Cinder
In the first of Marissa Meyer's loved Lunar Chronicles, Cinder, we meet sixteen year old cyborg Cinder, working as a mechanic in New Beijing. It is one normal day at the market when her life changes forever. Because that day is the day she meets Crown Prince Kai for the first time. And that day is the day her little sister, Peony, gets the plague for which there is no cure. All of a sudden, Cinder finds herself in the middle of everything. Angry because of Peony’s illness, Cinder’s stepmother volunteer her for the cyborg draft, something the palace has set up to bring in cyborgs’ for testing in search for a cure to the plague. But finding herself immune to the plague is far from the most shocking news Cinder hears in the following days. Everything spins in a high pace around her and she seems to be the only one who doesn’t know what’s really going on. All she ever wanted was to be invisible in a city filled with millions of people. But that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore.
The Lunar Chronicles consists of five books (four of which have been published so far) and a number of short stories. Cinder is what takes us to New Beijing for the very first time, where we meet everything from cyborgs, androids, a crazy Lunar queen and young prince who only want what’s best for his country. Meyer has done a retelling of the popular fairytale Cinderella and combined it with Sailor Moon to achieve what I call only call greatness. It’s a fun and witty story with a lot of serious aspects and it’s a wonderful kick-off to a series of fairytale retellings surrounding the world Cinder lives in. This is a book that has been read and loved all over the world and I am certain it will continue to be adored for some time. A very good novel with lots of promises.