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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: April 1, 2016

Finish date: April 30, 2016

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What Members Thought

Mar 04, 2012 Whitley Birks rated it really liked it

I was so taken with this book that I finished it in half a day.

Now, I will admit that the book has some problems. The writing in the beginning is very stilted, though it smooths out after a few chapters. The world-building is very simplistic, and when it goes to international levels downright confusing. A few of the 'political banter' scenes feel like they were too casual, especially since there were cameras watching. I figured out the Last Chapter Reveal when they dropped the very first hint. B I was so taken with this book that I finished it in half a day.

Now, I will admit that the book has some problems. The writing in the beginning is very stilted, though it smooths out after a few chapters. The world-building is very simplistic, and when it goes to international levels downright confusing. A few of the 'political banter' scenes feel like they were too casual, especially since there were cameras watching. I figured out the Last Chapter Reveal when they dropped the very first hint. But as I write this, in the warm post-last-page glow, those are the only things I can remember having issue with.

Cinder (the character) is a breath of fresh air in a market filled with horrible female role models. She is an honest-to-god strong female character, and if I could meet Marissa Meyer I would would give her a giant geekgirl hug for writing her. Cinder has a strong personality, she has fully realized hopes, dreams, and emotions, and most importantly she has agency. She does not pass quietly through this novel. Cinder is this novel. She drives every part of it. She takes control of her life and her story and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. (Unless they have tranq darts, but that's an exception.) So many novels seem to forget that their main character has to tell the story, be the story, and not simply exist while the story happens around them. This novel never does that, and if the whole rest of the book were crap, I would still love it for that one fact.

On the up side, the rest of the novel is not crap. Prince Kai is worthy male lead for our heroine, and he's got so much more going for him than just a pretty smile. (For one thing, he's actually nice.) The romance between Kai and Cinder is understated, awkward, and thoroughly adorable. Most importantly, it doesn't result in True Love after one week. I cannot express how much I am looking forward to a relationship that develops over the course of four planned books, not two chapters. The setting in this book, while not especially complex, does still have a character all its own, one which is present throughout the novel. The heavy issues (death, especially) are treated with dignity and real emotion. The plot felt more like an elaborate hook for the sequel than a self-contained story, but to its credit, I am thoroughly hooked.

All in all, this is a book for teens that feels like it doesn't have to talk down to them. It treats its characters and its readers with respect and intelligence and am ecstatic to give it a permanent place on my bookshelf. ...more

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Jun 03, 2015 Kayla rated it really liked it

4.5.

I forgot how much I loved this book. I think I may have enjoyed it even more than I did the first time. The only reason I couldn't give it a full five stars is that this time around I couldn't help but find it improbable that the cyborgs would be treated so differently from everyone else. I mean, there are people missing body parts in the our world and nobody would consider it acceptable to treat them like a second class citizen. I just can't fully grasp what the reasoning for that in this b ...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Mia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale, young-adult, science-fiction

Long story short, I like it enough to continue the series (which does end on a cliffhanger -- cue eyeroll).

I wasn't very invested in the Lunar world building aspect of it and found the story about Cinder and her family and Kai more interesting than the rest of it, but the plot comes from the Lunar side of things so I think that detracted my enjoyment of it. There were also a few moments where the writing was too sparse (Cinder suddenly talks to Kai like he's not the prince and there's no explana ...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Penny rated it really liked it

Shelves: favourites

I liked this more than I was expecting to. Granted, I could see what was going to happen and how this book was going to end but it was really interesting to read how it got there. I really enjoyed how this played with the Cinderella fairytale and I like the idea of tying in the following books with other fairytales as well. The next one includes Red Riding Hood and I can't wait to read it... even if it does come out a year from now :/ ...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Laura W. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: better-than-a-disney-movie, truman-prelims-2013, 2012-overall

Anything that has me reading over 50% of the book in one night, requiring me to stay up to 1:30 without even REALIZING what I'm doing deserves five stars. Definitely a good read, and I'm glad to see my prediction skills are still kicking! ...more

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May 19, 2019 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, fantasy, romance, young-adult, 2019

The twist was a bit convenient, but enjoyable as a whole. I'm surprised the ending cutout the way it did. Oh well, guess I have to read the next one. ...more

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