Cinder

Cinder

By Marissa Meyer

116 ratings 158 reviews 171 followers
Book 1 of 4 in the  Lunar Chronicles Series
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 6 - 8Grades 3 - 6n/a5.887661

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!

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.

Marissa Meyer on Cinder, writing, and leading men
Which of your characters is most like you?
I wish I could say that I'm clever and mechanically-minded like Cinder, but no―I can't fix anything. I'm much more like Cress, who makes a brief cameo in Cinder and then takes a more starring role in the third book. She's a romantic and a daydreamer and maybe a little on the naïve side―things that could be said about me too―although she does find courage when it's needed most. I think we'd all like to believe we'd have that same inner strength if we ever needed it.
Where do you write?
I have a home office that I've decorated with vintage fairy tale treasures that I've collected (my favorite is a Cinderella cookie jar from the forties) and NaNoWriMo posters, but sometimes writing there starts to feel too much like work. On those days I'll write in bed or take my laptop out for coffee or lunch.
If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from Cinder would you want with you?
Cinder, definitely! She has an internet connection in her brain, complete with the ability to send and receive comms (which are similar to e-mails). We'd just have enough time to enjoy some fresh coconut before we were rescued.
The next book in the Lunar Chronicles is called Scarlet, and is about Little Red Riding Hood. What is appealing to you most about this character as you work on the book?
Scarlet is awesome―she's very independent, a bit temperamental, and has an outspokenness that tends to get her in trouble sometimes. She was raised by her grandmother, an ex-military pilot who now owns a small farm in southern France, who not only taught Scarlet how to fly a spaceship and shoot a gun, but also to have a healthy respect and appreciation for nature. I guess that's a lot of things that appeal to me about her, but she's been a really fun character to write! (The two leading men in Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Thorne, aren't half bad either.)

Publisher: Thorndike Striving Reader
ISBN-13: 9781432875862
ISBN-10: 1432875868
Published on 3/11/2020
Binding: Paperback

Book Reviews (152)

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I loved the first book of the Lunar Chronicles series! Cinder is based off of Cinderella, and is a cyborg. She goes through this whole mess including letumosis, Dr. Erland, a ball, Prince Kai, and Queen Levana, and eventually ending up in prison, meeting Thorne. I think that everything that happened throughout the book was so creative and enticing. I just couldn’t put the book down. Overall, I would recommended it to people that like fantasy/adventure/mystery/bit of romance. I can’t wait to finish the second book! 💖💖💖

A very cool storyline that'll keep the pages turning...also great series to dive into on a snowy morning while thinking about dystopian feels.

This is one of my favorite books. I love the twisted fairy-tale genre, and the unique plot line. If I could give it more stars, I would.

I liked this book. It was a fun read, though maybe a bit above my age level. Marissa Meyers creates one of those fairy tale spin-offs in Cinder, a cyborg Cinderella.

Ok this is one of my favorite book series ever! I love books based on fairytales or with fairytale elements and this is an amazing one. It’s a sort of twist between si-fi and fairytales and I LOVE it!!

this is the first book of the lunar chronicles series, and as soon as i read it, i was hooked! the characters and refreshing and diverse, and the dystopian setting is super cool.

This is an awesome book and retelling/spinoff of the classical fairytale, Cinderella. In this amazing text, Cinder, though a robot, fights her own feelings. She can't be in love with Prince Kai, can she? She has other things to worry about--such as the fact that Adri, her owner, hints that she wants to give Cinder away for letumosis testing. Chock-full of adventure, emotions, romance, and mystery, I give this book a 100 out of 5 stars!

Cheart Cheart

i love this book so much

This book is about a teenage cyborg girl. Throughout the book she finds out her real identity and who is trying to find her. When Queen Levana comes down to earth to marry prince Kai Cinder knows that if this happens he will be in grave danger. What will she do. My favorite part is when they were at the ball and Cinder escapes Queen Levana's mind controlling powers. I give this book a five star because I love all of the adventure, fantasy and the sci-fi. It also made never want to stop reading it. This book is a great page turner but it is a little predictable. Overall this book is amazing and I definitely recommend it.

I love this book! I love how it's a cy-fi, futuristic, & more modernized retelling of Cinderella, a classic fairytale. I really liked the book, and how it really brings you along. I liked how I was never confused at all, and how the author did a really good job typing everything in. The only thing I didn't like and why I didn't make my rating a five-star is because I feel like many things were really predictable. Still, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read them all! Thanks, 13iamgroot and everyone else for recommending this series. I would like to thank the author, Marissa Meyer, and everybody else who contributed this book for making this amazing book reality. I would recommend this book to those who like fantasy, science fiction, adventure, books, and like always, those who don't like books too (basically everybody)! I hope this review was helpful. Thanks!

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