#cinder review

[emmblossombooks]

Hey, so I just finished Cinder and I’m happy to say that I was very (pleasantly) surprised with the story. You should check out my review on Goodreads, but if anything just know that you should really give this book a try!

[lovedbooksnmore]

Cinder Review

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a science fiction retelling of the fairy tale Cinderella. Cinder is a mechanic in the futuristic city of New Beijing where she meets the prince, Kai, when he asks her to fix his android, starting off the events of the book. This was a book I’ve heard a lot of hype over recently because the final book in the series, Winter, came out late last year. So I finally decided to give into the hype read it.

I enjoyed this book. If you tell me that a book is a retelling of a fairy tale the chances are I will love it. While the story was not the most original I have seen when it comes to fairy tale retellings this was sci-fi compared to the usual fantasy retelling.

The ending was very predictable and I wished it were more of a twist but I am interested to see where the story will go and how the universe will be expanded in future books.

Rating: 3.5/5

[letsgababoutbooks]

Cinder: CINDER is a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. It follows a teenage cyborg mechanic named Cinder, who lives in New Beijing. The prince needs her assistance on fixing an android, and takes an interest in Cinder. The world is experiencing a new plague outbreak and the Emperor has fallen ill, and the country is becoming desperate for a cure. All the while, the Lunar people on the moon are keeping a close eye on everything happening on Earth. As Cinder learns more about who she is and where she came from while more and more people are falling ill from Letumosis, things get even more complicated between Cinder and Prince Kai as he is forced to make tough decisions. I don't know what I expected out of thisbook, just that I have had it sitting on my shelf (signed!) for a few years without having ever picked it up. While on vacation on the Nothern California Coast this weekend, I picked up Cress at the cutest bookstore, and once I returned home I finally felt like reading Cinder. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an easy, fast-paced read. I read part as an audio book (which I recommend, Rebecca Soler does a fantastic job), and the other parts with the physical copy on my breaks at work. I have been reading a lot of YA contemporary and romance, so CINDER was refreshing. The only thing that could be annoying to some people is that the twist is really predictable, in addition to the majority of the story being familiar as it is a retelling after all. I also loved how Marissa Meyer set this story in a futuristic China, because it is true that the earliest known version of Cinderella is from China. Last year at the University of Washington I took a class on fairytales, and I LOVE retellings/reimaginings of classic tales. Something that Marissa Meyer did well was that although there is a slight bit of romance in the story, it still has a lot of tension and conflict(with Cinder's family, step mother, etc., and with the Lunar Queen Levana). It is not a cute-sy love story as Disney likes to tell it, which is great because the real fairy tales don't always have happy endings for everyone involved.

Scarlet was the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series, and I pretty much flew through it! I enjoyed getting to know the characters a lot better, and it was interesting with the addition of Scarlet and Wolf. 

I really enjoyed how Meyer presented the character of the wolf from the classic tale, because in her retelling Wolf has redeemable qualities. I almost felt like the “wolf” from the fairy tale resembled more of the gang in this novel as a whole rather than the character of Wolf himself, which I found intriguing. Well done. 

I often felt that Scarlet had a one track mind, obviously to find and save her grandmother. In some ways this makes complete sense, but I also felt that it hindered some of the character development that was done so well with the other main characters. 

Overall I think that this book kept me interested, and gave the reader more of the world that I am coming to love. The plot definitely surprised me, and I loved that it was not completely predictable (despite being based off tales I am familiar with)! 

