Runner-up, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, 2022

Iron Widow

Xiran Jay Zhao (opens in a new tab)

Hardcover, 384 pages

A girl in a future China volunteers to be a concubine pilot for a giant war machine, intending to kill the pilot who killed her sister.

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The ballot

The Last GraduateNaomi NovikDel Rey BooksWinner
Chaos on CatNetNaomi KritzerTor Teen
Victories Greater Than DeathCharlie Jane AndersTor Teen / Titan
A Snake Falls to EarthDarcie Little BadgerLevine Querido
RedemptorJordan IfuekoAmulet Books / Hot Key Books