Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)

by Marissa Meyer

Frostbite Studios (Illustrator)

A forbidden romance.
A deadly plague.
Earth's fate hinges on one girl . . .

CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. 

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

• Publish Date: March 2023 (first published 3 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Forthcoming
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Puffin
• Edition: FairyLoot Exclusive
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• Special: Exclusive Design Signed Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

3 and a half stars. I'm a sucker for fairy tales, and after hearing about this series for a couple years now I finally bit the bullet. I was prepared to be underwhelmed but was pleasantly surprised.

I love the futuristic element. The story is admittedly easy to predict in a lot of ways, not only because of the familiarity of the Cinderella fairy tale but the VERY broad hints laid out. I actually took a note when I guessed the "big twist" of the story - page 39. That said, the writing is good, the world intriguing, and for anyone that likes fairy tales and the retellings, definitely worth reading. I had to keep reminding myself it's a YA book...therefore not to expect the depth I like in "adult" fiction. It was a fun, fluffy, mind-candy read, and I enjoyed it enough to keep reading the series.

[layawaydragon]

I loved Cinder. I won a giveaway through Phantasmic Reads and picked Cinder as my prize. I put off reading it for so long for a couple of reasons: it took me awhile to get ahold of it, I wanted to like it so badly, and I hate reading series as they become published. Hate it. I love just sitting and reading the whole series all the way through. Especially since I read so much and my life is rather turbulent, I usually forget details when waiting for a sequel for a year. Thus, I read Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in two sittings. I’m now dying to read Winter.

However, I’ve noticed a problem with such a reading strategy when I don’t stop to review each book along the way: it’s impossible to separate them now. They’ve molded into one reading experience for me with covers merely formalities. I love them all equally and their flaws are generalities shared.

Pros
Liked most of the characters
Great concepts re: cyborgs, lunars
Fast paced, engaging
Wonderful take on princess tales

Cons

Deplorable world building
Predictable
Plot holes
Flat, pure evil just because villains


Loved the characters
Fantastic fantastical aspects: cyborgs and faerie-like moon people
New take on princess tales
Blends science fiction, fantasy, and folktales
Fast paced, engaging,
Lackluster villain who’s evil for evil’s sake. Much like classic Disney, but at least evil stepmother is fleshed out. (Though there’s Fairest coming next year to hopefully give her depth.)
Liked Kai’s sarcasm but it’s improbable given his princely status having been trained for this since birth and becomes more lackluster as the series progresses
Plot twist was obvious for me on page 44 while reading Cinder and similarly with Scarlet and Cress but given their inspiration it’s really just a given anyways. Nevertheless, I still found it immensely enjoyable.
Revamping folktales does take most of its edge off, plot-wise but it’s engaging fast pace makes up for that.

Characters: Overview

I found Cinder compelling, liked Iko and Peony, Pearl’s just an asshole (copying her mother?) and Adri acts likewise but at least she’s understandable. Prince Kai’s sarcastic, which I love, but his actions are usually unrealistic, especially when it comes to Cinder. It’s hard to get excited over him when he feels like a fangirl’s flat/insipid/jejune/lifeless/vapid pipe dream/wet dream/delusion. Restraint would be ingrained at least, if not better public relations skills. The Emperor’s rarely seen and used as a prop. Torin, his right-hand man, is the bland, background nanny to our rebellious prince. I also like Dr. Erland who made a lot of sense as a character but maybe I’m biased since his information dumps were so useful. Queen Levana’s evil for evil’s sake as is her trusty lap dog, Sybil the thaumaturge.

Scarlet’s the caring, naïve, sacrificial type (no surprise there) while Cress’s the romantic sheltered techno-nerd (that last bit’s at least interesting). Wolf brings the damaged alpha male from paranormal romance, and Captain Thorne reminds me of Captain Mal from Firefly, which is apt given their shared world building “pan-Asian” problems.

Nonexistent character descriptions

The bar is set so low in media simply having a romantic lead be Asian is noteworthy. Breaking the model minority stereotype and actually getting the girl doubly so. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t pitfalls, which can be overlooked due to good intent.

