Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) in 2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge

Feb 08, 2014 Kara rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult, romance

I liked this much better than I had expected to based on its generic (albeit beautiful) YA cover. I've been seeing this everywhere and decide to give it a shot--I was pleasantly surprised to read the description and find out that this wasn't just an ordinary Cinderella retelling.

Cinder is a cyborg living in a world where cyborgs are distrusted, treated like second class citizens. The world is built piece by piece, naturally and without a lot of exposition. You're slowly acclimated to it, and I ...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, based-on-a-folk-tale, fantasy-and-sci-fi, dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic, retelling-a-classic, favorite-series, cyberpunk, lily, sf-romance

from the NPR poll of best young adult fiction

HIGHLY engaging! When I started reading this, all I knew was that it was the Cinderella story with a robot. I recommend going in without any other knowledge - this way, I was pleasantly surprised by a few plot points that I otherwise would have known.

One important fact that I had been confused on: an android is a robot shaped like a person, a cyborg is a person with some robotic parts (think Bionic Woman, not the Terminator). So, Cinder is a human b ...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, young-adult-lit, read-in-2013, own-physical

This book is a great sci-fi retelling of Cinderella, where Cinder is not only the downtrodden step-daughter, but part cyborg as well. D not read this book looking for a happily ever after - it is a roller coaster ride that doesn't always go where you are expecting. The plot itself was excellent, harkening back to the original fairy tale just enough that you remembered the inspiration, but not so much that it doesn't stand on its own. Overall, I thought this book was definitely an enjoyable read. ...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Stacia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-read, sci-fi, audiobook, urban-fantasy, young-adult, fairytale-fantasy

A really original retelling of the Cinderella story and a super enjoyable read! I loved Melissa Meyer's futuristic, cyberpunk version of Cinderella with an Asian protagonist! I must admit that I have a particular love for fairy-tale retellings, but even given that bias, this was a particularly well done example of the genre. All the base elements of the original fairy tale were there, but Meyer put enough spin and originality on them that I wasn't 100% sure what was going to happen next. I loved ...more

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May 08, 2017 Lori rated it really liked it

Shelves: children-ya-lit, 2017-popsugar-book-challenge

Smartly done cyberpunk story of a cyborg Cinder(ella) and her prince in a future, post WW IV Beijing.

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Mar 23, 2020 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reading-goal-2020

I am so glad I picked up this book to read. I will definitely be reading the other books in this series at some point. I did not want to put this book down.

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