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From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: March 23, 2012

Finish date: March 31, 2012

Discussion: Books of the Month

Why we're reading this: We voted and this one will be one of March's Books of the Month. Here is a link to the discussion: http:/…more
[close] We voted and this one will be one of March's Books of the Month. Here is a link to the discussion: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

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What Members Thought

Mar 04, 2014 Ronyell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2014, disabilities, chinese-books, fairy-tale-romance, science-fiction-futuristic-romance, sexy-good-girl-heroine, dystopian-world, young-adult-teen-books, strong-heroine, strong-hero

5.5 stars!!!

I have read many different interpretations of my favorite fairy tales over the years, but there is one type of fairy tale retelling that I had never stumbled upon before: STEAMPUNK CINDERELLA! It seriously is better than it sounds as Marissa Meyer has created one awesome retelling of “Cinderella” in the form of “Cinder!”

In the city of New Beijing, Cinder is a sixteen year old girl who happens to be a cyborg and she lives with her cruel stepmother Adri along with her two stepsist ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2012 Michael rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, read-in-2012

A classic fairy tale re-told in a steam punk universe should have been a lot more fun to read than Cinder ended up being.

Part of this could be that I'm not necessarily the target audience for this book. It's from the young adult section and I can easily see how young readers entranced by the Twilight novels might lap this one up with a spoon. (Add to the conveniences, Cinder is written by an author who shares the last name Meyer. And don't think I wasn't thinking that Marissa Meyer must somehow A classic fairy tale re-told in a steam punk universe should have been a lot more fun to read than Cinder ended up being.

Part of this could be that I'm not necessarily the target audience for this book. It's from the young adult section and I can easily see how young readers entranced by the Twilight novels might lap this one up with a spoon. (Add to the conveniences, Cinder is written by an author who shares the last name Meyer. And don't think I wasn't thinking that Marissa Meyer must somehow be related to Stephanie Meyer as I read this one). However, I've heard a lot of buzz for this book among readers who aren't necessarily the Bella/Edward/Jacob demographic.

I can't help but think they're going to be a bit disappointed as well.

The novel starts off well, introducing us to Cinder, a cyborg who lives with her step-mother and step-sisters. She's good at repairing items and keeps her adopted family afloat, despite the scorn and ridicule she regularly receives. Cinder even has her own version of a talking mouse as her one friend.

Thrown into are several other elements included a deadly disease that can strike without warning and is currently killing the ruler of Earth. There's also a conflict with the rulers of the Moon and there's also a dash of lingering questions about the true nature of Cinder's identity.

The questions surrounding Cinder and her role in the political game being played are a bit too obviously foreshadowed. I guessed the revelation that is supposed to be the hook for the next novel in the series a couple of hundred pages before the novel got around to telling us what it was. That lead to large portions of the middle of the book feeling like they were treading water, waiting for the inevitable revelation and for something to actually spark the plot and move it forward.

Of course, there's also a romantic angle of the apparent attraction between Cinder and the prince who is thrust into ruling the realm. And while we all know where it's headed, I do wish Meyer had put a bit more originality into the journey to the inevitable destination.

Ultimately, I came away from Cinder disappointed that the story has such potential but doesn't live up to it. It also suffers from the "series-itis" plaguing so many of today's new releases. The novel works too hard to set-up a long term story which will sell lots of future installments while failing to make the characters or universe interesting enough to make more than just mildly curious to return and see how all these things play out. This is another book that makes the argument that sometimes having a single, stand-alone novel is a better idea than a watered down series. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2012 Trisha rated it liked it

I really wanted to love this story. Cinder was interesting to read about and her cyborg additions were just fascinating to hear about (I did both audio and book for this one). The world was so immersing (the plague, the holograms, the old vs new cyborg, even the "car" find at the dump, "New Beijing"...all of it was just fun to explore!!)

but, at the heart of it, it was just a retelling of a fairy tale we already know. Had these characters had the ability to jump OUT of their programmed role and b ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Christal rated it really liked it

Shelves: magic, female-lead, steam-punk, sci-fi-aka-lasers, ya-and-na, aliens, androids-cyborgs-robots, fairy-tale-retellings, 2012-favorites

Cinder was a sci-fiction/steampunky/cyborg re-telling of the Cinderella story. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the sequel.

The beginning feels very true to the original tale expcet for the fact that Cinder is a cyborg. Her mother and father are dead, her adopted family (except her sister Pearl) hate her, she has little to no personal rights, and she is blamed for everything. As her sisters are getting ready to attend the ball to hopefully catch the eye of the Prince, Cinder is regul ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2013 Kim DeCina rated it really liked it

I absolutely loved this book. It had a combination of unique worldbuilding, interesting and diverse characters, and a great plot (I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings, but this does it even better than most.) I was having trouble sleeping the night before I completed it so I wound up tearing through the last 8 chapters until the wee hours of the morning, because the finale was so good at keeping me riveted that I had no idea what was coming next. My one complaint, keeping it at 4 stars instead ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2017 Lesa Divine rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-it, i-own, 2017, botm-selection

Just a okay retelling of Cinderella with a bit of science fiction mixed in. I didn't really get into the world. There was very little to it. I guess more character driven then anything. More in Cinder head. I say if you know Cinderella story you'll likely to pick up where this is going. Ending does got me wanting to know more. 3.5 ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 11, 2014 Rebekah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-fantasy, genre-young-adult, genre-fantasy-fairy-tales, genre-science-fiction, genre-young-adult-teen, genre-romance, genre-science-fiction-dystopia, series, genre-fiction, nbrc-bom-br

Clever and entertaining, if easy to predict & figure out

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, young-adult, fantasy

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading my copy of Cinder. I guess I've been burned by too many bad fairy tell retellings (Wicked I'm looking at you!) I love robots and cyborgs, and the cover is of course gorgeous (though my copy is on the e-reader, so I really only saw it at the beginning!)

Cinder is a futuristic cyborg retelling of Cinderella. Cinder is a mechanic, who spends her days in a market stall repairing androids and electronics. All her money goes to her stepmother ...more

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Jun 28, 2017 Rachel N. rated it liked it

Shelves: series, fantasy, young-adult, read-in-2017, dystopian, fairy-tale

A retelling of the Cinderella story set in the future in New Beijing after World War IV. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic. She runs a repair booth and one day Prince Kai stops by to ask her to repair a robot. Cinder soon becomes involves with the plague that is running through the human population. meanwhile Prince Kai has his hands full dealing with Lunars, former humans who live on the moon and have evolved the ability to manipulate minds. I found the story to be enjoyable and an easy read. It is a ...more

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Jul 28, 2015 Jenn rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2015-finished

Interesting and quick read.

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Jan 18, 2012 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: cbre, 2010s

I was expecting the usual Cinderella story from this one. Well, it was not all that I expected at all and I enjoyed this one a lot. It had the bits and pieces that would make it almost like a Cinderella type of story but it was definitely unique and different. I can't wait for the sequel. ...more

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