Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

41 reviews

j_the_human's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK Y’ALL. 

Obviously this is Leigh Bardugo so I knew it was going to cook but I did not expect exactly HOW MUCH. 

Pros: 
- dark. Really dark. This is the dark in dark academia I’ve been looking for. 
- secret societies! Horrible unethical rituals!! A very traumatized girl not really given a choice but to get in the middle of it!! 
- complex, imperfect characters who you root for anyways because goddamn do they just deserve something good for once 
- REVENGE 
- 0 shying away from hard topics. Bardugo did not come to play (and please do check the trigger warnings) 

Cons:
- I think there were a few points that information was repeated almost verbatim and that was a teeny tiny bit annoying, but also most people probably didn’t read this in all of 2 days like I did. 
- I’m gonna reiterate that this is dark because if you’re not in the place for it, it could be REALLY bad 

Overall: 
I’ve not given a dark academia book more than a 3 star before but this gave me all that elitism, all that “the rich get away with it”, the “if you have what they want you can get in but never be one of them” vibe that is quintessential to dark academia, but in a way that engaged with the themes and how otherwise good people could fall foul of them, not just making everyone into cartoonishly evil people, because that’s not how the world works! This was dark and gritty and punch you in the teeth with violence and gore and horror, but kept from despair by genuine human connection and that sometimes, even on the worst days, eating junk food with a friend is enough to keep you hanging on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

seakingnur's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

It's a very intriguing world. I think the ending makes sense. Everything in the story builds into that and all the loose ends are tied. It's a well written story.

I feel like you can figure out who the culprit likely is. You read this book more for all the moments in-between. All the close calls Alex has to go through in order to find the evidence she needs. The ways she interacts with Darlington, Dawes, her roommates, the people from her past. The story is driven very much by the main character. You want to know more about her, what she's gone through, how she's going to react to everything that's being thrown at her.

It's a well-built complex magical system that's woven into our own world. I think I prefer stories like that rather than having a magical world completely separate from our own.

This can be a very heavy book. I recommend it but also be cautious while reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Antisemitism

brjedi26's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Blood

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Antisemitism

toelva's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Vomit

Minor: Antisemitism

chamaeleontis's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

Pretty slow start, but when it gets going, it gets GOING.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hippievamp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

there is an intense and extremely vivid description of attempted rape on a twelve year old.

jacksons_books_and_music's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

First of all, I absolutely agree with many others in that there are problems regarding some of the representation that is stereotypical and harmful. Similar with Six of Crows, I don’t think the problematic representation was intended by the author and I know she has shown she’s willing to learn from the criticism she receives. The book definitely needed 1-2 more sensitivity reads, and she and her editors should have thought more deeply about certain topics.

The story itself is masterfully crafted. It’s more ingenious than Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, which I loved. There are amazing, well-developed characters and profound themes. I am excited to dive into the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Excrement, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

itshrewsbury's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Antisemitism

joensign's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Racial slurs and Antisemitism

oliviak_96's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Blood

Minor: Antisemitism