Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: January 3rd

Publisher: Macmillan: Feiwel and Friends

Series: The Lunar Chronicles bk. 1

Genera: Sci-fi dystopian

Subjects: cyborgs, royalty, princes and princesses, emperors

Length: 387 pgs. (ARC) 400 pgs. (Finished)

HC/PB: Hardcover

Summary/ product description: “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.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.”

My Rating: ê ê ê ê ê

My Review: Before I begin, I want to say that as I read in the acknowledgements, the author is a fan of Sailor Moon and it really shows in her story. It’s cyborg Cinderella the mechanic with a side of Princess Serenity aka Sailor Moon. The Lunars are people who’ve lived on the moon and have there own country there. It reminds me of how in the future Sailor Moon is the Queen of the Moon and has her mini moon daughter (Rini in the American version).

This book was so awesome. Especially since I won it (an ARC copy) as well as won it. It as in my prediction game. I’m an amazing guesser…or maybe the book was predictable, but I like to believe I’m psychic so I’ll go with that and not spoil anything to those who haven’t read it yet. The plot was great. Really different from Cinderella, but with some similarities.

The characters were all very interesting. Cinder was definitely a strong character and Kai was very prince like (and I’d like to compare him to Darien/Tuxedo Mask, butcan I really?) and hot. Cinder’s stepsisters were opposites. Peony was nice and Pearl was a mean girl. And Adri, her stepmother/legal guardian was horrible. She and Pearl treated Cinder like she was cyborg trash. And Cinder is an amazing mechanic, so they only liked her for fixing stuff.

I’m so glad I got to read this. I didn’t expect much, but I got a lot. I highly recommend this. It’s a very creative dystopian book. If you read a Long Long Sleep, another Dystopian Fairy Tale Retelling (that one based off Sleeping Beauty), then you’ll like this, and find it even better.

Cover Art Review: I have to say that the finished copy’s cover looks way better than the ARC’s cover. The cyborg leg and the shoe all look well manipulated. The shoe looks like a red glass stiletto. It really says “sci-fi fairy tale.”

~Haley G