Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)

by Marissa Meyer

Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it “a matter of national security,” but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.

Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived.

But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

Reviewed by ayla_abbott on

4 of 5 stars

Share
I usually avoid YA because the emotions and thoughts are a little too overt. But this was YA in the way they call Ender's Game or The Giver YA. Not that I'm saying this is as deep as either of those two. The characters are people, I guess. Most teenagers in real life aren't so bad, so why a lot of YA makes them so intolerable I'll never know. This book doesn't do that and I think labeling it YA is probably a silly thing that limits the audience. Maybe instead of YA it should just be like, "Safe to put in school libraries/no sex included." Anyway, I digress.

Quick read, good baddie, nice homage to the fairy tale, and I'm genuinely curious where the series will go from here.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 July, 2016: Finished reading
  • 18 July, 2016: Reviewed