She Who Became the Sun

This book fulfills the Mulan trope while actually going full in on the gay. Zhu Chongba may have practical reasons for disguising herself as a boy and taking her brother's fate, but the way her identity gets tangled up with his and her feelings on gender are nothing short of unique to her. She's unique as a character in other ways: her sharp, burning ambition and determination, her lack of empathy but desire to do right by other people anyway, the way she's willing to cling to life and chase after what she wants no matter the cost, and no matter how much she regrets it or suffers for it later. This book grabbed me and had me anxious and worried and on the edge of my seat, but I still never wanted it to stop. -Shana