Review: Cinder

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer
Published by Feiwel & Friends on January 3rd 2012
Pages: 390
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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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.

Why did I put Cinder off for so long?! I remember reading the synopsis and being really unexcited but I kept hearing SUCH GOOD THINGS. I kept thinking “I’ll probably like it, but I have all these other books that kind of seem more interesting so I’ll read those instead.” Time went on. I didn’t read Cinder. Seriously, I regret that decision now because I loved Cinder to bits. It’s unique, exciting and you don’t see the twists coming.

I read Cinder as part of The Lunar Chronicles Read Along hosted by @bookaddictsguide! The whole event is about reading the Lunar Chronicle novels before Winter (the final book) comes out!

I’m so glad I decided to read Cinder as part of the Read Along because I’ve found a series I can definitely enjoy! Meyer is super talented!

The What?

Cinder is a cyborg. A gifted mechanic, but nevertheless, a second class citizen because of her half-machine parts. She doesn’t remember anything before the accident that made her into what she is and cannot control her current fate as the stepchild of a woman who hates her. It’s her skills that bring Prince Kai and his secrets to her door, changing her life irrevocably. She is suddenly thrust into an intergalactic struggle, a forbidden romance and a past that she could never have imagined.

Why?

Cinder was amazingly creative with humans and androids living among one another. Androids are little more than technology made to help humans in their daily lives like a toaster or oven: useful, but nothing more than items to be owned. It makes a cyborg a complex problem: half human, half android. The law has deemed cyborgs as non-humans and property of their owners. Cyborgs have no rights, no homes and no family yet they are still human on the inside.

I loved that Cinder not only developed a fresh world that I haven’t seen before, but there were sociological issues hidden in the text. I think the number one reason why I loved Cinder is because it has so many undercurrents of social struggle. I loved the first two Hunger Games because it linked to modern social problems; reality tv, censorship and political control. The development of a culture that is both struggling with fast technological change and yet using it on a daily basis felt like a well placed nod to today’s society.

The struggles between humanity and machine in Cinder were exceptionally well done! I loved how Cinder was loved by human and an android  making her part of both worlds in so many ways.

We find Cinder many years after a crash took away her rights to humanity and living with a family that adopted her after the operation. She flits through life as nothing more than an object, mistreated and undervalued. Her only friends are her sister Peony and Iko until one day Prince Kai comes along and drags her into dark palace politics. The romance is slow and well measured. We learn about Kai over time, there is absolutely no insta-love (hurray!) and Kai reacts realistically to Cinder’s mysterious past. I definitely felt the slow growth of the romance added suspense to the novel, but the real prize was learning about Cinder’s history and her future!

Cinder is a thought-provoking and suspenseful novel that is sure to keep you up at night reading. This book would appeal to readers to who enjoy science fiction, young adult romance, unique world environments and political intrigue. I think this may even fit in with the current diversity trend, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Now what?

Now I move on to Scarlet, book two of The Lunar Chronicles series, and I will be reading about some new characters who will further enrich Cinder’s world. I will definitely be reading to learn more about the world, its people and waiting impatiently to see how all these characters come together to form The Resistance.

Seriously, if you have Cinder on your TBR list you need to read it. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and I hear the series only gets better after Cinder. Read it! You won’t be disappointed.

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