Ninth House - English Review

THE PLOT

As on Goodreads:

"Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive"

THE REVIEW

In a nutshell: the book is obviously worth reading. Leigh Bardugo is, as we all know, one of the best fantasy authors when it comes to writing. From the world building to the psychological developement, from the way she makes you like the characters to all the ways you could dislike them.
If you have enjoyed "Six of Crows" and "Shadow and Bone" you have to read this one too, but do not expect anything similar to the other novels.

First of all, "Ninth House" is not an YA (even if it isn't so graphic as other fantasy adult books are sometimes. Not always, at least). 
Do expect a darker atmosphere and more pressing subjects than those of the Grishaverse, even if that saga also isn't all unicorns and rainbows.

This time, Bardugo doesn't have to focus on world building, since she chooses to set the story pretty much in the real world. However she gives you a great point of view on the secret societies of Yale Universty, be they real or not. What you can tell by reading "Ninth House" is a tangible interest on the author part in the general history around secret societies, in the people who dwell in them, in their vices and power struggles. 

The character of Alex Stern benefits from this choice since the reader manages to empathize with her  also thanks to this realistic setting, even if Alex went through some hardships that most people don't live. The palpable sufferings of Alex, the challenging events in her life and her doubts contribute to  the realistic vibe, which stays even if the fantasy element is always present.

The book reminded me of Meggie Stiefvater's "The Raven Cycle" and that's the main reason I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story (and why I do not feel like giving it 4 stars). Some details were to similar. And I'm not meaning anything by that. Paranormal and fantasy books have common archetypes which have been used to death, but they can be still interesting and captivating thanks to the ability of some authors who manage to rework and to transform them in order to create something new and to surprise us. Both Stievfater and Bardugo do that, I am just saying that some of the topos used here just took away some of that "surprise" for me.

Is that a reason for a big no no? Of course not, it' s just something that, personally, didn't let me dive into the story. Things such as:

-Weirdo mothers? Checked ✔

-Outcasted main female character with paranormal powers? We have it ✔

- Possibile or actual romantic interest who is probably a rich guy from a good family, but who has also that something that makes him stand out. Plus a desire for uniqueness? Yep, there it is (Dick and Darlington) ✔

-Strong contrast between tha strange and new girl and those form the big American school/college with whom she manages to mingle nontheless? Got it ✔

-Murder On The Ley Lines? Yep! ✔

The big difference (except for the plot itself, of course) is that while Meggie Stievfater deals with dark and poignant matters by creating an innocent and kind of light atmosphere, setting the story in a place that seems so far away from everything (even if it's Virginia we are talking about), Leigh Bardugo's choice is for a very concrete setting, where she leads us through fraternities and sororities, violence and abuse.

The author's skill lays in her abilty to create a delicate balance between world building and characters psycological developement. And it is never boring. On the contrary, she is also able to weave a compelling thriller plot in there.

Another minor issue is that I felt it to be a first book, as it is, actually. And as it often happens with first books it seems that the focus is on drawing the reader in the saga rather than on the overall structure.

Nevertheless I am sure that the following book will be able to make me a real fan, as it always happens with Leigh Bardugo's works. Plus I am waiting to be able to review the sequels (as soon as they'll be published), since I think that the real strength of this author is to weave coerent and convincing storylines and characters throughout a whole series and not in just one book.

 

Final vote: 3.5/5 ⭐

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