Romantic leads are usually described with vivid detail in ways to induce drooling, even in young adult novels. However, only Prince Kai’s eye color, hair and lips are described while the rest of his face is left blank. Besides clichéd claims to attractiveness (lips all the girls drooled over), there’s nothing there which was startling given how often face shapes, chins, noses, and cheeks are mentioned when the man is white.

I was expecting Prince Kai to receive the same treatment and was looking forward to it. Instead, I’m left uncomfortable being forced to supplement it myself and frankly feel cheated.

Beyond just being a major lapse when writing characters, omitting this is problematic it itself. It serves as another way to treat minorities differently and re-enforces the idea that members of non-white races all look alike. When an author does it, it signals to readers whether they consciously pick it up or not, that this character is Other. Readers already whitewash characters when there’s explicit details about P.O.C. characters, what are the odds they’ll do that with characters barely described?


Points for having an Asian male romance lead breaking the model minority stereotype and getting the girl finally. Is it just me or do books avoid describing minority faces? I know they describe skin color differently and doing it subtly is better. However, it seems like they merely describe eye color and hair (Cinder pg. 6 specifically), where if it was a white man, they’d also drool over chins, and noses, etc. of our leading man. There’s mention of his luscious lips but they’re not described beyond clichéd claims to attractiveness.

Leaving, IMO, readers to substitute the standard Asian face (unless they whitewash him) where most Americans, at least, can’t tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese. I know it made me uncomfortable to have to imagine him generically since I was given nothing to work with. I think describing more face shape attributes would be helpful to combat this, especially since the whitewashing bias is so strong and done to thoroughly, properly described characters.

Prince Kai and Torin only Asian characters besides a background mother and her child who are barely described as “big baker” and “little boy”. The Lunar Chronicles is very light on describing characters in general. This I do not like.

Plot: Predictable but Enjoyable

Loved finding out more about Cinder’s past in Scarlet and seeing her step up in Cress. Really loving women banding together aspect since usually it’s The Smurfette at work. Cinder’s stupidity does move a lot of her novel’s plot.

Placemat World Building

I really enjoyed Cinder, but missed the great world building people kept talking about. Honestly, it read like poor New York more than anything else with its nondescript tall buildings and flea market stalls. But that’s as far as my thinking on the subject went with New Beijing. While reading reviews and articles trying to figure out if I missed something or did that horrid whitewashing of characters/places in my mind, I discovered I wasn’t alone. Actually, there are people far more knowledgeable who make a compelling case against Cinder’s shoddy generic world building.

It also gives me excellent food for thought on science fiction using exotic other as dystopian. I hadn’t actually noticed. While my mind immediately sprung into defensive mode with “But you’ve never seen/read Stephanie’s other examples!” and scrolling through my read shelf with a new critical eye, the fact is I’ve should’ve known. It’s an important topic and am rather disappointed it hasn’t reached father.

I did not catch the name difference once reading that, even I’m not ignorant enough to accept a Japanese family ruling China. Well, all of Asia apparently. That’s the other part I struggled with was picturing how countries are now organized in that world. I mean all of those different peoples and cultures suddenly becoming one massive Asian culture? Where does Russia fall with the Europeans or where most of its landmass resides—in Asia? Africa too, from Egypt to South Africa? As for Europe, they’ve got the EU started but just one government? There has to be smaller rulers for each former country. Something else must be going on here. There are so many differences that I just don’t see people becoming a melting pot when they’re still living in their own country. They are still going to preserve their culture and have a say on what happens.

It mentions being 6 countries strong, pg. 251, so my best guess is Asia, Middle East, Americas, Australia, Europe, and Africa though there’s two European representatives mentioned just several pages prior. Seriously, can we get a map please? Something to illustrate the massive overhaul Earth’s been through? Or is that too much effort to think through how that much time would affect given global warning and politics. Just read this brief information found explaining a modern map of Asia.

