Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder
Lunar Chronicles #1
Author: Marissa Meyer
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian/Steam Punk
Released: January 3rd 2012
Review Source: Purchased
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) 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.

First off, let me say Cinder immensely surprised me. I would not have thought that I would like a Science fiction book with robots and cyborgs, but I loved it. In fact, it’s better than the original Cinderella, which is retold in this stunning novel. Marissa Meyer has made an incredible world that you can feel like your living in through her words. I was staying up late and waking up early to read this riveting book. Cinder is a novel I could never forget.

The characters of Cinder were all oh-so-similar to Cinderella’s yet no where near the same. Cinder is a cyborg. Originally a human, Cinder was in a car accident that left her parents dead and herself wounded. Some of her limbs had to be converted into metal and wires, and on top of that, she was an orphan. Cinder never really wondered about her past; she’s never been able to remember anything. Adopted by Garan Linh, she moved into a home with a loathing step-mother and two step-sisters, one friendly, one bitter. Garan soon dies from a spreading, incurable plague, leaving Cinder to Step-mother Adri. Her life quickly changes as she is forced to work in the town as a mechanic- the best one there is. So clever at her job, Prince Kai, the emperor of New Beijing’s son, meets her by asking her to fix his own robot. With a heart-racing, gripping plot, Cinderella is reborn in an epic tale of world domination, sacrifice, forbidden love, and hidden secrets.

Cinder is a must read for anybody. I am truly sorry for you if you haven’t read this book because you are missing out. Cinder was a thrilling novel and thankfully there’s more in the Lunar Chronicles. Thank the almighty Lord I found this book!