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Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Published by Penguin


Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 


***
Cinder is a retelling of the fairytale Cinderella and does it's own interesting take on the story we all know so well.

Cinder is a cyborg. She was adopted at a young age by her father who since died and left her under the guardianship of her stepmother who treats her like a slave and home and expects her to work long hours as a mechanic to bring funds into the family home whilst her sisters don't have to lift a finger.

I really loved Cinder as a character and the spirit she had. I thought she was both clever and witty and I loved seeing how she was quite happy to get on with her life and deal with the rubbish that was thrown her way as she is considered to be a second class citizen. I loved how she was totally underwhelmed when she met the Prince who came to her to get a job done and I loved seeing their relationship develop over the course of the book.

The storyline involving the plague that was devastating the city was really interesting when you saw just how utterly helpless the city was and how scared people were in the face of all the problems. It also helped to develop the relationship between Cinder and her sister Peony which is something I actually loved about this book.

I must say I did guess the twist pretty soon on as I think the way the story was written it was obvious things were going to turn out how they did.

A huge story arc set up and a huge cliffhanger... hoping there is a sequel to tie the story as I was left a little bit unsatisfied as it felt like not all that many of the questions the book posed were answered.

Comments

serendipity_viv said…
I must read this soon!
Mel said…
I've heard lots of positive things about this - and I do like fairytales re-imagined! Will check this out. :-)
There will definitely be a sequel-in fact this is the start of a quartet of fairy-tale inspired retellings!

My personal favorite element of this book was Prince Kai-I loved how he stepped up for his responsibilities. The plague and everything with the Lunar Queen was so scary-it seems like there's nothing any one can do.
Cicely said…
I completely agree with your review! I loved Cinder as a character, and her relationship with Peony was really great, but I did think it was really predictable... Great review!