Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles # 1) - Marissa Meyer
Book 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.
The beginning was a little slow, then after the plague hit, the story started to pick up in speed. I've seen The Lunar Chronicles all over Instagram, I thought that it was over-hyped which basically translated into: You're never going to read this series! Of course, I was wrong, and I ended up jumping on the bandwagon with all of the other bookstagram accounts.
I was expecting the book to be a cookie-cutter re-telling of the most classic and iconic fairy-tales, Cinderella. Since I set the bar pretty low, I was pleasantly surprised when this book blew my expectations out of the water. The only thing that I was disappointed about was the plot twist being so obvious, you could tell what was going to happen with Cinder way before the story revealed anything else. (Honestly, I'm just nit-picking at this point, because I thought this book was a great way to kick-off the series.)
Cinder the cyborg mechanic, is definitely a strong-willed, independent, and clever main character with a mysterious past and a tragic back-story just waiting to be told. With a wicked stepmother, two stepsisters, and a charming prince this story had the right foundation for a re-telling of Cinderella. Just add in a sprinkle of androids, omit the singing mice, make Cinder a cyborg, and a dash of the plague = the perfect recipe for a thrilling adventure of Cinderella re-imagined.
If you loved watching Disney's Cinderella as a kid or even a kid at heart, you're in for a treat with Cinder.
Sometimes, fairy-tales don't have to end in happily ever afters.
Rating: ★★★★★