A review by hwildy
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

After being in a reading slump this was exactly what I needed, even though it was dark this book was painfully funny. Alex was a wonderful protagonist in the way that she was heavily flawed and often times very lost in what was happening. She was sharp witted and cruel when needed but being slowly given her story we were able to love her before we even knew her, much like Dawes or Darlington. As someone who has struggled with addiction the recurring mention, though often times being off handed or part of a bigger picture, resonated with the way my own life often revolved around those actions. Her mother was a distant character in the book and we get the sense that Alex had to distance them to not hurt her mother any more. Dawes is my favorite character in the book, I don’t care if she wasn’t that large a role, she was funny in the same way as Alex and in my opinion she is meant to be what Alex could have been. From the beginning I hated the Dean ,mostly because he was an old man but that doesn’t matter, he was a very well hidden character and I felt he served his purpose. The minor role of Mercy and her other roommate felt like another metaphor for addiction, the magic in her life is something she has to hide from her friends to protect herself and then. In many ways magic is another addiction as it does take a toll on the body but when practicing it is something of great relief and pain. I hope Darlington comes back because even though he was annoying there are clearly layers to his character. North was great, he reminds me of an older sibling and his an Alex’s constant power struggle was hilarious in the face of the ‘no interaction’ and ‘no making deals’ rules of the Lethe. The writing style was very addictive and the perfect balance between description and action. The dialogue was fantastic, mostly Alex’s. Alex’s final act in this major plot point was reclaiming her name Galaxy which she had once traded for Alex and the normality it brought. 
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