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A review by lollyr
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
ok, let's start with the good-
Galaxy "Alex" Stern is a great MC. she's smart and interesting even if she's a bit of a cliche. At some points in the story, the book was an absolute hold over me and I couldn't put it down. The action and most of the dialog were well made in engaging.
So. the not so good-
it was slow and so unnecessary descriptive. It felt like Bardugo was trying so very hard to convince the reader that she's a "serious" writer. I don't care about the history of every brick on Yale's grounds. it was all supposed to gather to this big metaphor but I don't think it worked well.
on that note, lest take a moment to talk about the sheer amount of sexual violence in the book. I was aware of the trigger warnings before reading and I think some of to was important for the plot. but, I think this book was folded with too much sexual violence just for shock value. at some points, Bardugo was so close to making a big social commentary but every time it fell flat. non of the victims of abuse or SA were handled with care. All of Alex's trauma was washed off for the sake of the plot.
Galaxy "Alex" Stern is a great MC. she's smart and interesting even if she's a bit of a cliche. At some points in the story, the book was an absolute hold over me and I couldn't put it down. The action and most of the dialog were well made in engaging.
So. the not so good-
it was slow and so unnecessary descriptive. It felt like Bardugo was trying so very hard to convince the reader that she's a "serious" writer. I don't care about the history of every brick on Yale's grounds. it was all supposed to gather to this big metaphor but I don't think it worked well.
on that note, lest take a moment to talk about the sheer amount of sexual violence in the book. I was aware of the trigger warnings before reading and I think some of to was important for the plot. but, I think this book was folded with too much sexual violence just for shock value. at some points, Bardugo was so close to making a big social commentary but every time it fell flat. non of the victims of abuse or SA were handled with care. All of Alex's trauma was washed off for the sake of the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment