Cinder

Book Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Number of Pages: 387
Genres: Dystopian, Fairytale Retellings, Romance
Books like it: Ever, The Princess of the Midnight Ball, Scarlet
My favorite quote:

“Kai cleared his throat. Stood straighter. "I assume you are going to the ball?"
"I-I don't know. I mean, no. No, I'm sorry, I'm not going to the ball."
Kai drew back, confused. "Oh well...but...maybe you would change your mind? Because I am, you know."
"The prince."
"Not bragging," he said quickly. "Just a fact.”  

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:

 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.

My Summary:

Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.

This book is a futuristic Cinderella story, and I found it very interesting and compelling. There are a number of problems: People from the moon, Lunars, plot to take over the Earth and enslave the humans, and a plague sweeps the nation. The entire world is tense and waiting for a war that will be their destruction. Meanwhile, the emperor is sick and hanging on the thread of life.

A cyborg mechanic named Cinder roams the streets of New Beijing. When her sister becomes sick and her stepmother blames her for it, she finds herself on her own and stranded. Her life unexpectedly collides with Prince Kai's. She finds herself falling for the prince, and though she may not know it, the fate of her country and the world rests on her shoulders.

I have never read a futuristic fairytale, so this book was a new experience for me. It was definitely different. Years in the future, we are threatened by people from the moon who want the Earth under their control. Humanity's last hope was a princess, but she died long ago and now they are left  alone. This book had a ton of things that I didn't expect, and it was written... just amazingly. I have, actually, read Scarlet, book two, that is an even better book than Cinder and cannot wait for the third book, Cress.

Pros: I loved the characters in this book. Cinder was a special girl, and she felt that no boy could ever care for her, especially since she is partly cyborg.

He was the fantasy of every girl in the country. He was so far out of realm, her world, that she should have stopped thinking about him the second the door had closed. Should stop thinking about him immediately. Should never think about him again, except maybe as a client - and her prince.
And yet, the memory of his fingers against her skin refused to fade.

So when Prince Kai, of all people, shows interest in her, she feels like it is a dream come true. I love how this book had a forbidden romance and action with a lot of dilemmas.

Cons: THE END WAS AGONIZING! What was that, Marissa Meyer?!? I am seriously terrible at thinking up cons unless I absolutely hated the book. Um, let's see.... Well, the one problem I am having with this story is that it does not include a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Ugh, THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. I'm trying guys, really.

Review: 4.5 stars

Cautions for parents: Brief mild language.