REVIEW: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Obtained : Won ARC paperback in giveaway

Hardcover: 387 pages

Published : Jan 3, 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

ISBN: 0312641893 (ISBN13: 9780312641894)

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1

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Good Reads Summary 

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

Video Book Trailer for Cinder

Katie’s Thoughts on Cinder:

I don’t even know where to begin; I loved this book, and thought it was absolutely amazing!I knew from the get-go this was going to be some kind of spin off of Cinderella, but in actuality this book is so much more than a re-telling. The plot was truly original!

Our story takes place in the future, in “New Beijing” post WW IV. Cinder is a Cyborg (Gasp!) as long as she can remember she has always been a Cyborg. What that means, (for those of you who may not know, and don’t be embarrassed, because I definitely lacked a firm understanding of what a cyborg was until fairly recently) is that at some point she was all human, but due to what ever reasons, mostly an accident that lead to the lost of limbs or skin, Cinder now has some robotic parts.

In the future, Cyborgs are thought of less than human, and all she knows is when she was younger, after her cyborg surgery, she was adopted by a family and is now left with an horrible stepmother who makes her work for her keep as a mechanic in the town market, and two step sisters.  Prince Kai (soon to be Emperor) comes into the market undercover, seeking a mechanic to fix his Android… And I’m sure you know where this is going.. yes there will be a ball.. but this is where the story stops being your plain old remake of Cinderella and starts being truly original.

Me reading Cinder on Vacation - Katie

There is a devastating plague that is taking out many people in the villages. People close to Cinder, and Kai will suffer from this plague. The planets only help may be from the Lunars. Lunars were once regular people who colonized on the moon, but through the years, they have changed. The Lunars are rulled by Queen Levana. The queen may be able to bring an end to the plague.. but will prince Kai do anything to bring peace to our world.. Even give up his own freedom?

Yes this story is Cinderella-esque … but that is only the beginning. If your looking for a poor girl, who is waiting for a prince to come save her, than this is not the book for you. Cinder is anything but helpless. She will do anything to help the ones she loves, include risking her life in the process. Cinder is a strong female character, and she won’t go down with out a fight!

This book was AMAZING, Cinderella like you have never imagined!