Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Galaxy Stern is the most unlikely Yale freshman. Raised in LA by a hippie mom and no other family to rely on, she fell into a world of drugs, shitty boyfriends, dangerous jobs, and so much worse. Things just get more horrible for Alex until one fateful night she becomes the sole survivor of an unsolved multiple homicide. While recovering, Alex is offered the chance of a lifetime, to attend a prestigious Ivy League College on a full scholarship, the only thing she has to do is keep an eye on the 8 secret societies that practice forbidden magic at the school. But as the societies activities become much more sinister, Alex must find a way to put a stop to it without getting caught herself.
Content Warnings: Violence, sexual assault, murder, gore, drug use, drug addiction, overdose, death, suicide, self harm.
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This book was absolutely amazing. “Dark Academia” wasn’t something that appealed to me strongly before but this book has completely changed my mind. Nothing like The Secret History (thank God), the magical realism and the slow build of this plot kept me so intrigued. Leigh has such a unique way of bringing her characters to life even while only feeding us small pieces of their backstory at a time. I felt like I knew Alex right from those first few chapters. The world this was set in was so immersive, a blend between a world we are familiar with and a darker world hidden underneath. I enjoyed this book so much and now it’s the only kind of book I want to read. This was my first ever Leigh Bardugo book and it’s left me so hopeful for the rest of her works.
The pace of this book was difficult to get in sync with at first but I think in the end it was the best way to expose the story within. In the prologue we are thrust right into a confusing world full of suspense and mystery, then we’re immediately dropped off into a regular day in the life of Alex Stern at the beginning of the semester that seems to be going so badly for her in the prologue. Yet even in the beginning of the book, during a “typical” college day, we’re introduced to gruesome rituals performed by one of the oldest societies at Yale. There is no slow build to the darkness that haunts this book, but there is in slowly navigating the backstory of our heroine. I thought the fast paced investigation of what’s happening in the present clashed perfectly with the slow revelations of who Alex Stern really is and why she’s trying so hard to succeed at something she’s lead everyone to believe she cares so little about.
The characters were an absolute treat. Alex is a tough girl with a solid ice outer shield. Yet throughout the book, no matter how “hard” she is, she isn’t afraid to show vulnerability to those she trusts. She doesn’t close herself off from the world or think that she’s somehow better or more wise in the world because of her experiences. I think it’s nice to see characters like this. She has a soft side but still embraces her darker inclinations and isn’t ashamed of either aspect of her personality. Her character development throughout the book was one of the best parts, going from just trying to get by in order to start a new life to actually trying at something she’s found she’s passionate about, even at risk to her future. Darlington was so multi-dimensional even though he was mainly just a character mentioned in passing. We got very little of him yet he feels as real and beloved as the rest of the characters. Dawes was one of my personal favourites, who says shy and studious bookworms can’t be part of the action? I also really enjoyed the code names and the hierarchy within the House of Lethe. It reminded me of those cliche secret service movies like Bond or the Kingsman and made the whole thing a lot more elegant and mysterious.
This book was a five star read for me. I really never wanted to put it down. It was perfectly mysterious, perfectly dark, and just the right amount of magic and academia to ease my old Harry Potter loving heart. Another book that I highly recommend if you’re looking for a dark and twisty escape, especially if you’re into magical realism and college life. There’s talk of a sequel and I already cannot wait to read it. 5 stars.