Name: Cinder
Rating: 4.188863976083707 (2007 reviews)
ISBN: 9780312641894

Marissa Meyer

   When Cinder, a gifted cyborg with a mysterious past, becomes entangled with the handsome Prince Kai, she finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle to save humankind from a deadly plague and ruthless lunar beings.

The Lunar Chronicles #1

Cinder

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.)

Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

First off: I LOVE Rebecca Soler. Secondly: it's a crime that this book isn't talked abt enough. I predicted a lot of things in the beginning, but my sis tried to gaslight me... she failed. BUT, I adore this book. The world building and story telling is so brilliantly unique that I can't get enough of it. 

Tsu 💙

Ellen Ivey

This book was about a girl who was half cyborg due to a fire and couldn’t rmemebr much about it and had a evil step sister and guardian (step mother ish) and yeah they didn’t let her go to the ball she had to go to deliver info to the prince and he and cinder had already met previously as she’s a mechanic and she ends up in prison for being a lunar and the doctor goes to her to tell her she’s the princess who was missing. It was a bit slow at first but started getting better.

Hana 

Anna 

od cinder jsem dostala přesně to, co jsem očekávala. je to science fiction YA retelling na princezny. ano, zní to přehnaně, ale nějakým záhadným způsobem to funguje skvěle. líbilo se mi vykreslení postav, kde i po pár stranách víte, jaké ty postavy jsou, jak se chovají, prostě mají svůj charakter hezky vymyšlený. byla jsem unesená tím, jak se dokáže děj stále držet té princeznovské linky, že tam pořád můžeme vidět ty útržky z popelky, i když je děj vlastně o něčem úplně jiným. to bylo fakt skvělý a já za to smekám. další veliký plus je to, že autorka dokáže napsat sci-fi tak, aby to pochopili i lidi, kteří se nedokážou až tak vyznat v elektronice (viz. já). některé sci-fi jsou pro mě hodně těžké na čtení, protože se tam mluví o elektronických věcech, které ani nevím, čemu slouží. tady jsem se ale vyznávala v pohodě.
no a největší plus celé téhle knihy je ten vztah mezi kaiem a cinder. je to takové sladké zakončení celé hezky propracované young adult. slowburn 300 stránek, potencionální enemies to lovers, a ještě ke všemu se nedali dohromady v prvním díle, jak jsem očekávala. no prostě pro tu jejich tension momentálně žiju.
.
5*/5*, rozhodně jedna z těch lepších YA.

10/10 book. Keeps you on your toes wondering what will happen next! Iko was an iconic character. I would recommend and I don’t even like reading!!! 

Peter Harrell

Kattia

Cinder (book one of the Lunar Chronicles) takes place in a dystopian world 126 years post World War IV. Linh Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing, capital of the Eastern Commonwealth. This is where she meets Crown Prince Kai, when he comes in her shop to have his android fixed. There is a mysterious deadly plague called Letumosis that’s sweeping the world, with no known cure. The emperor has been recently infected, leaving the Prince desperate to find an antidote while also preparing to take over as ruler. Things are also tense between Earth and the Lunar people of the moon. The devious Queen Levana threatens war unless they could agree on a peace treaty. The only thing she wants? To be the new emperor’s bride. And the queen has her ways to get what she wants…

So how do I feel about this book? Well I am a bit conflicted. I did enjoy it very much but there were some things that didn’t quite work for me.

The good:

-I loved the premise. Cyborg Cinderella in a dystopian future? It’s a very interesting twist on the fairytale classic we all know
-I liked Cinder’s spunk and wit. She could hold her own, and didn’t turn into some lovesick teenager upon meeting the prince
-Iko, Cinder’s android sidekick was probably my favorite character in the book. She’s got a very quirky personality, especially for an android! I wished there was more of her in the story
-The Sailormoon aspects: The Lunar people/colony:  

the handsome, good-hearted prince, 
evil Queen. I was a fan of Marissa Meyer’s work back in her Aliciablade days, so when I heard about this book I was very excited to read it. It was easy to imagine the characters as characters from Sailormoon– although I’m not sure if that was the intent of the author, or it’s because I’ve read so much SM fanfic in the past
-Intergalactic politics- which was only lightly touched on, but I hope we will delve deeper in future installments


