Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Aug 30, 2014 Cassandra Moore rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was one of those books where I had doubts that I would like it. I'm not that big into fairytale retellings, and Cinderella is probably one of my least favorite fairytales. However, I kept hearing wonderful things about this series, a coworker gushed about the series, and the cyborg aspect kind of interested me. I didn't have high expectations going into this novel, and in fact, I almost convinced myself that I wouldn't like it. I had checked it out from the library on a whim, and I waited u This was one of those books where I had doubts that I would like it. I'm not that big into fairytale retellings, and Cinderella is probably one of my least favorite fairytales. However, I kept hearing wonderful things about this series, a coworker gushed about the series, and the cyborg aspect kind of interested me. I didn't have high expectations going into this novel, and in fact, I almost convinced myself that I wouldn't like it. I had checked it out from the library on a whim, and I waited until a couple days before it was due (roughly 54 days since I checked it out since I renewed it once) to actually read it. I'm really glad I decided to go ahead with it since I found myself loving the story!

I thought Cinder was kind of badass by the end of the book. She took care of herself and stood by her stepsister who was obviously the less important daughter to her mother. She started a little "woe-is-me" but she ended by taking a stand for not just herself, but for Earth. Sure she had moments of self-doubt, but I think everyone does so that just made her even better. I guessed at the ending fairly early in the book, so the only thing that kind of irritated me was that she didn't pick up on it sooner. I thought she ought to put the pieces together herself quicker than she did. I like that she's a female mechanic too. The secondary characters were a little one-dimensional to me. Even Prince Kai was kind of blah. I hope to see more development out of them in the second novel, even if Scarlet is focused on a new character and different fairytale.

Despite this being a twist on Cinderella, there is plenty of unique story line. The Cinderella aspect isn't overly obvious and isn't even the main story to me. The cyborg business wasn't explained perhaps as much as I would have liked, and Cinder was the only one named in this book. I hope the next book has more about the cyborg process as well as going more into depth about the Lunars. I knew this was futuristic and had cyborgs and androids, but despite reading the synopsis, I didn't pick up on the fact that there would be a civilization on the moon as well which made the story that much more awesome to me. So many interesting dynamics and politics explored in the book. I'm really looking forward to reading Scarlet next. ...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Jeanne Bufkin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2015, reviewed-in-2015

This book surprised me at every turn. It gripped me immediately, held my attention through the plot twists and turns, and finally left me at the edge of a cliff screaming for more!

Cinder is a cyborg mechanic who suffers under the roof of her stepmother/guardian and an bratty sister, Pearl. Her only friends are her sister, Peony and the family servant-bot. Cinder does everything asked of her, but has no rights or freedom of any kind, as cyborgs are third-class people.

There's a terrible illness s ...more

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Dec 23, 2016 Jaime rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2016, ya-science-fiction

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella set in a future dystopian backdrop. What particularly make it stand out is that the Cinder of this story is not a young girl, but a cyborg in a world that doesn’t see cyborgs as equal to humans. I really enjoyed the story, and it sucked me in from the start.

The nice thing about this retelling is it hits all the beats of the original without being a point-by-point copy. The inspiration is obvious — there’s a charming prince, and an evil stepmother, and even a p ...more

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Jun 17, 2016 Ana rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016, library, 2016-june

I had a bit of trouble fully getting into this. I didn't like how helpless she was, I guess. Though, I think it would be kind of cool to see it as an anime. ...more

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