When I think of YA sci-fi that could just as easily have been placed on the adult shelf if marketers had simply chosen a different tactic, the first novel that comes to mind is Iron Widow.
The main character may be eighteen years old, but this story of a female mech pilot determined to get revenge in a male-dominated society doesn’t hold back on dark themes or visceral (sometimes violent) action sequences.
Adults are sure to enjoy this novel just as much as teens. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast pace and ferocious tone of Iron Widow.
In a society where women’s feet are bound, families long for sons, and mech pilot duos protect human borders from alien monsters, Zetien’s impoverished parents are thrilled when their younger daughter volunteers to become a concubine-pilot. What they don’t know is, Zetien’s only doing it so she can get revenge on the male pilot who killed her older sister.
Not even Zetien expects that overpowering the pilot will lead her to be dubbed an Iron Widow, a woman pilot with such powerful qi that she’s a match for the country’s most powerful and feared male pilot, Li Shimin. Shimin is a convicted murderer only allowed to live because of his ability to protect the borders, and Zetien will be expected live with him in his cell. Worse, as she learns the secrets of the qi-powered mechs, Zetien begins to suspect that the machine is rigged against her, and so is the upcoming battle.
Together Zetien, Shimin, and their ally Gao Yizhi will have to find a way to defend the borders while also evading the deadly trap the conspirators in control of the system have laid for them.
While not officially a romance, Iron Widow’s plot focuses heavily on the polyamorous romantic relationship between Zetian and the two young men she teams up with to fuel her qi-powered transformer mech. Sex scenes are fade to black.
YA novels with this amount of darkness, violence, and sexual themes can be tricky to navigate for me as a parent of a sensitive preteen. As a parent, I do recommend parental guidance in helping your younger teen decide whether this book is right for them.
As an adult, Iron Widow is everything I’m personally looking for in my own sci-fi reads: strong female protagonist, fast paced plotting, and a decent dose of romance that enhances the plot instead of taking away from it. It’s books like this one that keep me reading YA even in my thirties.
While wrapping up the main plot of Book One in a satisfying way, the author also ends on a huge (and super cool) plot-twist cliffhanger. They’re releasing the sequel in December, so if you haven’t read Iron Widow yet and it seems like a good fit for you, pick it up in time to get excited for the new release!
