Cinder
Fairy-tale retellings have become a big thing in the past few years and among all the new stories that have grown from classic childhood tales, Marissa Meyer's the Lunar Chronicles are one of the biggest. Four books with a new protagonist in each and each featuring a famous fairy-tale. First off is Cinder, and as you may guess, this novel is based on Cinderella.
Cinder is a teenage girl living in New Beijing with her adoptive mother Adri and her two stepsisters, Pearl and Peony. As a child, Cinder became a cyborg after a horrendous hover crash that took both of her parents lives and now she's owned by her adoptive mother who forces Cinder to work as a mechanic so that the family can pay their rent. This is how Cinder meets Prince Kai, Crown Prince and heir to the throne. He wants her to fix his android, which contains important research on the long-lost Lunar princess whom Kai wishes to find so that he can de-throne the evil Queen Levana. But before Kai has a chance of doing this a series of event takes place and they all seem to lead to one thing. Levana wanting Kai and her to marry for a peace allegiance between Luna and Earth. Kai is opposed to this but seems to have no choice, unless he can find the long-lost, thought to be dead princess. And while all of this happens, Cinder finds herself in the middle of everything when someone in the palace reveals a truth she couldn’t imagine even in her wildest dreams.
I absolutely love this book and the entire series. The world that Meyer has created is so amazing, it’s very well-made and filled to the brim with cool things without any of it becoming too much or too crazy. The fact that Cinder is a mechanic makes it easy for her to explain to the reader about portscreens and hovers in a way that you understand but without the feeling of an info-dump. The world has recovered from a fourth world war and they’re now battling against an illness which has no cure all the while Luna is threatening with an invasion. Cinder is a cyborg who wishes she was normal and hates the things that makes her more machine than human. Her best friend is an android named Iko and together they try to handle the things thrown at Cinder.
There’s diversity in the novel, but it also points out that people who are different, like cyborgs, aren’t worth as much as normal humans. Lunars are looked at with distaste and I like how Meyer brings these issues to light. Besides that, the book is filled with action and excitement, creating a novel that resembles a fairy-tale but were the stakes are a lot higher. This story has been called a cross between Cinderella and Sailor Moon and if you like either one of these (or if you’re like me and love them both!), this novel is certainly for you. It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s somewhat awkward, it has likeable characters and a very evil villain and it has a protagonist who’ve spent most of her life being looked down upon and now she carries the fate of the planet on her shoulders. A very enjoyable read and since the series is finished now you can read all four books right after the other. And I can promise you that you’ll want to after you’re finished with Cinder.