Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Genre: YA/Dystopia/Steampunk/Re-Tellings

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Synopsis:

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 Thoughts: When I was down to the last 20 or so pages of this book, I was thinking to myself, no no no no no, it can't be over yet! I didn't want it to end, I seriously flipped through all the extra pages at the end looking for more.

This book is such an amazing, incredibly unique, wonderfully creative, twist of the classic story of Cinderella. I would go so far as to say, that I like this version much much more.  Re-creating classic stories is not something new, but this book stands alone and above them all in that category. I absolutely loved the little details she pulled from the original story and placed them in her own, but adding her own twist to them, it was spectacular.

Cinder is a cyborg who is stuck in the custody of her step-mother when her adopted father passes away, and of course her two step-sisters. But, not both of them are evil! One of her step-sisters, Peony, is her friend, her only real friend besides her android companion. When Peony contracts the plague, Cinder blames herself, and so does her step-mother. Her step-mother volunteers her to be a test subject for the plague antidote and Cinder accepts her impending death, only to discover shocking news upon arrival at the testing facility. The events following this discovery throw her life into a giant swirl of confusion. But Cinder is strong, I felt my heart break for her over and over, and somehow she continued to carry on and attempt discover the life she had before becoming cyborg, which she has absolutely no memory of.

Of course, there is the prince, after a chance meeting at the market where Cinder sells her mechanical skills, Cinder finds herself falling for the Prince, and just maybe, he might have feelings for her to. But she is a cyborg, and she tries desperately to keep this a secret from the Prince, for fear he would never speak to her again, or be disgusted by her. I really enjoyed the love dynamic in this story, because it felt real, and strong, without it being splattered all over page how crazy they were over each other. Their interactions were simple, subtle, and yet - you knew and could sense the longing and attraction between them. It was a refreshing break from the almost obsessive, overwhelming love stories that are in a lot of books lately.

I was very much looking forward to reading this book, I would see it in the store and pick it up and hold it every time I went before I finally bought it and took it home with me. Aside from the amazing story within, the book itself is also beautiful. I love the cover, the font, the chapter headings, the little excerpts from the Cinderella story at the beginning of each book. The entire design of the book is just awesome, it adds to the greatness of the story, making the book just 100% awesome! Now, I am so glad that it is sitting on my shelf,  this is definitely one of those books that you are so glad you own. I want to share it with others, I look forward to placing this version of Cinderella in my daughter's hands in the future.

This book left me begging for more, it was riveting and captivating and such a refreshingly unique story, it was overall incredible. I loved this story, and I absolutely recommend that you read it! I can't wait to read the future works coming in the Lunar Chronicles!

Are Audiobooks more your thing? Well Cinder is available in audio format! Here is a preview of Chapter One for you to listen to now!