CINDER
By Marissa Meyer

• Series: Lunar Chronicles Series, #1
• Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy
• Publisher: Square Fish
• Published: 01/08/2013
• ISBN-13:9781250007209

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.

Available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble

A MON REVIEW

Hello my pretties, today I’ll be sharing Cinder, the first book in the Lunar series, by Marissa Meyer. This one is another fairy tale retelling with a twist. I had heard good things about this book- the whole series actually- and the e-book had been virtually sitting in my Nookshelf forever so I figured why not. I wasn’t disappointed.

The foundation for the story is much like that of our beloved Cinderella: orphan girl, evil stepmother, at least one evil step-sister, hunky prince and a ball she can’t go to but does anyway. This whole story is set in a very distant future plagued with well-a plague that kills people days after they’ve been infected.

This is the part where I wiggle my fingers at you and make spooky noises.

The real twist here is that Cinder Lin is not only the best mechanic in New Beijing, she is also a cyborg. How flipping awesome is that!? I mean it’s awesome to me but not that awesome for her. She is a victim of prejudice by pretty much everyone around her because of her cyborg-ness (is that even a word? It is now!). She is a second class citizen and that really sucks. Have I mentioned how much her family also sucks? I swear, her step-mother and step-sister Pearl should be named the Hoover 1 and Hoover 2 because they suck so much. Her other sister Peony is actually a really sweet girl that loves Cinder regardless of her cyborg-ness, which I think keeps Cinder grounded and feeling human in a world where they don’t see her as such.

Prince Kai is so dreamy he makes all the girls swoon. I picture him as dreamy as one of those One Direction guys, I don’t know their names but they’re dreamy, even the one that left. Stop judging me. He seems like a down to earth guy, you know for a royal that’s doing a recon mission that can change the relationship between his people and the evil Lunars (Lunars are aliens that will totally destroy all of Earth if their queen wants to). I legitimately like the guy. I cheered for him when he stood up to the Lunar Queen. I especially cheered when he showed the potential to be a great Emperor to his people.

Go Prince Kai!

While this could be perceived as a love story it really isn’t. It’s more a story of a lost girl trying to make it in a world where she’s not perceived as good enough and has no idea how important she is, who happens to fall in love. The sub plots are just as interesting as the the story itself and towards the end it does an excellent job at introducing a character from the next book without shoving it in your face.

I give this 3 Nerd Glasses wearing Tacos out of the Taco Scale of Awesome. I enjoyed this retelling. It’s original enough to keep you interested throughout the book but sometimes it felt like it moved a little too slow. I do want to know what happens next but I’m not rushing to buy the second book. Maybe I’ll pick it up at my local library instead of buying it. If fairy tale/sci-fi stories are your cup of tea, have a sip of this and let me know what you think.

Before I go, please help Dee’s Birthday Wish become a reality? Help us raise $400 forCharity: Water. Click on the image below to find out how you could help:

Until next time. Mon, over and out.