How I rate books: 1-2  ★ : Bad... really bad. 3 ★ : If you'r into this kind of book it's good.
4 ★ : Good! 5 ★ : Goddamn good!!!

Ein wirklich sehr gutes Buch.
Zhao entführt in eine bunte und detailreiche Welt und konfrontiert einen so mit Gefühlen, wie man es selten ließt: von Rache und Wut, von Liebe und Vergebung. Ein zorniger Aufschrei gegen das Patriachat, bei dem man bis zum Ende hin mitfiebert.
Das Ende des Buche fand ich persönlich etwas zu schnell, aber das ist nur mein eigener Geschmack. Rund um ein echtes Meisterwerk.
-
A really really good book.
Zhao thrusts you into a colourfull and detailed world and confronts you with emotions in a way you rarely read: about rage and fury, love and forgiveness. An angry warcry against the patriarchy, that has you on the edge till the end.
Personally I found the end of the book to be a bit too quick, but that's just personal taste. All in all a true masterwork.

Exciting read with an interesting main character. Systematic oppression and childhood trauma leads her to take the path of an anti hero, willing to pursue her goal of tearing down confinements set upon women and girls no matter the cost. Would recommend.

There are some tropes I found a little silly but ultimately don’t take away from the overall experience too much:

- despite being teenagers, characters are able to trick experienced war lieutenants who should be no strangers to deceit and manipulation
- perfect rich boyfriend and mysterious strong quiet guy who’s actually just a sweet heart. both of them are likable but it’s still trope-y LOL
- some side characters feel more like caricatures than humans

I thought this was a very fun read. It kept me very entertained. I loved the three main characters and the dynamic between them.

POLYAMORY FOR THE WINNNN

This was also the first book I have read that had mechsuits in it and I really liked it! I thought that the way the futuristic world was crafted was really interesting. 

I think there are definitely places the book falls short. At times, Zhao tells the reader what is happening and doesn't show. I also think that because of how fast-pace it is, it doesn't give the reader time to take in the worldbuilding and rushes some of the messages the book is trying to get across.  

This book does tackle a lot of important and interesting concepts, including (but not limited to): misogyny (as previously stated), war/ violence as entertainment, and complicated family dynamics/ generational trauma. I appreciate the conversations this book is trying to tackle/ address, but I think there are aspects that could have been done better. For instance, even though a major theme of the book is misogyny, there are not a lot of women in the book. Additionally, I think some of the messages fall victim to the pace of the book and the author's tendency to tell. The most obvious one of these related to Ma Xiuying's character.

I think that the idea that she was pressured into having children is a good thing to include to show how the pilot system manipulates women, however, I think that the way that information was revealed (Zetian thinking about it to herself) comes off as her judging Ma and looking down on her. I think it would have been more impactful if that had been revealed by Xiuying herself over multiple meaningful conversations.

Despite these flaws, I really enjoyed reading this book and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I am exited to read the sequel!

I had a hard time connecting to this one and making my way through.  I didn't feel like Zetian was a real person acting in real human ways, or maybe that's the point?

I loved this book so much! Finally, a book that is brave enough to not back down. It both lays out the experience of and defies the horrible nature of patriarchy and the brutal treatment of women and girls. Thank you to Xiran Jay Zhao for making this book exist. Will be one of my favorite reads ever. The plot and world building is fascinating but what I enjoyed most was the perspective of the main character, their thoughts and actions. Vengeance is satisfying.