“Damn. That was intense.” This was my very first thought right after I finished reading Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. Although, to be more accurate, that was my consistent thought throughout the entire story. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the e-galley via NetGalley. Iron Widow was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021 and while I can’t say that it met my expectations exactly, it didn’t went beyond anything that I was able to imagine also. 

From the synopsis and the author’s note at the start of Iron Widow, I was very intrigued by the inspiration behind the book. Xiran Jay Zhao took inspiration from Empress Wu, a woman who was able to defy the patriarchal rules of Chinese society and history to become the empress, the most powerful person in China. This vein of female power and fight against the patriarchy runs very deeply throughout the entire story as Zhetian, the main character, is constantly fighting against the system that tries to hold her down and control every aspect of her life. She is definitely not going to sit back and let all of that happen. She’s ruthless in the ways that she has to be in order to survive. Her relationships with Yizhi and Shimin are also unlike anything that I’ve read in YA and challenges those social rules. Though that shouldn’t be too surprising as Zhetian and the entire premise of her story is to defy and challenge all the rules that exist.

I am definitely going to be eagerly awaiting the sequel to this novel, especially after the cliffhanger at the end of Iron Widow.