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Cinder
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Cinder: Reviews by 2016 Reading Challengers
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I really enjoyed Cinder. I have read every book except for the last in this series (I think the last one is a prequel anyway) and I highly recommend them as fun reads. The way Marissa Meyer incorporates the fairy tales into the books isn't always completely expected. Be prepared, though, once you read this book you are going to want to read ALL of the books. It is good stuff. I am trying to remember if I rated this one 3 or 4 stars- it falls somewhere between there for me and from there the books just get better.
Four stars from me.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 liked that. Cinder herself is a great character, and while the little romance in the book was sudden, it didn't feel as ridiculous as most YA romance does.
My only complaint about the book was its predictability. You could see the big revelation coming from about the second chapter. At least the book was engaging enough to keep you going even when you knew what to expect.
While I probably won't continue the series, if I had a kid, this is definitely the kind of book I would approve of him or her reading.
Strong three stars from me:As a Cinderella story, Cinder almost makes more sense than the original. Cinder is treated so poorly by her family because she is a cyborg, and cyborgs are second-class citizens in this world. The book quickly becomes more than just a Cinderella retelling, with a plot all its own. I read this book very quickly because I wanted to know what happened next. The big twist was telegraphed from pretty early on, which was frustrating, but it was still interesting to see how it played out.
I liked it but not really a new story to me, the classic Cinderella meets prince plot, and the plot was predictable but I keep on reading. As Cassandra said, I want to see how it played out. It's interesting how the antagonist character in fairy tales are the ones who seemed more profound - I'd like to know how wicked Levana can be. Until now I'm still doubtful abt reading the rest of the series though.
I read this book last year, when I was paired up with someone younger. I actually liked it a lot and gave it 4 stars. I was pleasantly surprised and read the entire series. The rest of the books do get better. I liked that it had a different spin to an old tale we all grew up with.
Yenny wrote: "I liked it but not really a new story to me, the classic Cinderella meets prince plot, and the plot was predictable but I keep on reading. As Cassandra said, I want to see how it played out. It's i..."I think the author thought Levana was interesting too, because she devotes an entire book (a prequel) to showing how Levana became the way that she is. The rest of the series is definitely worth reading if you haven't.
I really enjoyed this book when I read it a few months ago. It was a really quick read, I felt that the plot was well paced and I kept wanting to know what happened next. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series.
I read this book in January. It was a fun fast read. I loved the Cinderella theme and the fact she is a Cyborg. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the book's transparency, you knew the ending from the beginning. I gave this book 3 stars.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This book is a retelling of Cinderella set in the future. For the most part the characters and elements of the story we know and love are included, those that are not are not missed. In addition to Cinder, the Prince, the Stepmother and two Stepsisters, there are androids and cyborgs, hover craft, prejudice, a plague, the threat of an unwinnable war, and an Evil queen and her court. While Cinder remain the downtrodden and overworked protagonist, she has a new role in this retelling... the heroine who must overcome all number of obstacles, including a jail break, to save Earth.
I have to admit when this story was chosen as a group read, I had my doubts. However, armed with my new attitude of, I'll try it and see, when I started reading I could not put this book down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fairy tales and anyone who likes science fiction. It seems surreal to me that a book is capable of fitting into those two genres but the crafting of this story not only allows for it, it works... seamlessly.
This was such an addictive read, especially towards the end as I could not stop reading. I can't believe it has taken me so long to get round to reading it and I know that I have now become a fan of Marissa Meyer and will happily read her other books.Cinder was really good with lots of things that I like: sci-fi, fantasy, fairy tales, intrigue and interesting characters. I particularly liked Iko, Kai and Cinder. I just felt the plot was so predictable; not just the Cinderella retelling which I know and love but also the more original and refreshing elements. Despite the fact that I correctly guessed the climax about 1/3 of the way through, Cinder still deserves a good strong 4 star rating from me.
I read the book in October, and finished the rest of the series within the month. This is the review I left for Cinder (5 stars):This book sat on my shelf for a few months because I wasn't entirely sure how I would react to it. The premise certainly made me curious. Cyborg Cinderella with aliens. Hmm. Either this was going to go south very quickly or it might just turn out to be worthwhile. Either way, I didn't want to get involved in a new series when I still had several unread books on my self. As it turns out, that fear was well-placed. I finished this book in three days and promptly ordered the second one. I'm even considering ordering the third one well in advance in order to avoid the two-day wait.
The beginning piqued my interest, and I remember thinking that I was glad it wouldn't be a dull read. I hate picking up books with amazing covers and then finding out that the pages between said covers didn't live up to the expectations. The world-building for Cinder was solid, the writing grammatically sound and even the style and voice drew me in a little. The setting kind of unsettled me. I've never been a huge Asian-setting person, but this wasn't off-putting in any manner. It was unique and original. Somewhere along the way, this story won me over, hook, line, and sinker. I became heavily invested in the lives of the characters, and utterly obsessed with the newest plot twist. There were some things I found a tad predictable, but in a way, that didn't detract from the story either. I was more interested in the presentation of the few predictable moments and there were plenty of unpredictable events to make up for it. The story was age-appropriate, which is a huge bonus in my world. And as much as I adore fairytale retellings, I can't get over how few references there actually are to Cinderella. I just loved that the story was its own and that it tipped its hat to Cinderella instead of mimicking it. That was something I found phenomenal. Don't get me wrong, the connections are pretty clear, but they're clever and the story doesn't hinge on them. The story isn't dependent on the connections, but it uses them to its advantage.
