Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fairytale-Retelling, Dystopian
Synopsis:
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.
My Thoughts:
This book is not you're average fairy-tale retelling.
Imagine Cinderella's story in a dytopian setting where a disease is going rampant and taking the lives of so many innocent people. Imagine Cinderella as a cyborg, working as a mechanic to give money to her stepmother. And imagine there is another species that exist in the moon and their queen is a cold-hearted murderer and is planning on conquering the Earth. Can you picture it now? Can you picture now the epicness of Cinder? Well if not, let me tell you more about this book.
When I say that Cinder is a cyborg, I'm not saying that she's like the indestructible cyborg girl in Terminator 3. She's more of an Astro Boy type of cyborg, with wires, microchips and metals but she can still feel emotions. And as a techie geek, it was fun for me to read how Cinder's system works. She can monitor her temperature and the amount of adrenaline coursing through her body and she has a built-in lie-detector. How cool was that!
And just like the original Cinderella, her situation was really pitiful and you can't help not to sympathize to her misery. But no matter how bad the situation was, she never complained and she face the problem head on. She's such a strong, admirable character and I super love her!
Prince Kai, was the Prince Charming of this story. Yes, he is a prince and he is charming. I just don't like it when the other leaders underestimated him. It really didn't help him build his confidence in becoming a leader.
I love how Cinder and Kai's romance, though. It was slow yet sweet and not the insta-love kind of thing. I think, it was more realistic and believable in that way.
Overall, I really had fun reading this book. Cinder is a science fiction, fairytale mash-up that will short circuit your brain, making you crave for more of this series.
My Rating
