Cinder by Marissa Meyer Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Published by Macmillan
Published: January 8th 2013
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Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
I will be the first to admit that I am shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. When I first started reading it I was convinced that I wouldn’t want to continue the series. It was just too out there for me. Cyborgs and androids and moon people; that’s just a tad too much for me to take. But as I started to read more and more and I started to see the similarities of Meyer’s Cinderella and the original fairy tale version, I got swept away in the creativity of it all. Was it predictable? Absolutely. But even in its predictability, it was a fun journey to take.
Honestly, I don’t really even know how to describe this book because it is very similar to the story of Cinderella. You have the awful step-mother that expects Cinder to do what she wants when she wants it, the step-sisters, one evil and one loving, you have the charming prince, and you have the ball. But Cinder is also a cyborg in this story which brings a whole new level to the story. Instead of Cinderella hiding that she is a servant girl, Cinder hides that she is only half human from the prince. But really that is where the similarities kind of stop. They are there on the surface and especially at parts of the ball, but the story isn’t really focused on all of that. The main part of the story is the state of New Beijing due to a deadly plague brought to earth by the Lunar’s and the Lunar queen herself who is a mix of the Wicked Queen from Snow White and Ursula from The Little Mermaid if you ask me. And as Cinder gets closer to the Prince and the Lunar Queen starts using her power in questionable ways, Cinder starts to uncover something that just might help save New Beijing and Prince Kai, but collapse her world personally.
I know, I know, it sounds insane and a crazy book for a girl that is obsessed with Anna and the French Kiss to love. But truthfully when you read it and everything is put together it just makes sense. Cinder is likable so that helps greatly in forgetting that is in fact only half human. And her android friend is so quirky and fun you can’t help but love Ilko too. Prince Kai is suave and charming and also little boy like which makes him endearing. And the stepmother is evil as she should be. All the parts are there fixed in with the familiar and the new and it just all clicks and creates a wonderfully imaginative story that will have you clamoring for more.
Like I said it was predictable for me, which had more to do then with the actual story of Cinderella. I saw something coming a mile away, but even in that predictability, the build-up was strong. If I was often surprised by books I would definitely have enjoyed the steps Meyer took to get us there. It was done at just the right speed to get to the outcome. And although I found the ending a tad abrupt, the book really was a great read and I plan to continue on with Scarlett. One book at a time in this challenge and Cinder was a good one to go with.
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