Where would Turkey fall, given their ties to Europe and Asia? Apparently, India is in the Eastern Commonwealth (pg. 28 mentioning Mumbai) so where did Russia fall? Do you think Taiwan would easily be yoked under China’s rule again? Or is it Japan ruling (Ruling family’s Japanese name and kimono dress) but moved their capital to Beijing? What other countries would be re-aligned in the centuries to come? I don’t expect Meyer’s to predict or even change much, but at least showing she thought that through instead of shrugging it off as needless would be nice. I suppose acknowledging the problematic nature of her simple seven countries would be hoping for too much.

Saying “it’s in the future!” is a cop-out. There are plenty of science fiction that deals with these issues in the future. The Lunar Chronicles simply ignore them while treating us to an inter-national conference call trying to avoid planetary domination by our moon’s people. That’s like saying you solved global warming enough to survive that far into the future (you’d have to otherwise, they’d all be dead) but still having junk yards, expensive gasoline and simple pollution fines. Oh.

Pg. 267 “Millions had died in World War 4; whole cultures had been devastated, dozens of cities reduced to rubble—including the original Beijing. Not to mention the countless natural resources that had been destroyed through nuclear and chemical warfare.”

Like saying “fuck until we’re all grey” to avoid issues of race by claiming “colorblindness” such tactics would render MORE diversity in phenotypes, not less. When people immigrant they hold on dearly to their heritage and culture, I don’t see China becoming diluted pan-Asian unless humans are critically endangered with the stragglers banding together. Maybe. This, however, is clearly not Cinder’s reality.

Can you at least include some words instead of just fucking up honorifics? The best books in different cultures usually include some words from the originating country, usually regarding food (“sticky buns” lol google that and see what pop up, not the airport Cinnamon bun you were thinking of), places or …uh rituals? No, like clothes (beyond the kimono for a ball, ugh) or something. Fuck. Language is such a huge part of culture, even throwing in some scraps makes a huge difference.

Scarlet has the similar half-assed setting, cobbling netscreens and rustic taverns meaning technology raced forward leaving everything non-electronic in the dust. In Cress, it’s readily apparent the “Africa’s an uncivilized place” ignorance still abounds where characters range from barbaric villains to noble sacrificial Negros. It’s far enough into the future that gasoline cars are unknown relics and moon people have evolved into their own breed yet trains are in use and city life hasn’t moved forward. Instead of a dystopian future, it feels like 20 years from now with hover cars but nothings thought through. It’s a mish-mash of the familiar and the Jetsons leaving a lazy impression.

Definitely see humans freaking out about cyborgs rendering them second-class citizens out of fear since it’s a bridge between us and androids. People already treat those with disabilities like shit, so I don’t see better prosthetics and such making a big difference unless there’s a societal movement towards equality on that front. There’s people advocating regarding this issue now but change is hard fought and slowly won.

There’s racism everywhere in The Lunar Chronicles. From fantastic racism (trope link) towards cyborgs and lunars, to a lunar racist against African kids, Exotic as Dystopian, shittily researched and written Beijing setting and world building, treating Africa as an uncivilized place and making Africans either terrible villains or noble sacrificial negros. It’s all terribly done when you actually think about it and pay attention.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
http://no-award.net/2013/08/01/the-exotic-place-as-other-and-notes-on-cinder-by-marissa-meter/
http://noveltoybox.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/review-cinder-lunar-chronicles-1-by-marissa-meyer-2012/
http://www.pocketfulofbooks.com/2012/11/ya-book-review-cinder-by-marissa-meyer.html
http://yourekilling.us/?p=1622

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I've had a proof copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer since before it was published, and although it sounded really interesting, it's taken me until now to read it. This series has been raved about far and wide, but I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, and a retelling of Cinderella where she's a cyborg mechanic... it made me nervous. But as I set up the Retelling Reading Challenge 2016 for the sole purpose of finally getting down to reading these books. And I really wish I hadn't waited so long; Cinder was bloody amazing!

