Galaxy (Alex) Stern sees dead people. And they see her. And sometimes they can touch her, and it’s as horrible as you can imagine. In fact, the first 20 years of Alex’s life have been pretty horrible. Her father has been MIA her whole life. And her hippie-dippie mother, Mira, is well-meaning but completely ineffective when it comes to keeping Alex safe. Instead, Alex turns to drugs; dropping out of high school and moving in with her child predator of a drug dealer boyfriend. Not ideal, but the drugs limit the interactions between her and the Quiet Ones.
At least until she gets to Yale. After Alex survives a brutal mass murder back home in Los Angeles, she is recruited by a secret society at Yale called Lethe House, the Ninth House. Lethe acts as the watchdog for the “landed” secret societies of Yale. Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, etc. At Yale, Alex learns that magic is real, the Quite Ones are called Grays, and that her ability to see them is not a curse, but an untapped gift. At least according to Lethe House.
Alex is trained as the new Lethe House “Dante” by her “Virgil,” Daniel Arlington. Darlington, as he’s known, is everything Alex is not. Unlike Alex, Darlington is an East Coast native, from old money, over-educated, multilingual and well-traveled. And, unlike Alex, Darlington is a true believer in the mission of Lethe House; that they are the shepherds. That they keep Yale and New Haven safe from irresponsible magic use by the houses.
Alex, however, is just looking for a soft spot to land. To her, Yale offers safety and beauty and finally enough to eat. But she needs her Lethe House scholarship to keep all of that, so she (begrudgingly) learns what she can and even solves a few magic-related mysteries along the way.
Rating: 5 stars (I’ve read it three times now and still think it’s just a fantastic fantasy book)
CBR18 Bingo Circle: “Refuge” because that’s really all that Alex wants, is a refuge from the horrors of her life.