Cress was the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer, and it continued on with the trend of great writing, well developed characters, and an always interesting plot. I loved how she tied in Cress's (aka Rapunzel) character with the bigger story. This book provided so many new developments that I was not expecting but were so interesting. The plot, in my opinion, has not slowed down. Rather it just keeps picking up momentum, and I never wanted to put it down. Sometimes it can feel a little frustrating with having SO many different perspectives now that there are so many characters, many whom are scattered and have their own story lines that are happening simultaneously with the others, but in the end I think it just serves to add a lot more depth to the series. It's a sign of good writing, and how invested I am, when certain characters chapters end and I get frustrated because I want to know more, but just as quickly get wrapped up in the next characters story too. I love how we got to see a lot more of Thorne in this book, because I love him. In general, I feel like Marissa Meyer does a FANTASTIC job with writing interesting characters with a lot of development, but I still feel like we barely know Scarlet. Her character is the only one I still feel a little disconnected with. I'm still swooning over pretty much all the male leads: Prince Kai, Thorne, and Wolf (flaws, and all). and CInder! oh man, I love her character. She is so brave, and honest, and feels so real. Sorry if i'm gushing, but I just adore this series.

OVERALL RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Such a great series, and I can not WAIT for Winter!

[sassenachstories-blog]

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles, no. 1 Released: 5th January 2012 Pages: 400 Source: Purchased Buy it: Amazon Book Challenge: A book with non-human characters

“A FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. “A DEADLY PLAGUE. “EARTH’S FATE HINGES ON ONE GIRL . . . “Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. “Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future. “This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.”

Cinder follows the story of a young cyborg of the same name in New Beijing, several thousand years in the future. It is a retelling of Cinderella with a futuristic twist, but the similarities between the two are not very plentiful. For that I am grateful; if Meyer had made it so that it was literally just a dystopian retelling of the classic fairytale, then I don’t think it would have had the same amount of suspense. Everyone knows the basic plot for Cinderella, and so having them the same would mean that Meyer would not have had as much freedom with her story.

Not only does Cinder have to cope with being an outcast as a cyborg, but she also has to deal with her wicked step-mother and the constant threat of the deadly plague that is spreading all over Earth. One of the things I love so much about this book is the amount of action that can be found within the pages. There’s no dilly-dallying with introductions and existential crises; instead you are thrown right into Cinder performing repairs on herself at her stall in the market. The actions and events escalate soon after.

This novel features the typical underdog main character, but Cinder is the lowest of the low. As the story progresses, Cinder finds herself more and more exiled from society. There is no questioning the fact that I was rooting for Cinder the whole way through.

My love for this book cannot be expressed sufficiently through words. It is wonderful, and I merely hope that the rest of the books in the series live up to the high standards that have been set by Cinder.

5 STARS

[shelfofhardcovers]

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) book review

Title: Cinder Author: Marissa Meyer Genre: Young adult fantasy, fairytale retelling Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Series: The first novel in The Lunar Chronicles series

Warning: spoilers for Cinder and Scarlet

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.

If you've read my book reviews, you may already know that I am a massive fan of fairytale retellings, I love those kinds of novels, so it will probably come as no surprise that I loved Cinder. Cinder is a novel that takes the fairytale Cinderella and recreates it using fantasy and science fiction elements. First off, Cinder is a cyborg. She has had her leg and arm replaced with machine or robot parts after an accident. However, people don't regard cyborgs very highly where Cinder lives, so she usually keeps her robotic parts hidden from the public eye. Cinder is a great mechanic and this is how she makes some money, and also how she meets Prince Kai. When Cinder's stepsister contracts the same disease that killed her father and that is killing the population, she is launched into a world of secret and betrayal. Queen Levana, the ruler of the Luna, the moon colony, has come to earth and wants to arrange a marriage between her and Prince Kai. Now this is an issue because Cinder finds out that Queen Levana is responsible for the plague that has been killing New Beijing's people, and that Queen Levana plans to have Prince Kai conveniently killed after their marriage. Thus, Queen Levana will be the ruler of one of the largest regions on earth. 

