Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, 1) Paperback – February 4, 2020

I read this book a while ago and it still has stuck with me as one of my favorite reads. Marissa Meyer creates this world that is somewhere between Star Wars and a modern fairy tale with a twist. I absolutely love Sci-Fi and this mash up was certainly not a disappointment.Cinderella + Sci-Fi = LOVE ITTaking place in futuristic Beijing, Cinder has a very unique and different setting from anything I have read before. Many countries throughout the world have formed into new alliances and empires. And the moon also has inhabitants. There is something called the plague. It’s an infectious disease that kills thousands of people. It is sort of the equivalent to cancer except more….vicious in its rapid development. And of course, there is not cure.The main character is Cinder Linh, or in the book it is properly Linh Cinder. Names are said backwards in Japanese and Chinese cultures; where the last name is said first, and then the first name. Cinder is a cyborg. Which means she is half human and half robot. She is a mechanic, who works for her stepmother and lives in the city fixing robots and other technology in the city. People fear her because she is different. A robot is not considered a being with emotions. Cyborgs are not really considered people because they are half machine. Well, they are, they are just sort of….frowned upon. Cinder is not happy with her life but she tries to make the best of it. She is a very strong character and I found I liked her right away. In most YA books the heroine is an idiot and unrelatable. But Cinder is a character most readers will be able to identify with. She is real and has real feelings. Her actions and decisions also make sense with the story. And with who she is as a person.Cinder does follow the main themes of Cinderella. But it is not super predicable in how it is portrayed. Cinder does meet Prince Kai, and instead of hiding she is a commoner, like in the real Cinderella story, she hides her cyborg foot and hand from him so he does not know she is half machine. There is a ball but everything is so different from the original story that this retelling is so unique on its own. Although, all the elements of a Cinderella story are there.Prince Kai has his own issues to deal with. His father is sick with the plague and a Queen wants to make an alliance with him. There is a good amount of politics and manipulation that goes on in his side of the story. Prince Kai is definitely charming. I think he needs to be a bit stronger of a character. He is learning how to run a country and I understand that. He is a bit young and naive like most young apprentice rulers are; I just hope he becomes more confident and strong as the books progress. And I’m sure he will be.Not ganna lie, I am a “judge a book by the cover” person. Which can be a good and bad thing. This is one of those stories where the plot has great potential and you can see that before you read it. The cover art is also just lovely and really captures the eye. I was like “What is this?!?!?!?!” Combining the summery and the cover and you got a trap for a reader. Which can be scary because most of the time it does not meet up to the expectations of the reader at all. But this book surpassed my expectations. I had put off reading it because I was afraid it would suck. But it turns out to now be one of my absolute favorite stories I have ever read.SO, WE HAVE A WINNER!If you are a Sailor Moon fan this book is also for you! There are some loose similarities between Sailor Moon and Cinder and after googling, it I did in fact find Meyer was in love with the Sailor Moon series. Marissa Meyer even says she was inspired by her when writing Cinder! Cinder is also rumored to become a movie SO I am really excited and keeping my fingers crossed!If you like the combination of drama, romance, secrets, and adventure, you have to read Cinder! It is one of my favorite retellings! Actually, it is because of this book I even LIKE retellings! It’s the first one I have read that I actually have been interested in! this book proves retellings can be good and fun to read! Go to the store and get this book!Marissa Meyer Answering Questions on Her BooksMarissa Meyer on Cinder, writing, and leading men….Which of your characters is most like you?I wish I could say that I'm clever and mechanically-minded like Cinder, but no--I can't fix anything. I'm much more like Cress, who makes a brief cameo in Cinder and then takes a more starring role in the third book. She's a romantic and a daydreamer and maybe a little on the naïve side--things that could be said about me too--although she does find courage when it's needed most. I think we'd all like to believe we'd have that same inner strength if we ever needed it.Where do you write?I have a home office that I've decorated with vintage fairy tale treasures that I've collected (my favorite is a Cinderella cookie jar from the forties) and NaNoWriMo posters, but sometimes writing there starts to feel too much like work. On those days I'll write in bed or take my laptop out for coffee or lunch.If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from Cinder would you want with you?Cinder, definitely! She has an internet connection in her brain, complete with the ability to send and receive comms (which are similar to e-mails). We'd just have enough time to enjoy some fresh coconut before we were rescued.The next book in the Lunar Chronicles is called Scarlet, and is about Little Red Riding Hood. What is appealing to you most about this character as you work on the book?Scarlet is awesome--she's very independent, a bit temperamental, and has an outspokenness that tends to get her in trouble sometimes. She was raised by her grandmother, an ex-military pilot who now owns a small farm in southern France, who not only taught Scarlet how to fly a spaceship and shoot a gun, but also to have a healthy respect and appreciation for nature. I guess that's a lot of things that appeal to me about her, but she's been a really fun character to write! (The two leading men in Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Thorne, aren't half bad either.)

