| Title: | Cinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Author: | Marissa Meyer | |
| Publisher: | Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | |
| Imprint: | Feiwel & Friends | |
| Pub. Date: | 1/3/2012 | |
| ISBN: | 0312641893 (ISBN13: 9780312641894) | |
| Pages: | 390 |
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.
(Summary and cover via Goodreads)
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Cinder is many things, super mechanic and cyborg being some of the foremost. Because of her cyborg status, she is also considered second-class in her home of New Beijing. One day the very handsome Prince Kai comes to ask for her help fixing a treasured family android, and Cinder feels an immediate attraction for him. She soon has other things to worry about though, when her step-mother blames Cinder for the fact that Cinder's step-sister has caught the plague that has been decimating humans. When Cinder gets sent into a facility for testing plague antidotes (against her will), things get much more complicated. Cinder soon discovers that she is part of things much bigger than she ever realized.
When it comes to new takes on old tales, this is probably one of the freshest. A futuristic Cinderella story? I was intrigued immediately. The author does an amazing job of drawing you in from the beginning. Cinder is an awesome character. She is strong and brave and definitely my kind of girl. I didn't feel I got to know Prince Kai as much. I really wondered what drew him to Cinder in the first place, but overall I liked him. The politics in this book are a bit complicated, but I thought that was awesome. It made for a very interesting new layer of depth. I felt like the story really flew by, and I read it very quickly. Because the basis of the tale is so familiar, it helps to get you involved in the story and characters quickly.
I did have two slight negatives. One was that the twists or surprises weren't that surprising. The minute one particular plot point was mentioned, I knew where it was going immediately. The other was that I felt the ending was rather abrupt. I was a little disappointed there as I felt I didn't get as much closure as I wanted. I know it was setting up for more books, but I still felt like it could have been wrapped up a bit more. Those things aside though, I really enjoyed this book. I was hanging on each word, and I will definitely look for the next book. Very impatiently. I really want to see where it ends up. Fans of classic fairy tales and futuristic science fiction (along with sides of romance and political intrigue) will definitely like this book.
Book provided for review.
4 comments:
I've been trying to decide if I want to read this one or not. I adore fairy-tale retellings, and futuristic dystopia. I'm not sure how I'd feel about mixing them, though. Where did you get it? Maybe I'll read it if one happens to land in my hands. :)
I got it on Netgalley. Not sure if it's still up there or not.
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I read this primarily because it's a Cinderella story with a twist and I was actually surprised that I enjoyed reading it. Many of the subplots were predictable though. But still a good read.
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