From the Bookshelf of Once Upon a Time...…

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: September 1, 2014

Finish date: September 30, 2014

Discussion: Old Archives

Why we're reading this: 10/22/22 nominated by Adriel
September 2014 Group Read
[close] 10/22/22 nominated by Adriel
September 2014 Group Read

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Dearest - September 2015
By Rachmi · 16 posts · 15 views

last updated Jan 17, 2016 03:29PM

Hero - September 2015
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What Members Thought

Jun 19, 2014 Maki ⌒☆ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010-to-2019, fairy-tale-retellings

Dear Past Self,

Why did you wait so long to read this book?

I seem to recall that you had some misgivings with the series. A sci-fi retelling of a fairy tale? An insane amount of hype around the series? To you, these things seemed like a recipe for disaster. You were convinced that things could only end in disappointment.

So, you kept biding your time, doing your best to forget that the books were there. Sitting. Waiting.

As Future You, I assure you that your worries are unfounded.

Yes, Cinder is a s ...more

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Jul 21, 2017 Rachel rated it it was amazing

I couldn’t put this book down. Marissa Meyer is quickly becoming on of my favorite authors. Everything about this retelling was unexpected and beautiful. The characters are so natural and vivid. Her dialogue is so natural and enchanting. Read this book!

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Jul 27, 2015 Kassandra Wilcox rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When I first heard the premise of this book, I was like, nope. Cyborgs are just not my thing. Then I saw a bunch of people on YouTube raving about this series, and it was only $3 on Amazon, so I bought it. The story was OK. I didn't love the book, but I liked it enough to search online and try to find the next books cheaper than what Amazon had them listed for. (That's right, Amazon, I bought my books somewhere else, you expensive bastards.) I actually found the other 2 books in the series at a When I first heard the premise of this book, I was like, nope. Cyborgs are just not my thing. Then I saw a bunch of people on YouTube raving about this series, and it was only $3 on Amazon, so I bought it. The story was OK. I didn't love the book, but I liked it enough to search online and try to find the next books cheaper than what Amazon had them listed for. (That's right, Amazon, I bought my books somewhere else, you expensive bastards.) I actually found the other 2 books in the series at a book store for $7 each, so I'm pretty stoked. ANYWAY, the book is about a cyborg named Cinder, who works as a mechanic. Apparently she is the best mechanic in New Beijing, which is why the emperor's son, Kai, comes to her for help fixing his android, Nainsi. He seems really into her, but she doesn't seem to really notice since she is too busy trying to hide the fact that she is a cyborg from him. After he leaves, there is a plague outbreak in the market. A horrible plague has been spreading all over the country and killing thousands of people. It is called Letumosis. Cinder goes home to Adri, her horrible adoptive guardian, who is having new dresses made for Peony and Pearl, Cinder's "stepsisters". There is going to be a ball, and Adri says that if Cinder can fix their hover, she can go to the ball. Cinder knows she is lying, but goes to the junk yard anyway, to get the part that she needs. Peony, the nice sister, comes with her. While they are there, they find an old gasoline-powered car that Cinder is very interested in, but before she can look it over too much, she sees a black spot on Peony's neck, signaling that she has contracted Letumosis. Peopny is taken to quarantine, and Cinder is tested to see if she has the plague too, but she is clean. She goes home, and Adri has volunteered her to be a test-subject for a plague cure. Cinder tries to get away, but she is caught and taken to the palace. When she wakes up, they inject her with the disease, but before they can give her the test-cure, they discover that she is immune to the plague. This is when she discovers that she is special. She agrees to let them test her blood, on the conditions that Peony gets the first dose of the cure, and that all money that she makes goes into a special account that Adri can't touch. She uses this money to start restoring the car from the dump so she can escape New Beijing and start a new life, far away from Adri. Meanwhile, the Emperor of New Beijing dies of Letumosis, and Kai becomes the new Emperor. The evil queen Lavana of the moon, or Luna, as it is now called, comes to Earth to try to get Kai to marry her. Kai refuses, since Lunars are evil, deceptive beings who use their powers to trick people into doing things. Lavana is hell bent on marrying Kai, and that is only the first step in her evil plot to take over the world. Now Cinder must choose: Escape from the horrible life she has been living, or stay and warn Kai, the man she is falling for, about Lavana's evil plan, and risk Lavana learning an even bigger secret than anyone expected. ...more

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Mar 24, 2017 Shelly Hammond rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Looks like I'm in the majority on this one. Although late to the game, I've finally picked the book off my shelf and found myself pulled right into the world of the Lunar Chronicles. Like most of the reviews before this one, high stars are deserved! I really enjoyed this book.

The way the world is described and how the politics are the way they are, and how it all got that way is extremely interesting. Being based on the classic tale of Cinderella, Cinder just takes that a little and rolls with i ...more

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