Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Amy  

Lynnie

Young adult, fantasy, sci-fi

Lynnie had read Cinder by Marissa Meyer back in April 2014 but I just got around to it.  It is a novel based on Cinderella’s story but takes place in a future Asian nation at a time when there is a population living on the moon and after four World Wars have taken place.  Cinder is a cyborg—part human and part machine—which makes her a second-class citizen in her society.  She not only does chores in her step-family’s apartment but also pays all the bills by being a mechanic.  And it is in this capacity that she meets the prince and the story begins.

Amy’s Review

It was a cute interpretation of a future-day Cinderella story. I liked that Cinder was very self-empowering. I enjoyed the creativity of the author in her changes and updates to the fairy tale. The characters were interesting. The pacing was good. 

What I did not like was the point at which the novel ended. It's more of the "sequel syndrome" which drives me nuts.  It bothers me when the book ends but the story does not.  But, of course, I'll read the next one.  I’m glad the next two sequels are already published.  I tend to forget a lot of the story (and most of the characters) if a year passes between sequels.  And, unless it’s Harry Potter, it’s rarely worth my time to reread a story in advance of a sequel release just to refresh my memory.  I’d much rather be reading new books when there are so many great options out there.  I mean, I have 100 books on my “To Read” list!  And that list never seems to get smaller!

Lynnie’s Review

Fast paced & interesting, but somewhat predictable because... Cinderella, right?

So- Cinderella, evil stepmother, the prince, there's an evil Queen for good measure & a Ball- there's always a ball & guess who can't go? Right. So there's lots of churn about the prince wanting Cinder to go to the ball & she can't because, well that's how the story goes. But you know she's gonna go, right? Because also- yeah, that's how the story goes.

There's also cyborgs, the plague (who doesn't love a good plague?), & a colony on the moon- of course there is. Honestly, it was a fun read, but there was lots of silliness in this book. And, since someone told me there are 10 books in the series I'm not sure I can hang in there for 10 books- that's a lot of commitment to silliness. Not to mention, how many times can a girl run from her prince before he (& we) get bored?


Please add a comment below and let us know what you thought of this book if you've read it.

--Amy