Cinder
Soon to be adapted into major motion picture!
The first book in the #1 New York Times- and USA Today-Bestselling Lunar Chronicles series by the “Queen of fairytale retellings,” Marissa Meyer! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth's survival against villains from outer space.
"An interesting mash up of fairy tales and science fiction . . . a cross between Cinderella, Terminator, and Star Wars." —Entertainment Weekly
The prince straightened, forcing her gaze to follow him. “You’re not quite what I was expecting.”
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.
With high-stakes action and a smart, resourceful heroine, Cinder is a Cinderella retelling that is at once classic and strikingly original.
Don't miss the other books in The Lunar Chronicles series:
Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Winter
Stars Above
Fairest
Wires and Nerve Vol. 1
Wires and Nerve Vol. 2: Gone Rogue
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Community Reviews
I really enjoyed this book. The sci-fi take on Cinderella as a cyborg is just too good of an idea to not love.
Set in the future world of New Beijing, humans and androids travel the street together. A deadly plague is ravaging the population though, and a sudden outbreak near Cinder's station (she's a gifted cyborg mechanic) sets off a chain of events that change her entire world. The Lunar people that live in space are watching all of this unfold waiting for the right moment to descend upon the Earth an assert their claim to the throne.
They are all watching Cinder.
She doesn't understand the reason why she's special. Her entire life she's been nothing more than a second-class citizen with a mysterious past. As the story should reveal - her stepmother hates her and blames her father's death and her now stepsister's contracting of the plague. However, despite her unlucky circumstances, Cinder crosses paths with the handsome Prince Kai's thrusting her into his world.
Inside his palace, she learns secrets about herself, secrets the Lunar people may already know, and this makes every choice she makes dangerous.
My original review:
Cinder is one of those books that is an unexpected pleasure. A modern take on the Cinderella fairytale, this dystopian has captivating characters and a unique fantasy world. I'm thrilled to have discovered this gem, and eager to read the next installment.
I started Cinder back in October, but only now have I finished it. Things got in the way, and to be honest, I wasn't feeling this book. Or at least the beginning, middle, and almost end of it.
Cinder is our main character, a cyborg-meaning she is a human/machine. She's obviously like Cinderella in this story. Cinder is curious, and has human thoughts and feelings, but can't completely express them. Her love for Peony, her little step-sister, was lovely to read about and I felt with Cinder at certain parts. She's talented as a mechanic, and I loved how everything resembled Star Wars. It added a cool element to the futuristic environment.
Iko is a robot that works for Cinder's family. She's adorable and always spouting off things that made me laugh. I'm glad she was there for Cinder through everything.
“Prince Kai! Check my fan, I think I'm overheating.” -Iko
Prince Kai is going through a lot! We got to read from his POV a few times, which was interesting and refreshing from Cinder's mind. Kai has to take care of his kingdom and put the people before him by doing something he doesn't want to do. He's brave, taking care of his people first and putting his feelings on the backburner.
I do wish we saw them more together. They were hardly together in this story, and I was a bit upset about that. The first half of the book dragged and I felt a lot of it didn't need to be in the story. The step-mother was horrid, as she should be. The Cinderella tale was there without overdoing it.The ball took forever to arrive, and it was certainly handled differently.
“She was a cyborg, and she would never go to a ball.”
Queen Levana was an interesting character, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. I hope her true colors shine more in the next few books, I would love more villainous acts from her.
This has three and a half stars because it really-personally-dragged from the beginning to a little over halfway and then it seemed to pick up the pace more.
“Believe me, Cinder. You are a sacrifice I will never regret.”
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