I don't like to just dish out five-star reviews, but I think this book truly deserves it. A job very well-done. Part of me wishes I had been brave enough to read this sooner, and yet, the other part of me is selfishly glad because now I don't have to wait for the sequels to come out! I just have to order them!!! :-)
4 Stars from me.I read this book in a day. I had seen it in the store so many times but thought it looked too silly. Then it was chosen as the group read for April so I thought I would give it a go. So I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book! The Cinderella story isn't new but there are some nice twists on it and I am excited to read the rest of the series, and I tend to like retelling of old stories. It's not that it is the greatest literary read but it was entertaining, kept me wanting more and to find out what happened next. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
WHY?! ....is what I was asking myself. Why did I not read this sooner!? I came across this book before, but finding it on Goodreads once 'Winter' was released, I thought ok YES Cinderella story-line, modern and futuristic twists.. you can't go wrong!And you really can't. I just want to pick at Marissa Meyer's brain SO badly now! And, she's a huge fangirl! Sailor Moon! Harry Potter! Cosplay! Loves cats! This woman is my spirit animal!
But anyway, more about the book.
I could NOT put this book down. Some use that phrase loosely. I literally didn't put it down. I took it to work and read pages between my boss walking around, I slept with it, I even took it to the 5 minute drive to the store!
This novel has such an appealing story-line. At first, knowing Meyers is a Harry Potter fan, while reading the first few chapters I thought to myself, I really hope she wasn't copying concepts from HP, The Hunger Games, etc. (No offense, I'm sorry for judging a book by it's cover!) BUT ITS NOT! It is thoroughly original, with research, accuracy, and creativity. It's appealing to me because it isn't all happy endings. It's a futuristic retelling of a classic. You are routing for the right people in all the right places.
It holds the back bone of Cinderella, but you aren't left feeling like you're about to read a Disney story. The whole series is a futuristic retelling of fairy tales. It has a darker side, slightly graphic with the plague, and mild romance that isn't all rainbows and butterflies like it would be if it were a Disney story. What is kept true is the stepmother and stepsisters, the glass slippers (in this case a prosthetic leg/metal foot), Iko represents the friendly mice, an annual ball, and either Dr. Erland or Cress is the "fairy godmother" (depending on how the reader wants to interpret them I suppose).
To conclude this ramble.... READ THE LUNAR CHRONICLES!!
I recently read the book in March. For a fairytale retelling, I think it went way out of line with the modern equivalent scenes. Come on!! A small mechanical foot that she wore when she was 11 years old in place of a glass slipper. But surprisingly, it worked. I loved to see that Cinder actually had some common sense and didn't have a insta-love connection with Kai. The political aspect was also pretty good and it was great to see the characters take responsibilities seriously and not just spout romantic stuff to their beloved.As for Levana, she creeped me out. It's just maddening to think that she fooled everyone by her glamour and made them think she was oh so beautiful!! Eww!!... to actually think that she wants to get married to someone her niece's age... just ewww!!
The book has some pretty dark and emotional scenes... what with Cinder's step sisters death, the plague, the horrible stepmother, the even more horrible Lunar Queen.
One thing that I didn't like was Cinder's shame for being a half cyborg. It made me think that being a cyborg was bad reading the first few chapters. Rule number whatever of reading: One must never demean the heroine... even when she does so herself. (cough* Twilight cough*).
This was an enjoyable enough read and if I'd read this 10 years ago, I can see it being one of my favourite books. I gave it 3 stars in the end because I felt I really wanted more details about their world and society, maybe more background to explain why being a cyborg was seen as being such a bad thing, perhaps more background on what it was like for Cinder growing up with Adri and her step-sisters so you care a bit more about her sister and Cinder's living situation. I'm not sure if I'll read the rest of the series. I'm a bit of a completist so I expect I will eventually but I didn't find myself amazingly excited to find out what happens next.
Lizzie, those reasons are why I ended up giving it a 3 stars as well. The science fiction reader in me just wanted to know more! Plus the Lunar storyline was less believable than it could have been.
Lizzie wrote: "This was an enjoyable enough read and if I'd read this 10 years ago, I can see it being one of my favourite books. I gave it 3 stars in the end because I felt I really wanted more details about the..."The world building is expanded more and more by each book, as well as the politics and some more of the reasons behind things. It's not all inclusive, of course, but I think it's worth pursuing the other novels, personally. Also, there is a novella that gives some background on Cinder as a kid with her sisters. You might consider looking into that too.
Good to know, Coralie! I was undecided whether to read the next one (although it is on my to-read list) but I'll definitely give it another shot.
I agree with Cassandra , I also gave it 3 stars. I wasn't going to read any if the others.