Cinder is a mechanic in New Beijing, and all of her earnings go straight to her lazy stepmother. She was in an accident when she was 11, and the only way to save her was to make her a cyborg, which, by law, makes her the property of her stepmother. She has no rights to own anything. When Prince Kai, heir to the Eastern Commonwealth, stops by her booth in disguise, asking for help fixing his android, and soon after her youngest and favourite stepsister catches the plague, her life is changed forever. She is soon sent off to the palace by her stepmother to be involved in the cyborg experiments to find a cure - experiments involving injecting her with the plague, with only one real outcome. Only she doesn't die. Meanwhile, Prince Kai is thrust into politics when his father, the Emperor, dies from the plague, and must continue to try to form an alliance with Queen Levana, the evil queen of Luna, who controls her subjects through magical brainwashing. But the only alliance she will agree to is marriage to the Prince, to become Empress. But Prince Kai has bumped into Cinder a couple of times at the palace, and he seems to have more than a casual interest in her.

Oh my god, this book was incredible! There are a few elements of the original Cinderella story within Cinder - she slaves away for her stepmother, there is a pumpkin coloured "carriage" of some kind, there's a ball and a prince - but there is so much of this novel that is new! Although the elements of the original fairytale story are there, and some of them you expect to appear in someway, you never know how they're going to appear, or how Cinder will get from one moment to the next. Cinder is so gripping, and I was completely absorbed in this story.

There was an element of this story that I guessed at as soon as it was mentioned, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Although it's sci-fi-esque with androids and cyborgs, and an humanoid aliens from the moon, it felt a lot like a high fantasy to me, with all the royal and political intrigue and manoeuvring. Though the story focused more on Cinder and her story, we did get some chapters from Prince Kai's perspective, so we knew what was going on inside the palace walls and with Queen Levana.

I want to rave, and rave, and rave about this book, but I'm really not sure if there's more I can talk about plot-wise without spoiling the story. So on to the characters. Cinder is wonderful. She is a whole lot spunkier than the Cinderella we've all been brought up with. She argues and stands up to her stepmother, even when it's likely to get her into trouble. She's no walkover. I love that this story took the element original element of her slavery and made it into something different, something that also challenges gender roles. Cinder has to work, because her stepmother needs the money, and she doesn't work. But she's not slaving away for hours doing chores, she has an actual job and it's in something she's not only good at, but something she enjoys! Cinder is also pretty damn clever and resourceful, and she's just brilliant.

Prince Kai was really interesting. The romance is a slow burner in Cinder; they're attracted to each other, but there are other things going on in each others' lives. Not only is Kai having to deal with the sudden death of his father, but also the fact that Queen Levana decides to make her way to Earth the day after, to show give her "condolences" in person, and be there for the coronation. I loved how Kai had to deal with politics of trying to keep the Queen of a stronger planet happy so that another war is started, but at the same time, doesn't want to give his planet over to the Queen on a plate by marrying her. She is a threat, but it's difficult to find a way around the threat without marriage or war - a war they can't win. I really, really love political intrigue, so this side of things was right up my alley.

Queen Levana is the best kind of villain. Oh my god, is she sadistic. She glamours everyone into seeing her as beautiful, and has all the people of Luna worshipping her. There's a sign of uprising? Well, just fiddle with their minds and make them love you instead. Or kill them. She's a complete dictator who strives for power, and only has her throne by killing her sister and niece. She's vicious and cruel, and wonderfully, wonderfully evil. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other abominable things she'll be behind in future books.

I absolutely loved Cinder, and I am so excited to read the second book in The Lunar Chronicles, Scarlet. If you've not yet read Cinder, don't leave it as long as I did. Pick this book up now!

Thank you to Puffin for the proof copy.

Second Read: End December 26, 2015

Just as good the second time around.

First read: January 8-10, 2012

Original Review: http://ohfortheloveofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/cinder-and-review-slump.html

Cinder is a compelling re-telling of Cinderella with a sci-fi twist. A re-telling that I absolutely fell in love with.

