J.C. Buchanan

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Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Published By: Feiwel & Friends (2012)

Synopsis: 

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. (Taken from Goodreads.)

Review:

What a mix of genres this book was! Sci-fi, fantasy, fairy-tale retelling, a bit of dystopia—everything! This would truly take talent to pull off, but Marissa Meyer did an excellent job.

I loved the characters for the most part, and I also really liked the author’s choice of names—Cinder, Peony, Kai, etc. Though I did feel Peony was not quite developed deep enough as a character; I felt did not get enough time with her to truly care about her. On the other hand, Cinder’s relationship with her sister was written well enough that you do at least feel for her just through knowing and caring about Cinder, even if you never particularly knew Peony yourself.

Cinderella as a cyborg was honestly just such a creative concept, and I found it to be written incredibly! It was interesting and amusing; Cinder was just such an intriguing character you just can’t help wondering and thinking about.

The fairy-tale basis powered the story, and it flowed with the story wonderfully, despite the many, many, many additions (which were also well written). I liked the way the author chose to paint Peony as one of Cinder’s friends, rather than the bratty stepsister she is in the original fairy tale. The interaction between Kai and Cinder I loved—definitely fairy-tale love.

Besides the fairy-tale element, the story had a clear sci-fi and dystopian feel. The story—which takes place in China—is a futuristic world in which robots are a big part of (a feature of dystopia) and is also a world threatened by Lunars, the people from the moon who want to invade (a feature of sci-fi).

Negative Content/Notes:

None I can recall.

Overall: 

I thought it was a fantastic read and I’m looking forward to see where the story goes in the second book, Scarlet!

Rating: 5.0

Recommended to: 12+!