The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published January 3, 2012
Hardcover, 387 pages
Overview:
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.
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:
Wow, what a book! Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a futuristic retelling of Cinderella, set in New Beijing after the fourth world war. Humans and androids coexist, but humans are plagued by letumosis, a deadly disease accidentally brought to Earth by Lunars (a nation of people from the moon who have alliances with countries on Earth). The main character Cinder is part human, part cyborg, and forced to work as a mechanic to make money for her stepmother and stepsisters.
When Cinder's beloved youngest stepsister falls ill with letumosis, Cinder is sent away to a lab to serve as a test patient for new treatments for the disease. However, instead of getting sick with letumosis when she's injected with it, Cinder surprises the doctors with her apparent immunity. She quickly becomes involved with life at the palace, a growing friendship with the prince Kai, and her search to figure out her true identity from before she was made a cyborg.
Personally, I felt that the first half of the book was a little too slow for my own taste, but once the story got going, it didn't stop. The book's writing is nothing special, but the storyline and characters were interesting enough to keep me reading. Although Cinder is partly a retelling of Cinderella, it's still a unique story all on its own. I loved how Marissa Meyer was able to take such a well-known tale and give it a fresh spin--and there's still a missing shoe (or foot in this case), a handsome prince, and an unexpected journey to the royal ball.
I mentioned earlier how this book really picked up speed towards the end, and I was surprised by how it ended! Cinder ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I'm very excited to see where this series goes next. (The next two books, Scarlet and Cress are out now, with Winter out sometime in 2015).
When Cinder's beloved youngest stepsister falls ill with letumosis, Cinder is sent away to a lab to serve as a test patient for new treatments for the disease. However, instead of getting sick with letumosis when she's injected with it, Cinder surprises the doctors with her apparent immunity. She quickly becomes involved with life at the palace, a growing friendship with the prince Kai, and her search to figure out her true identity from before she was made a cyborg.
Personally, I felt that the first half of the book was a little too slow for my own taste, but once the story got going, it didn't stop. The book's writing is nothing special, but the storyline and characters were interesting enough to keep me reading. Although Cinder is partly a retelling of Cinderella, it's still a unique story all on its own. I loved how Marissa Meyer was able to take such a well-known tale and give it a fresh spin--and there's still a missing shoe (or foot in this case), a handsome prince, and an unexpected journey to the royal ball.
I mentioned earlier how this book really picked up speed towards the end, and I was surprised by how it ended! Cinder ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I'm very excited to see where this series goes next. (The next two books, Scarlet and Cress are out now, with Winter out sometime in 2015).
