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A review by notesbynnenna
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
This is definitely one of the buzz books of fall. I felt like everyone was reading it, so I wanted to read it to! I went into it relatively blind. I knew it was set at Yale and involved secret societies, and that was enough to hook me.
It's about a young woman named Galaxy "Alex" Stern, who has been recruited into Lethe, a group that oversees the magic of the other secret societies at Yale. Alex is only 20, but she's had a hard life- think drug and alcohol problems, along with being connected to an unsolved murder. Yale is her chance to start over and choose a different path for her life. As she gets sucked into the underground world of the secret societies, the question is has she really escaped the darkness of her old life?
I will say that I read this really slowly, and at first I didn't really know what was going on. About a 100 pages in, I started to settle into the story and then my reading experience improved when I was able to read the last two-thirds of the book in one day. If you're planning to read this book, I suggest you get yourself all settled in a cozy reading spot and then dive in for a few hours. This book is a slow burn and I think it's a book that's better read in large chunks.
I absolutely loved that this was set at Yale. That's where I went to college, so reading about all the familiar places made me really nostalgic. I was amazed at how well Bardugo captured some of the nuances of Yale, and then I read in her author bio that she went to Yale too, so it all makes sense! I thought Yale/New Haven was the perfect atmospheric setting for this story about magic and power and wealth.
Because it's a slow burn, I think I appreciated the action even more. It really felt like a culmination of the plot. The story kept me guessing as little by little, I learned more about Alex's backstory. I also loved the bits from Darlington's perspective (he's Alex's mentor in Lethe). I love that name for a character and a little complaint of mine is that I wanted more Darlington!
Alex is not a nice girl, but she wants to be. She's living two lives, one as a student at Yale, and one as a delegate of Lethe. She wants to have a normal life and she's struggling to balance it all, but how "normal" can her life be when magic is involved? I admired how tenacious she was and how she chooses to listen to and follow her instincts.
Bardugo comments on socioeconomic class, as she shows the contrast between the wealthy students at Yale and Alex's more humble background. There's a level of privilege that Alex has to confront, whereas she's always had to fight for scraps to get by. We see people who are so greedy for power that they'll stop at nothing to gain more, no matter who's in their way.
I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about this when I finished, but as I gathered my thoughts, I realized that I really enjoyed it. As I mentioned, I loved the Yale setting and the secret societies provide such an intriguing atmosphere. I think that Bardugo writes dialogue really well, and that's also reflected in this book. I'm assuming this will be a series, since Goodreads lists it as "Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)," so I can't wait for the next installment. I think the second book will be even better because there will be less setup and we can dive right into the story!
It's about a young woman named Galaxy "Alex" Stern, who has been recruited into Lethe, a group that oversees the magic of the other secret societies at Yale. Alex is only 20, but she's had a hard life- think drug and alcohol problems, along with being connected to an unsolved murder. Yale is her chance to start over and choose a different path for her life. As she gets sucked into the underground world of the secret societies, the question is has she really escaped the darkness of her old life?
I will say that I read this really slowly, and at first I didn't really know what was going on. About a 100 pages in, I started to settle into the story and then my reading experience improved when I was able to read the last two-thirds of the book in one day. If you're planning to read this book, I suggest you get yourself all settled in a cozy reading spot and then dive in for a few hours. This book is a slow burn and I think it's a book that's better read in large chunks.
I absolutely loved that this was set at Yale. That's where I went to college, so reading about all the familiar places made me really nostalgic. I was amazed at how well Bardugo captured some of the nuances of Yale, and then I read in her author bio that she went to Yale too, so it all makes sense! I thought Yale/New Haven was the perfect atmospheric setting for this story about magic and power and wealth.
Because it's a slow burn, I think I appreciated the action even more. It really felt like a culmination of the plot. The story kept me guessing as little by little, I learned more about Alex's backstory. I also loved the bits from Darlington's perspective (he's Alex's mentor in Lethe). I love that name for a character and a little complaint of mine is that I wanted more Darlington!
Alex is not a nice girl, but she wants to be. She's living two lives, one as a student at Yale, and one as a delegate of Lethe. She wants to have a normal life and she's struggling to balance it all, but how "normal" can her life be when magic is involved? I admired how tenacious she was and how she chooses to listen to and follow her instincts.
Bardugo comments on socioeconomic class, as she shows the contrast between the wealthy students at Yale and Alex's more humble background. There's a level of privilege that Alex has to confront, whereas she's always had to fight for scraps to get by. We see people who are so greedy for power that they'll stop at nothing to gain more, no matter who's in their way.
I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about this when I finished, but as I gathered my thoughts, I realized that I really enjoyed it. As I mentioned, I loved the Yale setting and the secret societies provide such an intriguing atmosphere. I think that Bardugo writes dialogue really well, and that's also reflected in this book. I'm assuming this will be a series, since Goodreads lists it as "Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)," so I can't wait for the next installment. I think the second book will be even better because there will be less setup and we can dive right into the story!