored in this novel. The care in which these relationships were engaged made me very happy both as a reader and a woman.

Plot: 4.5⭐️/5

**Spoilers below**

I took one issue with the plot, which was the employment of a rape scene. Personally, I felt this scene was unnecessary both to the development of our main character, as well as the progression of the plot. This particular scene didn’t really fit for me and could have been written in a different way to give the same effect. My main takeaway from the scene was that it mostly read as an easy way to give our MC “trauma,” which could have been done in a number of more interesting and less triggering ways.

Otherwise, the overarching plot was entirely enjoyable to read and kept me thoroughly engaged until the end.

Who Should Read This Book?

Lovers of dark academia, fantasy and/or magical murder mystery novels
Those who want an adult fantasy read with a spark of romance and little to no spice
Readers wanting an engaging world and well-established magic system
Someone looking for a strong fantasy read with strong female relationships

Content Warnings?

Rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual content, gore, blood, vomit, medical trauma, death, abandonment, drug use, alcohol use, excrement, injury, pedophilia,

Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5

I was engaged until the final page. Excited for the sequel.

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

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emwgrace's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ninth House, while far from a perfect book, gave me a reading experience that most closely resembles the way I would devour books when I was younger and still falling in love with reading, and to me, that is a far better gift than unattainable perfection. I bought this book at my local Barnes & Noble and dove into it as soon as I got home like I used to so many years ago, before online book culture restructured my relationship with reading and made the feeling of acquiring new books almost as satisfying as finishing a good one.

I picked this up right after its sequel Hell Bent released, as I was feeling seriously left out while everyone on my Twitter timeline was reading it. While the magic system Bardugo creates isn’t without flaw, and while there are many criticisms of heavier topics this novel attempts to tackle that I respect, this world and its characters have stuck in my brain like no other book has in a long time.

The thing is, I can totally see why some people wouldn’t like this book. It does take a bit of effort to get into the groove of things. There are plenty of long descriptions of New Haven and Yale. We are given a lot of details about the different societies that are difficult to remember and keep straight for the first two hundred pages or so. One of the most loved characters—in a novel that sets out to critique the way in which class and race interact with the accessibility to education (and in this case, magic)—is a rich white guy (Darlington, my beloved.) There are graphic depictions of assault that were tough to read. But for me, reading this book was very much like discovering magic was for Darlington and Alex. It felt like one of the world's secrets was being revealed to me. There were parts that filled me with wonder, like the sentient Il Bastone that decides who it will open its doors to, moths that soak up the ink of tattoos and make them vanish, and an elixir that allows you to see the dead. There were some parts that, like the magic in this story, were very flawed and at times downright ugly. To see and acknowledge the shortcomings of something but to love it anyway—that is how I feel about this book.

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amburrella's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Jokes about race aren’t funny, have never been funny, and will never be funny. I’m surprised those jokes made it past sensitivity editing.

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rachelcotter1's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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