Set in the far future Marissa Meyer's "Cinder" is an amazing take on the classic fairy tale. Our tale begins at a market where the main character, Cinder, is seen with her android named Iko. A man who is actually the Prince of the future Asia, New Beijing, that she lives in. The tale eventually combines the threat of plagues, murderous queens, and hidden pasts to create an amazing Sci-Fi novel. If you are a fan of fairy tales, science fiction, or strong female leads in YA novels then Cinder and the whole Lunar Chronicles series is definitely one for you
Cinder
By Marissa Meyer
Book 1 of 4 in the
Lunar Chronicles Series
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 6 - 8 | Grades 3 - 6 | n/a | 5.8 | 87661 |
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: Square Fish
ISBN-13: 9781250007209
ISBN-10: 1250007208
Published on 1/8/2013
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 448
Book Reviews (152)
"Even in the future, the story begins with once upon a time." Precisely 126 years after the Fourth World War, letumosis, a deadly plague that has haunted Earth for a decade, has taken the life of Emperor Rikan of the Commonwealth. But Emperor Rikan's son, Prince Kai, has even more problems - Queen Levana of Luna is intent on marrying Prince Kai and taking over the Commonwealth - and planet Earth. Prince Kai has no intention of marrying the wicked Levana, and with the help of his android, he plans to reinstate Princess Selene (Levana's missing and presumed dead niece) to the throne. But what happens when his android breaks down mysteriously? Meet Linh Cinder, a sixteen-year old cyborg and a renowned mechanic - whose life is changed forever when Prince Kai asks her to fix a broken android. But when Cinder's stepsister, Peony, contracts letumosis, and it's blamed on Cinder, Cinder is "donated" to plague research by her stepmother, Adri. Correction: Cinder would die. But Dr. Erland, the scientist running the research on letumosis, finds out something very special about Cinder - something others would die for. One more thing - when Cinder learns of a huge plot to take over Earth from a guilt-ridden Lunar spy, she rushes to tell Kai at his coronation - and finds herself being given the death penalty by none other than Queen Levana herself. This book was incredible, really, spectacular - it was so, so amazing! This is probably the farthest thing from the original fairy-tale of Cinderella - it's much more dark, complicated, and twisted - but it still keeps its roots in the original fairy-tale version. I have never met such a vivid, wild cast of characters - from resilient and resourceful Cinder, to the deliciously wicked Queen Levana. Every page sucked me in, and I really couldn't stop reading - page after page after page, and I found it really.. really hard to read the last chapter or two because there was so much tension - it was wonderful! I rarely give five stars to a book, especially a fantasy book, but congratulations, "Cinder" - you've won me over.
![I luv iko](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 12 12"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I love Iko and Carswell Thorne, I have the whole series and read them all (fairest is a little inappropriate)
This book is sooooooooo good. You might think, "Ummm....I think I'll go with a more adventurous book, I don't think a book about fairy tales is my type." Just because it's based on Cinderella does NOT mean it's girly. It is totally exciting with a mix of sci-fi in it. It is totally amazing and the end is really awesome. It's about a cyborg named Cinder. (BTW: A cyborg is like a regular human with some robotic parts.) Cinder was adopted by the father. The father soon died shortly after adopting Cinder. Years passed and things haven't really changed: Adri and Pearl, Cinder's stepmother and stepsister hate her, and Cinder's other stepsister, Peony, adores her. Then one day something horrible happens. I won't write or say anything about it because, then there would be no point of you reading the book and that's what I want you guys to do. So, instead I'll just tell you that it has something that has to do with Peony. After the tragic event, life goes on painfully for Cinder. That's when Cinder is visited by the prince of New Beijing: Prince Kai. Prince Kai has a problem with his android (like a phone) and asks Cinder to fix it. Cinder is an extremely well known mechanic who is like AMAZING at fixing stuff. Meanwhile, Prince Kai becomes Emperor Kai after the death of his father due to a fatal disease, letumosis. And it is most certainly the wrongest time for the wise emperor to die because the group of citizens on the rocky moon, Lunars, are threatening war against Earth unless Emperor Kai agrees to marry the queen of Luna in exchange for an antiode for lutmosis (Yes, the Lunars have a CURE!!!) and a peace treaty between Beijing and Luna. Of course there's always the catch when you make a deal with a queen like the queen of Luna. Queen Levana is known for a bloody history of making her way to the throne: She killed her older sister Queen Channery and to prevent her younger niece Princess Selene Blackburn from becoming queen, she set a fire off in the nursery of Princess Selene's. Of course charred skin was found but the body of the princess was never found.......... While the country is in danger of the possibilities Queen Levana might throw on the kingdom, Cinder untangles a knot of her past and must make decisions for the future that might cost the lives of everyone on Earth and Luna.
This book is literally one of the best books that I have ever read in my entire life. I love the concept of a steam punk telling of Cinderella and that "Cinder"ella is pretty far from what people consider feminine in that she is a mechanic and a cyborg, but is 100% beautiful despite it. This tale is full of romance and grease and friends and enemies and loss and beauty. Cinder is the epitome of a true princess. This story is a must read!
My sister read this book and she said it was good so I am waiting for it is n the library
This book is a great cross over of sci-fi and fairy tales, and this book proves that it's the perfect combo. I stayed up until 1 am reading this book, so I highly recommend that you read it, too.
amazing
I totally LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.......yeah I think you get the point. But anyways, this book was totally awesome. Even though its mixed in with the classic fairy tale Cinderella, it is totally spectacular and not girly at all! Before you read the book though, you should understand (if you don't know already) that this book is like future future where they have technology that makes the 20th century iPhones and that stuff ancient.
thanks for the review
Stop! I think I read the last book before the first one. That's why it did not make sence. . . The book Cinder is like a version of Cinderella. The thing is, that this lovly stories setting is more than 1000 years from now. And 1000 years from now, Cinderella is much different than the one in the past.