The not-so good:

-The secondary characters weren’t fully fleshed out: Evil Queen is Evil, Bitchy step-mother is a big ol’ B, etc. 
-If you are looking for a YA Dystopian like Hunger Games or Divergent, this is much lighter on dystopia, with little to no action. I also thought the lack of explanation about the last World War, about the Lunar people and overall world building left more to be desired. I am hoping more will be revealed in the next book.
-It was predictable: I already guessed the twist/reveal as soon as they mentioned the missing Lunar heir. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]
-The cliffhanger ending. When I first finished Cinder, it left me anxious for Scarlet. I wanted it, like, ASAP. After letting the it soak in for about a day, though, I kind of feel cheated. It felt like the book just ended, right when everything was getting exciting. But maybe I wouldn’t have felt the same if I already had Scarlet in my hands.


Overall: Though I thought this fell short as a dystopian book, it was an entertaining read and kept my interest all the way through. Cinder was endearing as a heroine, and I enjoyed how this story linked to the original fairytale. This was a good opening to this series, lots of buildup that made me crave more. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out. 

3.5 out of 5 stars

It took me a while to get into this book, but by the last bit, I was very invested. I think this book was very well written and the plot was carefully thought out. I appreciated the small details that worked together to reveal plot twists. 

My only complaints are that the main characters lack personality. I wish there was more depth to them. Additionally, I think Cinder’s minimal mourning of her sister was unrealistic. Grief lasts a long time and I wish that would have been represented better. 

Jeweliet Coffee

It took me a while to get into this book, but by the last bit, I was very invested. I think this book was very well written and the plot was carefully thought out. I appreciated the small details that worked together to reveal plot twists. 

My only complaints are that the main characters lack personality. I wish there was more depth to them. Additionally, I think Cinder’s minimal mourning of her sister was unrealistic. Grief lasts a long time and I wish that would have been represented better. 

Ellie M.

An amazing sci-fi retelling of Cinderella as a cyborg!! This book was written 12 years ago and I’m now wondering why it took me so much before I got into it. Set in the dystopian city of New Beijing, a country in the Eastern Commonwealth, established 126 years after the fourth world war. Cinder is an orphan an a mechanic of the Linh family’s stall at the shops who suddenly gets the attention of Prince Kai, heir to the throne. But when a deadly disease suddenly starts rampaging throughout the country, Cinder is suddenly caught up in a mess that will later reveal a lot about her past, and a power she doesn’t know yet. From there, the story is a reimagining of Cinderella, but swap the pumpkin and glass slipper for robots! The worldbuilding was very easy to follow and the storytelling was absolutely fun. A reader would immediately know that the series has lots of potential. The pacing was a bit off at times which made the book feel dragging, nevertheless I can’t wait to read the sequel!

A forbidden romance. A deadly plague. Earth's fate hinges on one girl . . . CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future. This is not the fairytale you remember. But it's one you won't forget.

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Book 1)

The Lunar Chronicles as a whole is simply an amazing series that could be enjoyed and loved by all ages. 

If you love retellings, Marissa Meyer is your girl. This retelling however didn’t just give the Prince a name. Oh no, no, no, THIS retelling is really a complete reimagining of the Cinderella story WITH so many original elements and plot lines tied in. 

“What if Cinderella is a cyborg?” is the easy way to describe this book. “What if Cinderella took place in futuristic sci-fi Asia where she works as a mechanic and receives a very SPECIAL fixing job from a Royal customer? And she’s a cyborg and hiding it.”

Ami Is Dreaming Again

The Lunar Chronicles as a whole is simply an amazing series that could be enjoyed and loved by all ages. 

If you love retellings, Marissa Meyer is your girl. This retelling however didn’t just give the Prince a name. Oh no, no, no, THIS retelling is really a complete reimagining of the Cinderella story WITH so many original elements and plot lines tied in. 

“What if Cinderella is a cyborg?” is the easy way to describe this book. “What if Cinderella took place in futuristic sci-fi Asia where she works as a mechanic and receives a very SPECIAL fixing job from a Royal customer? And she’s a cyborg and hiding it.”

Read it, it’s literally amazing!

Cinder The Lunar Chronicles #1

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