Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Freinds
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Pages: 387 pages
Age: YA
Website Amazon Goodreads
Synopsis:
Humans & 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 & 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, & a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty & freedom, loyalty & betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.
My Thoughts:
Cinder was amazing! Not your typical fairy tale retell. I like that Meyer took the basics of the story we know and completely gave them a fresh new take. Cinder is still a stepchild with two stepsisters & a dead stepfather and her only friend is not a human (or cyborg in her case). I also like the fact that this was a science fiction book. Having Cinder be a cyborg made it more interesting. It was fun to imagine the situations where she should have been blushing but couldn't, or should have been crying but couldn't. It made you feel for her more. Besides Cinder, my favorite character was Iko. Her personality was amazing even though she was just an android. She made me want an android of my own just like her. The setting of this book was very cool. Instead of being in some small, overcrowded town in the middle of nowhere, the story takes place in New Beijing. It's easy to picture what that place looks like in the story.
I loved reading about Cinder's journey of self discovery. She always knew that she was a cyborg, a mix of human & machine. But it was interesting to watch her find out about where she actually came from and who her family is. Especially since half her adopted family wants nothing to do with her. She learns of her importance and how she can help with the plague that is killing off tons of humans on the Earth while struggling with her feelings for the prince, who has come to have feelings for her as well.
I'm very glad that Meyer kept to the original story and only had one love interest. Nowadays every ya book has a love triangle & it's getting to be a tad annoying. It's refreshing to read a book where two people are focused on just each other.
I can't wait for the second book in the series, Scarlet. This one will be a somewhat retelling of little red riding hood that also continues the story of Cinder. I know it's going to be just as amazing!
Recommend:
I highly recommend this book to anybody. It was a fun read and kept my interest the whole time. You could really connect to Cinder's character.
