~ Hardcover
~ Winner of the Evergreen Teen Book Award for High School - 2024, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award - 2022, the Green Mountain Book Award - 2023, the BSFA Award for Best Fiction for Younger Readers - 2022, the Barnes & Noble Children's & YA Book Award for Young Adult - 2022, and more
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises (giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens lurking beyond the Great Wall), but no one seems to care that these girls often die from the mental strain . . .
An intriguing blend of Chinese history and science-fiction, Iron Widow boasts an original, action-packed plot that involves both physical and mental battles, as well as incorporates queer themes and an unwavering support for feminism through a scathing indictment of patriarchal culture.
Zhao expertly weaves a story that polishes off classic sci-fi themes and re-imagines them in a lush futuristic world inspired by Ancient China in Iron Widow, a bold and brash story that will grab readers by the throat from page one!" -- Kat Cho, author of Vicious Spirits, Wicked Fox, and Once Upon a K-Prom