A review by thebetterstory
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a fun YA book, just don't expect too much from it!

The story touches on the concepts of sexism, racism and homophobia, but it doesn't really have much new to add to the conversation. (A friend I talked to about it said that it felt almost like it was name-dropping social justice concepts rather than tackling any in-depth, and I agree.)

There are some cool touches, and I particularly like that its main character is allowed to be genuinely power-hungry and violent to the point of cruelty in a few places, as that really is rare in a female lead. The sheer level of vitriol she has toward societal sexism is also pretty great. (In particular, I loved the part where she
strangles the fake "child" version of her abusive copilot in retaliation for what he's done to other women.
 I was also really disappointed that it's a book literally about sexism, yet Wu Zetian doesn't form a meaningful relationship or even have much of a conversation with any other women. It ironically contrubutes to the sense that the dead or distressed girls who show up to motivate Wu Zetian are just story props.

The pacing moves so fast that there really isn't much time to get attached to anyone or anything. The relationship that builds up between Wu Zetian, Li Shimin and Yizhi is definitely sweet, but we don't really get a lot of downtime or quiet moments with them to give us a chance to get attached. It felt like the novel speedran their relationship progression into a throuple, which wasn't at all necessary when there's a sequel coming out and they could have used that time to stretch the romantic tension out longer. But I am ecstatic to see poly in a YA book at all. I hope others follow suit.

Happily the plot always has enough going on to keep things interesting, and the leads are just likeable enough to keep you invested in what happens to them. There are twists and turns aplenty, some of which I guessed and some which still surprised me. The setting is also obviously incredibly cool, what with the fusion of Chinese history, mecha and sci-fi, and the prose is serviceable and easy to read. The book is also helped along by not taking itself too painfully seriously, even though it dips into dark territory sometimes.

Overall, Iron Widow's not the best YA I've read this year, by a long shot. But it is conceptually awesome, easy to read and a lot of fun. Just check your expectations before starting and you won't be disappointed.
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