Iron Widow Book Review Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (2.25 out of 5) Dominating the most recent poll by 60%, Iron Widow seemed very interesting when I picked it out from the library shelf. Based on the synopsis and its beautiful cover art, I was excited to begin reading. I also recognized the book due to its prominence on social media because the author, Xiran Jay Zhao, is a commentator on YouTube. They went viral for their in depth cultural analysis of Mulan. Set in a sci-fi world inspired by Chinese historical figures, mechas fighting aliens, narrated by a powerful female lead, the book sounded like it was right up my alley. However, the it was poorly executed and I decided to not finish the book. When first opening the book, you are thrown into the story with little to no context on the current situation between humans and aliens, besides the fact that there is an ongoing war. Although this may seem like an important aspect of the plot, there is a l...