I enjoy adaptations of popular fairy tales, and this was no exception. It puts such a different twist on it that it did indeed keep my attention. Unfortunately just as it gets to the best part, the part we all knew was coming for the majority of the book, it stops and is continued in the next story. I like multi story series, but I appreciate them more wen they are also stand alones.

I love the characters in this book, each one is so alive and comes right off the page. The overall story was incredibly interesting as well. Especially the way Marissa sneaks in magic into a futuristic world. Overall a very good time and while I don't appreciate a cliffhanger I am beyond excited to get into the next installment.

Reading this book with my 13 year old granddaughter. It’s long but very interesting take on Cinderella story. She has dyslexia but with help she’s reading the difficult words. There are many books in the series.

Despite being based on one of the most famous romantic fairy tales of all time, Cinder by Marissa Meyer proves to be a fresh and exciting read for readers of all sorts. I love to read, but I'm a slow reader and a reader that needs real excitement in order to finish a book. That said, I'm happy to report that I finished this book in two days. This means, I REALLY liked it.Cinder starts off quickly and the easy, swift pacing is held throughout the book. I'm also not usually a fan of sci-fi stories, finding them hard to relate to and get lost in, but Meyer does a fantastic job of creating a vivid reality of Cinder's world while still keeping the book easy to follow and absorb. What's more, the author seems to make Cinder's world so real by creating unique technology that is still easy for us to relate to. For example, in Cinder's world they rely on "portscreens" and "netscreens" for communication, news, etc. I found it realistic and easy to imagine these things as future advancements on tablet computers and our modern flatscreen TVs and computers. It's very easy to see Cinder's life in New Beijing as a very realistic possibility for earth's future. This makes the sci-fi aspect of the book easier to handle for folks like me, who usually are lost in sci-fi fantasy.Cinder's story is very much like the classic Cinderella in many ways, she has an evil stepmother who keeps her as a slave, two stepsisters, and an uncertain past. When her paths cross with Prince Kai, Cinder is thrust into an unlikely romance. I have read a few reviews here that criticize the ease and "love at first sight" quality to Kai's attraction to Cinder. To this I have to say, come on, this is the retelling of a fairy tale! It's supposed to be "love at first sight" and "true love", and the reader should be expecting this. Much to my pleasant surprise, while Kai is immediately smitten with Cinder, she--on the other hand--does NOT turn into some swoony, pathetic girl in love with the handsome prince (I'm talking to you, Bella Swan). Thank you, Marissa Meyer! Too many heroines of the popular young adult novels feature whiny, weak girls for young readers to look up to. While Kai is the charming, strong hero I look for in a romantic book, Cinder is refreshingly intellectual and thoughtful.I think many teen readers will enjoy and relate to the character of Cinder because, despite being cyborg (human with artificial body parts), she is a very real character to read. She is teased and mocked by her enemies because of her artificial body parts, and seeing how so many teens (and adults, too) struggle with self-image, I think Cinder is a heroine MANY will so easily relate to. She struggles to love herself at times, because of her cyborg parts and her downfalls, but when it really counts Cinder stands up for herself. I love this!The pacing throughout all 38 chapters is swift and kept me unable to put my Kindle down until I finished this story, so readers in need of excitement and romance will definitely be happy with this read. Cinder's story is full of a few surprises and twists, though it also has a few non-surprises, at the end we are left with a cliffhanger. This is one difference from the classic Cinderella story. Cinder's first book does not leave us with a "happily ever after" complete with a bow. Instead, we are still hopeful for that "happily ever after", but it's obvious there is more in store for Cinder and Kai before that is even possible. This was fine by me, however, seeing as I rushed through the book so quickly, I'm excited to read more of what happens to Cinder and Kai and I'm hoping Meyer can deliver as well as she did with this first book!Finally, as a mother of two young daughters, I'm very happy to say that this book gets the mom seal of approval from me! Cinder is not without it's dark and intense moments, but Meyer respectfully wrote a clean (I'm talking language and intimacy) book that I would definitely share with a reader even as young as 10. Too many young adult books have been showing up on shelves lately, full of cursing and promiscuity. It's nice to see an author finally show her talent without trying to sellout to what the publishing world seems to THINK teens want/need in a book. Which reminds me, the writing was clear, concise, and impressive. I would compare it to the style of Suzanne Collins of the famous Hunger Games books. Meyer clearly has talent.I would absolutely recommend this fresh new novel to the young readers, AND adult readers who are interested in any mixture of adventure, fairy tales, sci-fi, and romanticism. I think it's a fun, fascinating read, and it kept me on edge for most of the book. I'm very much looking forward to the release of Meyer's next book--let's hope it doesn't take too long!