A review by justinlife
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

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

4.0

This book is ridiculous. It’s camp. It’s over the top and I loved every bit of it. There are some lines in this novel that you know they just enjoyed writing. Like, when they were finished, looked at it and said “yeah, that was great.” 

There’s a lot to this novel that doesn’t make sense and feels non sensical but I think that’s misogyny though. The novel takes place in a futuristic mighty morphin power ranger/voltron world where women have few rights and are subjugated to men. It’s YA, so you know there’s going to be a poor heroine, a love triangle, and an uprooting of the system that only she can do. It’s like they read The Hunger Games and thought “why have a love triangle when we can have so much more.”

It’s hard to describe this without being extra. I am not the primary audience for this. I did put in some Olivia Rodrigo and read through and it was amazing. I felt petulant as hell. 

By the end of the book, you’re left with a twist, but also wondering if she’s the hero of her story or the villain. It’s hard to tell. It’s worth reading, but go in knowing this is pure YA and have a blast with it. I know they did writing it. It feels fun.