This novel is a compelling, and at times extremely adorable, read. The different genres go together perfectly, and even though Cinder is a fairytale retelling the story and plot are refreshing and exciting, so even though we all most likely know how the story goes there are unexpected twists and turns. To be honest, the only expected parts of the novel is the romance between Cinder and Kai, and the part where Cinder runs from the ball and loses her shoe, only here it's not her shoe but her cyborg leg that she loses. I think that was one of my favourite scenes, because that is when Kai finds out about Cinder being a cyborg, but so do so many others and it's such a heart wrenching scene. Also, Cinder's family goes by the original fairytale, but other than that the story is very much different. For example, Cinder's stepsister Peony contracts a disease or plague that has been killing the citizens of New Beijing and there is still no cure. Cinder ties her hardest to save Peony because Peony is Cinder's friend and the only one in the family who treats Cinder like a human being. It is later revealed that this plague has come from Queen Levana and her attempt to conquer Earth for the Luna people. Queen Levana is described as extraordinary beautiful, and we later learn that she has the ability to glamour herself, which means that she can alter the way other people perceive her appearance. However, Cinder can sometimes see pas this, and she isn't as easily manipulated as others, which we later find out is due to the fact that she is herself Luna. This adds so many interesting levels to the novel, as if Queen Levana figures this out, then Cinder will be in danger because she has been sent from the moon and to earth. The addition of the moon colony creates a huge conflict, because Cinder and Kai need to save themselves and the people of New Beijing from being taken over by Levana. 

Cinder is a loveable character, she's sarcastic and snarky which are typically traits that make me like a character. She is also the underdog, and as a reader we usually root for the underdog. Cinder is a great mechanic and she is very kind to her few friends, Peony and her android companion Iko. In addition, there are times when we get to see Cinder show that she is selfless, for example when she gives the only cure of the plague she has to the child of a woman who was rude to Cinder because she is a cyborg. However, she isn't perfect and that is what makes her a great character. She has flaws and she develops throughout the novel and continues to do so throughout the series so far. Her android companion Iko is also an adorable character, she is an android who sometimes forgets she isn't a human due to her faulty personality chip. I was so sad and furious when Iko is forcibly dismantled and I was so upset as I though she was gone. Luckily however, Cinder finds her personality chip and is able to reinstall her in a ship she finds, but this doesn't happen until the next book. The romance between Kai and Cinder was also very good, it had enough cute, slightly embarrassing, and angsty moments. In addition, I quite liked this romance because it is not the main part of the novel, but more a sub-plot as Cinder tries to figure out what is going on with Levana and the plague. 

I give this novel 4.5 out of 5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I flew through it. There were never any boring or slow moments, it was action packed and exciting from the beginning. 

CAS: 2.5 hours

[thebookcave]

Cinder

“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.”

hated it | liked it| loved it

Man I am ashamed of hopping on the Cinder train so late, completely and totally ashamed. I’ve been coming back to this book ever since it got released I was so excited to read it but when the book finally came out  I read a review that described it as a ‘cybernetic Cinderella’ and I nOPED that book so quickly and dropped it right off my ‘to-read’ list.

Not that I have anything against Cinderella; I watched the one with Brandy a million times as a child but that description just seemed so cheesy. So a year or so goes by and people are still talking about this book and a sequel comes out and people start talking about that too and I’m like 'okay I gotta see what the damn hype is about it can’t be that good'. Folks were right. It’s THAT good.

True it’s a lot like Cinderella but the setting, the conflicts, the characters?????? They add sooo much more to the book. I fell in love with Cinder and her precious little Iko(angel andriod from above she better be in the next book) how hard-working and determined she was. And so so so loyal. Cinder is so loyal to people who deserve it like her sister Peony and I love that. She puts others needs before her own but not to the point where it’s like okay girl you need to get a grip and treat yoself. 

Of course this would be no Cinderella tale without a prince and I love Prince Kai. He has an entire country to worry about, a crazy ass Lunar Queen to stave off a damn plague to control contain and maybe finding a date to the stupid grand ball. I liked we got to see him actually get upset at the Lunar Queen, heartbroken at the loss of his father and confused/lost at UN meetings. It made his character a lot more real and not just a shiny unreachable prince for Cinder to pine after. Their interactions were cute and funny but not over the top romantic where I wanted to race through them because really who was the time when it comes to romance lol. 

