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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Marissa Meyer

Start date: April 1, 2013

Finish date: April 30, 2013

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What Members Thought

Oct 14, 2012 Ami rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, book-club-reads, young-adult, romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I came across this book quite by accident. One of my favorite local bookstores recommended what they thought were some of the best new YA books on the scene and this was one of them. Cyborgs? Androids? A new twist on Cinderalla? Of course I was going to request it from my library right away! :D

I did enjoy this book. I admit I would have liked to have gotten a bit more background on the Lunars and the plague but the tale itself wasn't too bad. I'm hoping that since this is part of a series that I came across this book quite by accident. One of my favorite local bookstores recommended what they thought were some of the best new YA books on the scene and this was one of them. Cyborgs? Androids? A new twist on Cinderalla? Of course I was going to request it from my library right away! :D

I did enjoy this book. I admit I would have liked to have gotten a bit more background on the Lunars and the plague but the tale itself wasn't too bad. I'm hoping that since this is part of a series that the questions I have will be dealt with in subsequent volumes. I thought it was a refreshing twist on the classic Cinderella tale and set in a SF world, how could one resist? I did notice that there didn't seem to be much of an Asian culture backdrop for all that it was set in New Beijing except for perhaps the way the names were set up and some of the building architecture. Then again, this is a dystopian world set who knows how far into our future? How could we expect specific cultures to still be separate? Especially the way the world in this story is described?

I felt so sad for Cinder the way she was reviled for something that wasn't even her choice. Broken down, cast aside, ignored, abused and completely under the thumb of her step-mother as an object owned. It was sickening to see even in such a futuristic world where one would think people would have gotten away from treating other people in that fashion. And the thought of owning another person, even if they were partially mechanical, was so commonplace that it was part of the culture and no one batted an eye at the way Cinder was treated, even by the people that were supposed to be caring for her. The step-mother not providing her with even the basic necessities out of spite is just evil. The step-mother calling the authorities on Cinder simply because she wouldn't answer the phone after the death of her sister and then not even being cognizant that Cinder was caught in the same area where her beloved daughter had just died? She didn't even know where the quarantine was! The sister destroying Kai's gift to Cinder out of jealousy & spite. The step-mother and the sister embarrassing themselves at the ball but blaming Cinder for their behavior. Peony was the only redeeming quality of that family and I did so wish that she didn't have to die; I wonder how different things would have turned out if she hadn't? And even the doctor was treating cyborgs as subhuman in his quest to find the princess. He wasn't even apologetic or sad about the ordeal. It was simply a necessity and it was done. So here's this girl with no friends or really any family to speak of, not sure of her own history, denounced by the very society that insisted she have the honor of dying for them, and then to be told she's a princess and that she was now expected to join the fight for freedom? I'd run screaming for the hills too! It's just too bad she didn't make it. That does always seem to be a recurring theme in Cinderella stories. All of the abuse that is heaped upon her never makes her bitter or twisted. She just seems to be even more caring and gentle (if angry). Her and that hilarious android of her, Iko, really made a good team. I'm looking forward to Iko reappearing in a future volume. :) ...more

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Oct 09, 2014 Sarah Richards rated it it was ok

I wanted to like this book. The concept was an intriguing take on rewriting a fairy tale. However,
I guessed the ending to this book at the beginning. I read it until the end, hoping that I would be surprised with a twist, but I wasn't. ...more

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Dec 01, 2021 Red The Book Nerd rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I thought I was not going to like this Cinderella remake, but I was pleasantly surprised. Cinder is a mechanic and a cyborg. Sounds far fetched, doesn’t it? But it’s actually a pretty good little story. It read and flowed really well. No boring parts stand out to me in my memory. I do believe Marissa Meyer deserves a cookie for a creative rework of this timeless story. It’s not like the Disney story at all, or even the Greek story of Rhodopis, but it follows the same outline of a girl who doesn’ ...more

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Jun 05, 2017 Annette Olsen rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, sci-fi, better-than-expected, part-of-a-series, dystopian

I had so much fun reading this book. Some plot points were obvious but they didn't play out quite like I thought they would and I enjoyed that. I'm excited to read the next book. ...more

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