Cinder is a great character that was determined to get her freedom. You see, Cinder is a cyborg, a person worth nothing in New Beijing. Her adoptive mother despised her as did one of her stepsisters. She didn’t know why she was what she was, she didn't remember anything before her surgery, but she did know that she wanted to get away from her “family”. I admired her heart and her hard-working attitude. She was spunky and sarcastic, yet honorable.

Iko, her sweet android was a great addition. Her personality chip made her humorous and realistic and I'm glad that Cinder at least had a friend in her.

Prince Kai was absolutely endearing. He would never give up when it came to getting Cinder to notice him. I absolutely adored him and his charming smile. He was modest when he didn’t think he would make a good emperor, but he even proves himself wrong with his wisdom and love for his people.

Although this is a re-telling, it wasn’t what I expected. When I think Cinderella re-telling, I thought that the first half of the book would be about how she is mistreated, then she would go to the ball, meet the prince and live happily ever after with a few differences in there….WRONG! Honestly, If I hadn’t been told that this was a re-telling, I probably never would have even guessed. But don’t get me wrong, that made me love it even more! Meyer kept true to the basics of the story. Cinder is the mistreated daughter who is pretty much a slave and there is a prince, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Marissa Meyer takes the story on a completely new and unique path. There’s a plague, cyborgs, and a crazy queen from the moon. There’s action, adventure, and heart. And although there was one part of the plot I saw coming from the beginning, it didn’t bother me that I knew because I thought the idea was great! This new take makes for an absolutely stunning debut and I can’t believe I must wait an entire year for the next book.

Cinder is an extremely intriguing story of a cyborg Cinderella with more than one twist. It is a prime example of addiction. After reading this, I have come to the conclusion that it is unfair that I must wait a year for the next novel. It should be law that the authors must write and publish all of the books in the series at one time so that we, the readers, don’t have to suffer that awful thing called “anticipation”.

[Amanda]

2nd read, December 2015: Super glad I have all books. Will be diving into Scarlet ASAP.

--

4.5

My original interest in this book really only came about because Marissa Meyer was at a signing with Leigh Bardugo (whose book I wanted). I knew others had loved Cinder, but I wasn't really sure it would be my thing. (Cyborgs? Ehhh. Fairy tale retelling? Meh.) Wrong. WRONG! Oh, was I ever WRONG. Cinder hit all the right spots for me, and had me staying up until 1am in the morning to finish the book during a reading slump.

If, like me, you turn your nose up a little at cyborgs, stop. Sometimes I can be kind of an ass about my reading preferences. The conversation in my head goes something like, "Cyborgs? Pooh. No. Fairy tale retelling? Pooh. No." Well, I'm an idiot. I should not have pooh-poohed this book, because it rocked me out of a reading slump and that's something that isn't easy to do. Whatever I thought I didn't like about cyborgs or fairy tale retellings was a bunch of mumbo jumbo. In fact, as I found myself talking with the boyfriend about this book, I realized it was one of those rare books that actually got a "Cool" response from him rather than a polite "yes, I'm listening to you ramble about books I don't care about" nod. Cyborgs are cool, y'all.

Unless, of course, you're a cyborg in New Beijing. Then you're not cool; you are considered a sub-standard creature. I actually enjoyed this aspect. A lot. Human society has always been plagued by the desire to oppress one group to prove the superiority of another (i.e., you can't be superior if everyone is equal). Setting up Cinder as a cyborg was a good parallel to the actual Cinderella story, and it also gave the book an added element of tension and suspense. Cinder may be a retelling, but Marissa Meyer has woven such a unique story that it only builds on the original and creates something that can stand on its own.

While there were certain aspects of the plot and book that were relatively predictable, I found that this was no real detriment to the overall story. I mean, come on. It's a retelling. The plot has to go a certain way, you know? And you have to have elements of the story that hold somewhat true to the original story. I enjoyed watching how Cinder discovered these parts that were obvious to me as a reader. I wanted to find out how it all fit together at the end. Reading this was like putting together a puzzle. We know what the puzzle should look like, but the individual pieces are new and somewhat unfamiliar to us. With each piece we add to the puzzle, our excitement builds; we want to see how our individual pieces turn into the full picture.