I will say there were some cheesy parts, but Cinderella itself is cheesy so that didn’t take away from the plot or anything just know if you do choose to read this there will be some cheesy parts that’ll make you roll your eyes. This book was excellent though if you liked The Mortal Instruments you’ll probably like this because I can not wait to read the second one. 

Cheers,

Alex

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[weadorebooks]

Join me in discussing the first book in the Lunar Chronicles Series by Marissa Meyer, Cinder! Don't forget to subscribe and leave your comments! I'd love to know what you guys thought of this one!

Want the book? http://www.amazon.com/Cinder-Lunar-Chronicles-Marissa-Meyer/dp/1250007208

[thatfewgirlbooks]

Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder

Publisher/Year: Feiwel & Friends/2012

Pages: 390

Genre: Fantasy/Romance/YA/Science Fiction/Dystopian Society

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. (Summary from goodreads.com)

SPOILERS ALERT! SPOILERS ALERT!

Two of my favorite things: cyborgs and Cinderella.

Cinderella, most people do not know, is one of my favorite tales. I love the Disney version, as I do the classic versions over the years, and here is a fabulous twisted version. Meyer did a fantastic job at adding gritty, unfortunate details.

First, there’s Cinder, a sixteen year old girl who while seems normal, isn’t. She’s cyborg, having a metal leg, metal arm, and internal alterations that are, essentially, metal. Cool, huh? Better yet, she meets Princes Kai, who she falls for, despite her wishes to leave her town and get away from her “wicked” stepmother and sister. (One, because poor Peony...)

IKO IS THE BEST. She’s the cutest humane robot character I’ve ever seen. My heart broke when she was dismembered. I cried so hard.

Peony was one of my favorites. She was trusting and bubbly and loved Cinder, even if no one else did. She was a sister to her, and encouraged her to do what she loved, fixing up robots and even the rusty old car they found. It’s a beautiful relationship they have, that’s endangered when Peony gets the plague.

The plague, called the blue fever, also litumosis, is raging through and wiping out the population. We first get a sight of it in the shopping center where Cinder works; a lady at nearby booth shows symptoms and is taken away, her son taken by another neighbor and her cart burned. It’s contagious, but Cinder doesn’t catch it...

I’d guessed all along that Cinder wasn’t human... well, at least more than not half human. I guessed she was Lunar at the beginning, but when she started testing at the palace labs, I second guessed it, until, of course, it was revealed she’s not only Lunar but the missing princess!

I laughed and cried throughout this book so much! Chapter 5, Peony’s breakout of the plague, I balled like a baby. I don’t have a sister, but I do have a girl who’s like my sister and if she were to suddenly show symptoms of a plague and be taken away by officials.... I’d die. And that’s just the beginning.

Cinder’s stepmother/guardian sells her to the government research team to do tests on in search of the cure... Of course, later we find out it was to find her, the princess of the Lunars, all along. I actually listened to this on audiobook while reading along in the book, and Rebecca Soler, who read it, is hilarious! Her robot voices, her impressions of the characters... Priceless!

When Cinder visits Peony in the quaranteen place and Peony says, “I love you, Cinder. I’m glad you’re not sick.” I lost it. Such heartfelt love there, and then she dies. I lost a part of myself. So sad!

And the “Cinderella” moment of it all, going to the ball. It’s the most embarrassing moment of my life. I actually cringed reading it, because it was so awful. Cinder’s hair, her dress, her unfortunate foot issue... And then  actually walking into the palace, in front of people. Horrifying.

There’s so much that goes on in this book I can’t cover it all - or if I did, this would be a way too long, way too detailed review. I was so emotionally invested into this book, it exhausts me to try to reiterate everything I thought and felt. It’s so worth reading.

Overall, this twisted fairy tale is brilliant. It’s classy but gritty, traditional but not. If you like fairytales, cyborgs or awesomeness, I recommend this. The second book, Scarlet, of the Lunar chronicles, comes out this February and I’m so ready for it! 

Started Jan. 2, finished Jan. 4, 2013

Rating: