Friday, September 19, 2014

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Pages: 390
Genre: Science Fiction
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.



Review: I saw this book right when it first came out two years ago, and always considered getting it but never did.  I only decided to read it after hearing rave reviews of the series on YouTube.  Cinder is a futeristic retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. And though I prefer Linh Cinder to Cinderella, I think I still prefer the magic of my favorite childhood movie. 


In all, I enjoyed this book a lot.  A Cinderella cyborg in a dystopic Bejing is an interesting premise. Cinder is courageous and selfless and clever, and her best friend, a robot named Iko, was hilarious and sweet. Of course, her step family was not so nice, except for one of the step sisters, who was kind and you cannot help but find adorable.  But Prince Kai?  I found him uninteresting and pretty shallow and immature.  Not to mention that the romance between him and Cinder felt slightly forced.  I just never quite bought into him or his relationship with Cinder. 


Another thing I did not really appreciate was the foreshadowing.  The hints were too obvious, it was too predictable for my tastes.  I guessed right away what the big reveal at the end would be, then had to spend the entire book reading as if I had no clue.  And though the plot was easy to guess, I thought the Lunar People were a little too mysterious.  Why, exactly, are they at war with Earth?  How did they come about living on the moon and how long have they been there?  Why did they develop magical powers?  I was left with too many questions about them.


Cinder was an intriguing idea and an entertaining read, the story an extremely original take on Cinderella, but otherwise forgettable.  The most fascinating thing about this book was the Lunar People, who were not focused on enough.  Marissa Meyer had a great idea and decent writing, but she developed the plot superficially.  I would have been happier if she had delved a little deeper into the mystery, made the book more memorable.  


3 Keys



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