Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

109 reviews

wildflower_magic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book had me in a chokehold. It is a feminisism ICON. I fell hard for these characters and their mission. The world building is beautifully done and in a way that maintains the flow of the story rather than reading like a text book. I love the magic/chi power/spirit metal system. The main character is a fierce, passionate woman who doesn't just break glass ceilings, she shatters the whole building. I was enthralled with her plans the whole time. The ending is living rent free in my head and I absolutely HAVE to read the second book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

otakatoe3's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

happysoullovesyou's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Xiran, take my soul already.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

kfergy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

Very fun and interesting, a quick read. Can't wait for the next one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, and Murder

rinku's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Iron Widow seems to be a controversial book when looking at reviews. I stand in the middle of them; this is not the best book ever written but it’s not as terrible as people make it out to be. For me, it was a good 3.5-stars read and I’m really curious about the sequel. 

Zetian lives in a militarized society where fighting some kind of mecha aliens is the top priority, and women and girls get sacrificed for this goal. She should get sacrificed in a mecha robot as well but is able to survive and kill the male pilot instead. This whole premise definitely has some <i>Evangelion</i> vibes to it which I enjoyed. The world this books takes place in is really terrifying, and the whole atmosphere is dark and grim. I wished though that we got some more army critique since the society in this book is so heavily militarised. Of course, the feminism is very direct and on the nose, but this book is YA, so that’s okay. The media critique was also a bit too direct and a bit random.  I liked the twist at the end that

the humans are the invasive species and not the other way around

; it’s of course nothing new but a nice twist nevertheless. It was a bit too much at the end though

how many characters die

. 

Zetian is quite edgy but she’s still a fun character. I love how unhinged she is, but her irrational behaviour is understandable because she’s so scared of Shimin. She also has many cliché main character moments with her holding random speeches. The angst between Shimin and her is so great. Shinmin himself as such a dark and sad backstory, I feel so sorry for him. Other reviews already pointed it out but there’s also a lot of internalized misogyny in Zetian’s character since she’s a lot not like other girls. It’s also unfortunate that there’s not really a likable female character besides her, and that she doesn’t work together with any of them. I think this would’ve been a nicer message. 

All in all, I’m happy that I’ve discovered Zhaos YouTube channel years ago and am now able to read Iron Widow. It has great characters and feminist vibes, even though these are not very subtle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism

cyberhavok's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, and Blood

beckahh_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

5.0

This was fucking incredible. I didn't really know anything about this book going in, other than it was a booktok favorite. It is now in probably my top books I've ever read, and for sure top 5 of the year I think. The feminine rage was palpable through this entire book. It was fantastic. Highly recommend.

There's definitely a lot of horrible things in this book so definitely check trigger warnings, but it's so worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

dandelionsteph's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

I know this is YA, but I was shocked that there was only swearing at about 134 pages in. I thought I'd be able to get through a whole YA book without it having any swearing. I always find swearing out of place, like a 14-year-old boy allowed to watch "grown-up" media going overboard and playing at being an adult. I've seen similar levels of brutality in lower age audiences without swearing (say, Animorphs of Wings of Fire).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

Minor: Body shaming and Pregnancy

moonsongsiren's review against another edition

I was going to write a much more in depth review of this book, but seeing how i dnf’d at 174 pages i don’t think i’m fully qualified to do so. i went into this book with high expectations, and was prepared for an exciting and compelling story. i was not met with such a story. 
the main character is not complex, she is unlikable, and incredibly misogynistic to the girls around her. her love interests at the point i stopped reading were.. mediocre. she is poor “representation” if you can even call her that, but i understand and appreciate that this book was written with a LOT of heart and a LOT of effort was put into it. But that does not make a good story. 
What was truly the last straw for me was the main character forcing herself upon one of her love interests (does not, at any point ask him for consent, and he even tells her to stop and wait and she does not comply). To me, that sends the exact opposite message that the book was trying to send. 
Over all, EXTREMELY disappointing. i would not recommend this to anyone, there is simply too much it is lacking. but for a debut novel that was clearly a loved passion project, it serves that purpose. 
it is self indulgent for the author, it has a very bare bones emotion that drives the story, and it barely scratches the surface of the message it WANTS to convey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cnaccarato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism