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nerdyprettythings 's review for:

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
5.0
adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I NEED THE NEXT BOOK RIGHT NOW. I laughed, I squee’d, I cried omg I cried so hard, and I loved every bit of it. There's so much going on with the patriarchy and characters dealing with guilt, and the mystery around the enemy they're fighting. The main characters deal with mental health issues and physical disabilities. The MC is sent into the army basically as a sacrifice for her family to get money, and she acts so out of control, and she has this moment toward the end where she realizes she didn't value her own life at the time. I watched a YouTube video from the author, and they said they were suicidal at one point, and I feel like the way the main character is written you can really tell. There’s a scene where a male character explains that s*xual assault is never a victim’s fault and that men aren’t unable to control themselves, which I feel is a really important message in YA. I just appreciated so much about what this book did, and on top of that, it’s a KILLER story. I want so badly to be back in the book’s world reading more about what happens. 

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