Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Fairy Tale. 400 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder’s brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it “a matter of national security,” but Cinder suspects it’s more serious than he’s letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder’s intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter’s illness, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived.
But it doesn’t take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
My Review:
This book sat on my shelf for a few months because I wasn’t entirely sure how I would react to it. The premise certainly made me curious. Cyborg Cinderella with aliens. Hmm. Either this was going to go south very quickly or it might just turn out to be worthwhile. Either way, I didn’t want to get involved in a new series when I still had several unread books on my self. As it turns out, that fear was well-placed. I finished this book in three days and promptly ordered the second one. I’m even considering ordering the third one well in advance in order to avoid the two-day wait.
The beginning piqued my interest, and I remember thinking that I was glad it wouldn’t be a dull read. I hate picking up books with amazing covers and then finding out that the pages between said covers didn’t live up to the expectations. The world-building for Cinder was solid, the writing grammatically sound and even the style and voice drew me in a little. The setting kind of unsettled me. I’ve never been a huge Asian-setting person, but this wasn’t off-putting in any manner. It was unique and original. Somewhere along the way, this story won me over, hook, line, and sinker. I became heavily invested in the lives of the characters, and utterly obsessed with the newest plot twist. There were some things I found a tad predictable, but in a way, that didn’t detract from the story either. I was more interested in the presentation of the few predictable moments and there were plenty of unpredictable events to make up for it. The story was age-appropriate, which is a huge bonus in my world. And as much as I adore fairy tale retellings, I can’t get over how few references there actually are to Cinderella. I just loved that the story was its own and that it tipped its hat to Cinderella instead of mimicking it. That was something I found phenomenal. Don’t get me wrong, the connections are pretty clear, but they’re clever and the story doesn’t hinge on them. The story isn’t dependent on the connections, but it uses them to its advantage.
I don’t like to just dish out five-star reviews, but I think this book truly deserves it. A job very well-done. Part of me wishes I had been brave enough to read this sooner, and yet, the other part of me is selfishly glad because now I don’t have to wait for the sequels to come out! I just have to order them!!! 🙂
More:
Book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles is Scarlet (5 Stars)
Book 3 is Cress (5 Stars)
Novella 3.5 is Fairest (4 Stars)
Book 4 is Winter (5 Stars)
Book 4.5 Stars Above (5 Stars) is a collection of short stories which includes:
- The Little Android 0.6 (5 Stars)
- Glitches 0.5 (5 Stars)
- The Queen’s Army 1.5 (5 Stars)
- Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky 3.1 (4 Stars)
- The Keeper
- After Sunshine Passes By
- The Princess and the Guard
- The Mechanic
- Something Old, Something New
*Note: The first four short stories are listed separately on Goodreads in addition to Stars Above. The last five were new material and are only available as a part of Stars Above. There are individual mini-reviews for the first four short stories.
I have reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Follow the links to find more info on the books and then scroll down to see the reviews. Mine is among them.
The main four books should be read in order. I wouldn’t read any of the shorts until at least after Cinder, Book 1. You could read them all in order, regardless of length, but it isn’t necessary to read the shorts or even Fairest (although, I think reading Fairest between books 3 and 4 made me appreciate book 4 more). The Little Android is the only story that is not related to the others at all and can be read at any point.
On GraceBought
Check out the review of the next book in the series here!
Scarlet