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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

Aug 07, 2016 Maria V. Snyder rated it it was amazing

I avoided this book because of the whole Cinderella thing and my reluctance to read fairy tale retellings, but my daughter gave it to me and said I had to read it. I'm very glad she did! I'm hooked. ...more

117 likes · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2016 Susan rated it it was amazing

I loved this book and can't wait to start the rest of the series. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2012 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: youth, series, young-adult, asia, fiction, middle-grades, scifi-fantasy-paranormal

Cinder the cyborg lives in New Beijing. She remembers nothing before her 11th birthday when something happened that caused doctors to turn her into something part human and part machine. She was adopted by a man she didn't know and brought into a home where she was far less than welcome by the man's wife. When the man dies of letumosis, the blue plague sweeping the globe, Cinder is forced into a life servitude. She earns all the money for the family as a mechanic fixing androids and anything els Cinder the cyborg lives in New Beijing. She remembers nothing before her 11th birthday when something happened that caused doctors to turn her into something part human and part machine. She was adopted by a man she didn't know and brought into a home where she was far less than welcome by the man's wife. When the man dies of letumosis, the blue plague sweeping the globe, Cinder is forced into a life servitude. She earns all the money for the family as a mechanic fixing androids and anything else mechanical.

Meanwhile, there is trouble in the empire. For years it has been under threat from the "Lunars"--a group of people who have lived on the moon for so long they are considered a separate race. Now the emperor is dying of the plague and the queen of the Lunars is demanding to marry the heir to the throne, Prince Kai. Considering she's known to kill off all potential threats, including reportedly the young girl who was supposed to be her heir, it's not a match made in heaven. Kai is a major heart throb. The object of posters and dolls and every girl's dream. His adoring fans, including Cinders two stepsisters, are all hoping to catch his eye at the upcoming ball.

There are two ways you can approach this book. You can either poke many holes in some of the structure of the futureworld Meyer has built, or you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. First the hole poking:

It doesn't make a lot of sense that cyborgs are treated like slaves. Clearly their mechanical parts have saved them from certain death. These people must have had some value as human beings to make them worth saving. Why treat them so badly now?

And then there is the plague. It seems much more of a convenient plot device than any real threat. You don't need to be an immunologist to know some of the things Cinder does should be spreading this plague far and wide.

Finally, Prince Kai, our Prince Charming, does act anywhere near what a "real" prince might act like.

But forget all of that and just sit back and enjoy the ride, because I still really enjoyed this book and will be eagerly waiting for the sequel. Cinder is a lot closer to Katniss Everdeen than Cinderella. Both she and Kai are totally likable. In fact, Kai pretty much had me at hello. I also loved Cinder's sidekick, Iko, even if it is almost impossible not to picture her as R2D2. And I liked the fact that Meyer chose to make one of the stepsisters nice and kind.

It was fun to see the way Meyer wove in the "prince is having a ball" storyline while adding a whole different dimension with the threat from the Lunars. There's lots of stuff here that will make for a pretty good movie, too. ...more

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Jan 07, 2016 Dareth McKenna rated it really liked it

Good book, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to more. In some places the plot moved a little slowly. I liked the idea for the world and the character.

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