Finished reading this book yesterday. I hope you're happy, Book Club! Now I want to read the rest of the series! Intense, funny, a good sci-fi/fantasy spin on a classic story!Four stars.
3.5This book was soooooo predictable. I knew the "twists" half way through the book and wasn't surprised by a majority of it. I'll be reading the rest of the series because I have all the books but I just hope the rest are better and less predictable then this first one.
SUGGESTED READING ORDER FOR THE LUNAR CHRONICLES!1. Cinder
2. The Mechanic
3. The Little Android
4. The Queen's Army
5. Scarlet
6. The Keeper
7. Glitches
8. After Sunshine Passes By
9. Cress
10. Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
11. Fairest
12. The Princess and the Guard
13. Winter
14. Something Old, Something New
(15 & 16: Iko's graphic novels - not yet released)
This is suggested by Between Chapters on YouTube here is the link to her video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esM9b...
(I really hopes this helps someone!)
Jewel wrote: "SUGGESTED READING ORDER FOR THE LUNAR CHRONICLES!1. Cinder
2. The Mechanic
3. The Little Android
4. The Queen's Army
5. Scarlet
6. The Keeper
7. Glitches
8. After Sunshine Passes By
9. Cress
10...."
It's neat to have the full chronological order. Thanks! I just got Stars Above, so I'm ready to read the new novellas that weren't previously released and it'll help to orient myself around the rest of the series.
Just finished and read in one sitting! Really quick and entertaining read. While the prose was a bit simplistic, the flip on the fairy tale was interesting. I especially appreciated each book beginning with a section from the fairy tale. The ending left me intrigued enough to continue to the next book. Worth reading if you need to sink into a different world. 3.5 stars
Just finished Cinder. I really liked it. I didn't participate in the separate chapter discussions because I read it in one sitting. I'm glad to say that I correctly predicted from the very beginning that Cinder would turn out to be who she turned out to be. What I expected was that the book would end with a happily ever after (just like the fairy tail) and the next book would move on a different story with new characters. At least that's the impression that I got from the covers of the sequels. I'm glad I was wrong and I will continue to follow Cinder's journey in the next book.P.S. I saw a comment above about the reading order. I intend to read the books in the order suggested by the author a.k.a. the order they were published. You can see it here:
http://www.marissameyer.com/blogtype/...
Geri wrote: "Just finished Cinder. I really liked it. I didn't participate in the separate chapter discussions because I read it in one sitting. I'm glad to say that I correctly predicted from the very beginnin..."Thanks for sharing!
I am also finished. Enjoyed it a lot! I will continue the series as i liked the universe and it was a great take on fairy tales. Some parts felt a little rushed like world building, but it is YA so I'm not too strict on it. The romance also felt a little bit fast, but then again so is the fairy tale ^^
All thing considered a very enjoyable read!
Well, I didn't finish it in one sitting like some of the other group members did, but I did start binge reading it near the end and finished it really quickly. It was a fun read and I think I will eventually read some of the others in the series, mainly to see how the future Earth is developed and to see how the whole Luna society became what it did - I'm hoping I get to see those things, at least.I'm glad I decided to join in the group's reading of the book - even if I didn't join in on the posts because I kept popping into the group at the wrong points in my reading, so that I'd gone past and forgotten what I might have wanted to say in one section, etc. I'll get the hang of this eventually. :)
Okay so I finished Scarlet and if anyone has reservations about continuing the series I say DO IT! We all know Cinder was really predictable but the series got so much better!
Well Jewel, I did not know as I was still planning to read it. I will read it, hoping your predictions differ from mine. :)
Jewel wrote: "Okay so I finished Scarlet and if anyone has reservations about continuing the series I say DO IT! We all know Cinder was really predictable but the series got so much better!"That's good to know because I had Scarlet and Cress on hold, I got the books and for some reason I had trouble starting Scarlet lol. It's good! But I think it's because I had another series on the back burner.
Really enjoyed this, yes it was predictable, but not so much as it made me want to stop reading it. I'm looking forward to reading others in the series!
Yes Jewel, you're right. It is predictable. But so much fun...
Good to know, Jewel! Thanks for sharing.
Okay, this is my review from 2014, but I am trying to participate somehow. And given that it is a retelling of Cinderella, it ought to be somewhat predictable.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't really enjoy it. The premise of this book is actually quite interesting - cyborg Cinderella? could be fun. Unfortunately the book is extremely predictable, and yes of course fairy tale retelling has to be a bit predictable, but even the twist in the story that do not come from the actual fairy tale are super obvious. The characters are rather bland in my opinion, so I didn't really care what happens to them next. There is also too little world building, so we don't really know anything about the Lunar people that threaten Cinder's world, we don't know why cyborgs are hated, we don't really know anything. Maybe it's all explained later in the series, I don't know and i'm not interested enough to find out. That said, I probably would have enjoyed it if I read it 6 or 7 years ago, so I probably should just stay away from YA.
I agree with many here, wanted to know more about the world. I was pleased that it wasn't an exact retelling of the fairy tale but had enough elements to give you satisfaction (kind of like Disney bounding!). I gave it three stars. Don't plan to continue the series at this point, too many books on my TBR list to go forward with a series I liked but didn't love.
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