Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer: Book Review

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publication Details: January 8th 2013 by Square Fish (first published January 3rd 2012)
Copy: Paperback bought from Fully Booked


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.

A unique, futuristic retelling of Cinderella.

Plot
Cinder follows Linh Cinder, a cyborg mechanic, as she wades through her life in a society threatened not only by a fatal disease but also by a looming war.

Being under many genres (sci-fi, fantasy, fairy tale-retelling and dystopian), Cinder has a lot of plot elements in it. Some bits were predictable but the elements taken together presented a refreshing twist to the usual Cinderella story.

I especially liked the setting of the story and nationality of the main characters. It's not very often that we get Asian main characters in a dystopian world, so that's plus points for Cinder.

The world-building can be quite difficult to comprehend as it is a mishmash of sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian. But nevertheless, I think it's a unique twist to the usual dystopian setting, and am looking forward to knowing more of their world.

The entire book is a big introduction of the Lunar Chronicles, thus slow-paced. Even so, I found myself wanting to know how things will turn out, especially for Cinder, and how the Cinderella elements would be placed into the story.

Though not action-packed as I expected it to be, Cinder is still an intriguing and interesting read. And I'm looking forward to the plot's development in the next books.

Character
Linh Cinder is a typical YA dystopian heroine- the "nobody to somebody" type. But despite the cliché, it was still fun reading about her. I liked that she's unselfish and she puts the need of others before hers. She is constrained by society, by the people around her but they did not stop her from developing herself and her skills.

Prince Kai, on the other hand, has a good heart for his people. I believe that he's down-to-earth and approachable. Though quite naïve, especially in the world of politics, but I liked that he tries his best, putting the general welfare before his.

As for Queen Levana, I am very intrigued about her background. She's very dark, dangerous and really scary. I am looking forward to knowing more of her role and story.

Overall, I am looking forward to reading more about them in the next books, and how their relationships will affect their development and that of the plot's.

Writing
The author's writing style is okay. Told in a first person perspective, the flow of events is smooth and easy to understand. As I have mentioned, there were predictable bits but I liked how the author weaved together the different elements to create a refreshing twist to the usual Cinderella story.

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Overall, I had an enjoyable reading experience with Cinder despite the cliché. The plot development is intriguing and I am looking forward to the roles of other characters in Cinder's life.





Marissa Meyer lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her fiancé and their two cats. In addition to her slight obsession with books and writing, she's big on road-tripping, wine-tasting, and hunting for antiques. Marissa Meyer is represented by Jill Grinberg.

Cinder is her debut novel.