A review by jonwood
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I know found the book rather hard to want to read the first 200 pages as the narrator was a very angry and venomous person. I appreciated as the narrator began to learn how complicated the world and politics can be and seems to be less venomous to everyone she meets, however at the end, the last 50-ish pages became a bunch of action with the narrator (while confident in her abilities and free of doubt) decides violence is the only way to solve society's powers by taking over the world. Also, the book doesn't really finish on a conclusion, but more of a tease that doesn't really leave me wanting more. 

In general I don't care for reading action scenes, and I found these about giant robots and equally giant aliens somewhat hard to follow (ironic considering my childhood love of Power Rangers, but visuals help).

This book despite being labeled as YA, covers a lot of sensitive topics. The opening introduction/prologue begins with a rather explicit rape allegory. Sexual assault, manipulation, and shame all feature heavy, and an actual rape attempt (not just a metaphor) is very explicitly applied to almost happen at one point. Also, within the first 50 pages, child abuse happens. Due to all of this, this book may be hard for some to read. 
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