Review - Cinder by

Title: Cinder
Lunar Chronicles #1
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Jan 3, 2012
Publish Date: Feiwel & Friends
Hardcover, 387 pages

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Cinder is the story of Cinderella told in the form of cyborgs, princes and Lunars (ie: witches). I really love the layout of this book. It is sweet, interesting with just the right amount of futuristic play. Marissa Meyer did such a wonderful job keeping the feel of Cinderella, but making it her own.

Cinder is a half human, half cyborg. An accident in her life at an early age allowed for her to be remade in to a cyborg. Her stepmother, Adri is mean (of course). She has two step sisters, Pearl and Peony. Feeling a bit like the movie, Ever After with Drew Barrymore, Pearl is the hateful sister and Peony is the nicer, friendly even sister though she must keep up appearances in front of her stepmother. They live in a world plagued by letumosis which is killing humans every day and the prince's father has recently been infected. Finding the cure will not only save the King, but maybe all of humanity. Among one of the methods of finding a cure cyborgs are being drafted to aid in finding a cure (ie: science monkeys). When Cinder's awful stepmother gets it in her head to subject Cinder to the "not so optional" draft for science, she is sent away to be poked and prodded with the disease until she dies.

There is of course a handsome prince, Kai, who meets Cinder at the market where she works to earn money for her stepmother by fixing mechanical parts. Kai is in need of her services when his cyborg nanny has gone on the fritz. Naturally there is a connection, but with him being undercover in the market and her being a cyborg/human, how will love ever come about?

This was so much fun! What a great way to incorporate a child's tale with technology and witchcraft.

Cinder's story continues with Scarlet, Cress and Winter consecutively being released one each year.

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.

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.