63. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (US) - (Canada) - (Kindle)
The Lunar Chronicles, Book 1

Pages: 387
Ages: 12+
Finished: Feb. 24, 2012
First Published: Jan. 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: YA, science fiction
Rating: 5/5




First sentence:  The screw through Cinder's ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle.

Publisher's 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."

Acquired: Received a review copy from Macmillan Kids.

Reason for Reading:   Upon reading the summary, I knew this book was for me as it had everything I'd love in a YA novel: fairytale retelling, sci-fi, cyborg, and dystopia.  I had planned not to start any new series this year but I didn't know this was the start of a series until I started to read the book.

This was fabulous!  I have to admit that when it really boils down to it I do much prefer science fiction to fantasy, and yet I don't read nearly as much of it.  This hit the spot perfectly.  A fairytale retelling that goes far beyond the scope of the original fairytale.  Meyer has managed to hold onto the basic characters and some major events while throwing the familiar plot out the window to bring us a new version of Cinderella that had me glued to my seat and turning pages almost faster than I could read.  Cinder is the dominant character in this book and one fantastic female lead who carries the plot all on her own.  I took to her character right away and found her to be very well-written, with genuine feelings and emotion.  She is a person who stays true to her own nature no matter how it will affect appearances sake.  I also found the dystopian world intriguing.  Set in some unknown future, a century after World War IV, the world has changed its political divisions and ruling systems, is different in many ways and yet not so much that it is still a believable possible reality.  The book ends looking forwards to the sequel and yet has a satisfying ending for the book in hand.  Something I appreciate in series books.  One of my favourite reads this year.