Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

26 reviews

thenoodlevore's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I think the book tackled some difficult issues well and I could identify with some of the complex feelings of the characters. I appreciated the honesty in it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Classism, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body shaming, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Car accident, Death, and Terminal illness

madinhoa's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Classism, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt

jelliestars's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Excrement, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cancer, Colonisation, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Infidelity, and Slavery

quiet_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Outing, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Drug abuse

naliscribbles's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Bullying, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kandaceab's review

dark mysterious fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Vomit

ashlightgrayson's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

(specifically, Lethe, the Ninth House she becomes a member of) for her unique ability to see Grays (this world's version of ghosts, essentially). It was interesting seeing Alex and Darlington (her guide in Lethe) interact.. Darlington has grown up in high society and has a background that contrasts Alex greatly. In their initial interactions it is clear that he is quite  judgemental of Alex. However, as we discover more about both Darlington's and Alex's past, it is clear that they share experiences that parallel each other. This explains why they understand each other very well as they get to know each other.

The story switches back and forth between the past and the present. It took me a few moments to realize that events were occuring in a dual timeline, but it's not something that was too confusing or took away from the story. There were intermittent snippets of Alex and Darlington's backgrounds sprinkled in. It made it easier to understand their motivations within the story and also created a lot of sympathy for both of them. Additionally, it made me want to keep reading to find out more about them.

Furthermore, I appreciated the female to femlae relationships in the book. Dawes and Alex don't really like each other that much when they first. As the story progresses it is clear that the most unexpected people can become the best allies. We don't see Alex's roomates very often in the story. However, via events in the story, it is clear that they are becoming friends more than roomates. There were cathartic moments that they had together that involved pain, vengeance, and justice that felt satisfying to me. I also appreciated the loving mother/daughter relationship shown between Alex and her mother. There is a lot of painful history between them. Despite that, it is clear that they absolutely love and care for one another .

This books explores very dark themes including drug addiction, sexual assault, rape culture, etc. The theme exploration I enjoyed the most in the story is that of poverty and how growing up in poverty or scarcity affects how you think about things as an adult. There are a lot of moments where some of the thoughts Alex has or the way she perceives things show us that she grew up poor. That was also probably the most impressive thing about Leigh Bardugo's writing; she has an amazing way of showing you a character without having to tell you about them. It made this reading experience incredibly enjoyable for me. I'm looking forward to the sequel because this story was such a pleasure to dive into.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Forced institutionalization

lauramparis's review

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Minor: Rape, Abandonment, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Medical content

mattiedancer's review

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**

Spoiler

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Medical content, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Toxic friendship, Classism, and Stalking

nenya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

this was such an easy 5 stars holy smokes. i‘ve got to be honest, i found it quite hard to really get into it at first (it’s not being told chronically and there are like 3-4 points in time that keep changing throughout the narrative and that you need to keep track of - but once you figure it out, it really adds to the reading experience, i loved it) but the plot, characters and especially the plot twists (!!) really won me over - especially the plot twists, because they are partly very hard to predict (also because of the time jumps), which made this book a very mysterious and catching read. the only complaint i have is that the sequel won’t be out until next year :((

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Misogyny

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, and Gun violence