When a friend recommended Iron Widow to me, I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t my normal fare of reading, but I do love a book recommendation, and WOW, this book did not disappoint. It boasts compelling characters, a fascinating storyline, and a few surprises along the way.

For those who prefer clean readers, this may not be the book for you.

Iron Widow Back Cover Copy

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
 
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​
 
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

On a scale of cotton candy to Brussels sprouts, Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is boiled beets with mustard dressing. Earthy and potent, each bite grounds you.

Zetain has one goal to avenge her sister’s death, and she volunteers to become a concubine pilot just as her sister did so she can kill her sister’s killer. Her vengeance comes in a way she doesn’t expect, and from that moment on, she is labeled as the Iron Widow. In a world that honors the male pilots but uses women, Zetain has her own agenda, but can she make it happen?

What a sweeping tale of dystopian perils and successes with a love triangle sewn into the very fabric of the story! Author Xiran Jay Zhao created a world of such depth, ritual, and standards that felt like a narrative on our own world. It’s a story of deconstruction, power, and strategy. If you haven’t read it, you should.

Have you read the Iron Widow? What did you think?

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