What did shock me about Cinder, however, was the ending. My word, THE ENDING destroyed me. Not because of what happened, mind you, but because of where it ended. I got all flaily and needed Scarlet RIGHT AWAY. So, in short: Cinder rocked. Don't let your preconceived notions stop you from considering this book. It is more than a retelling; it is more than a story about cyborgs. And I loved it. *flails*

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

I read about a fourth of this last year and put it down because I wasn't it in the "right place" mentally for it. I don't know what that means either... But I am so glad I gave it another shot. This time when I picked it up, it was insta-love! Now I am super into this series and plan to pick up Scarlet immediately after finishing Cinder. This was such an enjoyable read and the audiobook narrator was great.

[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

I loved this book the first time and I really hoped I’d love it the second. I read it quite a whole ago so this re-read was actually a great idea because I didn’t remember as much as I thought.

My New BFF

Can I please be BFFs with Cinder? Plleeeeeease? She’s just such a great character! She’s in a really bad situation but she still makes the best of it and does what’s right. She’s also extremely brave doing all those things she did. Not many people would have the courage to take on a queen in front of that many people.

My Crush

Who could read this book and not fall in love with Prince Kai? It’s basically mandatory. He’s nice and mysterious to draw you in and then you see little parts of his life and see how unhappy he is. You start to feel for him and then slowly fall in love with him. That’s exactly how a love interest is supposed to make you feel! Well done to the author for pulling it off!

Writing Style

I love that even though this is a fairy tale retelling, it’s not that predictable. The biggest chunk of the plot has nothing to do with Cinderella and I’m very grateful for that. The plot is fast paced and designed to suck you in immediately, which it does of course, and the characters are what keep you reading. I can’t say anything bad about this book.

Closing Thoughts

I think this is a book everyone should read no matter how hyped up it is. I know everyone isn’t going to like it but I think it’s something everyone should at least try because it’s so different that it might just spark something in you. I love fairy tale retellings even if they are predictable, that’s just who I am. I can say that this is easily my favorite retelling because it’s not predictable and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I love that it’s set in the future and that it’s set in China. I can’t say I’ve read a lot of books that took place in China. I love the dystopia feel of it while not being your typical dystopia book. I love all the genres that are mixed into this book that really do make it possible for so many people to enjoy. I love everything about this book (as you might have noticed) so I recommend it to everyone!

[lisacee]

a lot of setup without much reward. there must be a sequel

[Mercy]

La verdad es que pensé que sería otra lectura juvenil irregular como las que he leído últimamente pero me ha gustado bastante. Tiene sus pegas pero por ahora es una alegría haberla leído :D

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.

This book reminded me so much of Sailor Moon. With cyborgs. And androids. And Cinderella. I totally knew what had happened to "Princess Selene" before it was revealed at the end of the book. But that was okay, because so much of the plot was this huge neat twist, I needed to know what was going to happen next.

I liked Peony, and while I understand why it had to happen, I still hate that it happened. Iko was fun and I'm hoping we get to see more of her in the next book. I'm super curious about the unnamed blonde Lunar girl, and want to know more about her as well. And Kai? He was pretty darn cool. Maybe slightly unbelievable how fast he got attached to Cinder, but everything else I liked about him. (No worries, it wasn't even close to insta-love.)

Cinder herself was all kinds of awesome. She had faults and strengths, and even though her step-mother and elder step-sister were horrible to her, she never let it get to her. She kept her eyes on her goal. The car she found was kinda neat, even if it didn't last long.

I loved how the 'glass slipper', the 'pumpkin into a carriage', and the 'fairy godmother' were interpreted/twisted in this book. They were unexpected and unique. If you haven't read this book yet, you need to. I'll be picking up book 2 soon!

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon