Cinder by Marissa Meyer has been on my TBR list since it first came out early in 2012... I remember being instantly drawn to the cover and the premise of sci-fi meets fairy tale. Leanna's review post on Cinder back in August solidified the need to read this one and quickly moved it from TBR list to ordered and waiting to crack the spine. Cinder is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, so I ended up waiting a bit longer to read it because I choose to wait until I had Scarlet en route from Scholastic- that way I could devour both books and not wait with bated breath. SO glad I did that.
Synopsis from Goodreads.com
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.
Clearly a spin on Cinderella, Marissa Meyer's Cinder is a futuristic novel woven with fairy tales, science fiction, and politics. An immensely interesting read, Cinder is an absorbing introduction to the Lunar Chronicles. I was fascinated by the concept of cyborgs, androids, humans, and Lunars- all these different races of peoples living together... not so much in harmony though. I loved that Meyer didn't make that out to be a fairy tale- the hatred and disgust between races of humans is not far from the judgmental reality of our own society... I think it was a nice added touch to give the story more depth and open opportunity for very authentic conversation about judging others. The theme of Cinderella and the nasty stepmother / stepsister drama is there but it isn't overly done, which often happens in these new fairy tale twists. As someone who has loved Grimm's for ages, I was very pleased that Meyer just touched on some main points in the fairy tale instead of trying to rewrite the story... instead she wove the overall themes in with her own storyline. Characters were well developed and the creation of the world was also done well. Both aspects of the novel made for an engaging and fast paced read. Meyer created this whole new world and did a fantastic job describing it and bringing in minute details without killing the imagination of the reader.
As a whole, this book was consuming and thrilling. Mysteries at every turn, the reader is thrust into a world where nothing is quite as it seems. As I navigated my way through this story I found that I was cheering on Cinder and screaming at Levana, while I was torn between reactions for Kai. Any way you look at it though, I was totally invested in this book and the characters and their futures.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great new YA series to get in on. It is definitely for those looking for a new science fiction thriller with some real world scenarios.
This book was on my TBR shelf and is my 5th book for Mount TBR Challenge
write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow
I am an Amazon Affiliate
No comments:
Post a Comment