Iron Widow Book Review

Iron widow is a YA fantasy by Xiran Jay Zhao that debut in September of 2021. I first heard of the book though Tik Tok and was so excited when my husband Ronald got it for me for Christmas that same year. According to Zhao's Wikipedia, Zhao was born in a small town in China but migrated with their family to Canada at age 5. They always wrote stories re-imagining historical figures but was inspired to write those stories down after some encouragement they received while attending an anime convention. They also have a YouTube channel where they discuss Chinese culture and media portrayals of Chinese culture. Basically, if I could be friends with this person, I would!

I LOVED this book. I read it in 2 weeks (which is really fast for me, I tend to me a slow reader). I loved the themes and could defiantly see the anime inspiration coming through with the mecha's which the main characters would pilot to fight the invaders. I loved the 3 main characters, how they grew as people and started to work together to take down the establishment. I loved how the book didn't shy away from some uncomfortable topics as they are important to talk about. There is a list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the book which I thought was very responsible and thoughtful. Without giving too much of the story away, I rate this book 5 stars!

This is the second book I have read so far in 2022. I have a goal to read 10 which I keep track in my bullet journal. Last year I had a goal to read 5 books and ended up reading 9. I was very proud of myself. Reading has become both a self-care and competition for myself. If you also enjoy reading I recommend you give this book a try!

Thanks Xiran Jay Zhao for your wonderful book! Looking forward to more.