Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, 1)

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, like you’ve never seen it before, now with new cover art! 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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Published Feb 4, 2020

448 pages

Average rating: 8.04

239 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Cyn's Workshop
Aug 20, 2025
8/10 stars
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a breath of fresh air among the retelling novels out there. It's fresh unique and Cinder is definitely a character worth rooting for.

Read more of this post @ Cyn's Workshop
Josie the book goblin
Aug 22, 2025
6/10 stars
I'm torn. I wanted to love this series more than I did but it lacked something I can't put my finger on. I think because I predicted how things would play out by chapter 5 I felt a little let down. With that said I did enjoy it I just didn't love it. I'm am excited to continue the series because I'm interested to see how everything plays out in the end. I found the cyborgs and lunars fascinating. I really like Cinders character and her determination.
hideTurtle
Apr 16, 2025
6/10 stars
"It's easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth." In futuristic Beijing China, our main character, Cinder, is an orphaned cyborg under the care of her stepmother, Adri. She is a talented mechanic and has been the sole provider of income for the greedy family since her adoptive/stepfather's death. After taking a job repairing an android for Prince Kai, the two become close, secrets are revealed, and the fate of the world is thrown into jeopardy. I don't know why I have been reading so many retellings and re-imaginings lately (Rouge, Stepsister, Wicked, James), but here we are again. While I was entertained for the most part, this book spends a lot of time setting things up for the rest of the series, which I don't see myself continuing.
wardbunch
Mar 26, 2025
8/10 stars
Fun twist on the Cinderella story.
Noell
Jan 26, 2025
8/10 stars
Cyborgs & Equality
I loved this book because of cyborgs! Cyborgs offer so many plot options and they’re just the epitome of advanced biotech. That being said, I like how cyborgs were implemented into this story in regards to personal rights and equality. Why? Because if cyborgs ever became a reality, their rights will be a big topic.

Dual POV, but different POVS
Something that really threw me off about this book was the dual POVS utilized. Not only do we read the story from Cinder’s point of view, but we also read it from Kai’s point of view. This bothered me for two reasons. 1) The points of view were not consistent in their percentage of the chapters in the book. For some reason, this just bothers me. 2) While Cinder’s POV is in 1st person, Kai’s is in 3rd person. This just threw me off because my mind kept having to switch back and forth between 1st and 3rd, which took me out of the story.

A little too Clean
With a story as dystopian and gritty as this one was, I was really disappointed with the ending because it was a little too clean for my tastes. Everything fell into place just a little too perfectly. And there weren’t enough negatives and setbacks to make the ending satisfying.

Fairytale Implementation
I was a little hesitant about this book because it was a fairytale retelling. I’ve read some good retellings, some not-actually retellings, and some good retellings. So, this could have gone in any direction. But I was quite pleased with how the original fairytale of Cinderella was implemented into the story.

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