Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being a cyborg does have its benefits though: Cinder’s brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things, making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings her into contact with Prince Kai, who needs her to fix an old android which he jokingly insists is a “matter of national security.” Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder’s intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Betrayed once more by her stepmother, Cinder is involuntarily committed as a Plague test subject. Once in the palace hospital, a mysterious doctor discovers secrets about Cinder that could change the course of the nation. Meanwhile, the greedy and cruel Lunar queen is pressing the prince for concessions and marriage to avert war between the moon and Earth nations. This is a futuristic take on the Cinderella story.
| Title : | Cinder |
| Author : | Marissa Meyer |
| Series : | #1 : Lunar Chronicles |
| ISBN : | 9780312641894 |
| Copyright : | 2012 |
| Pages : | 387 |
Strengths
- I am predisposed to like this story, because I love science fiction, romance, and modern takes on fairy tales! This one has all of these elements, so I was very happy.
- Strong, feisty main character. I liked Cinder, and rooted for her throughout the story.
- The secondary characters were interesting and mostly fleshed out. I especially liked the android, Iko, who had trouble remembering that she was an android and not a woman.
- The world building was lovely, I liked how the futuristic setting was introduced subtly and without info dumping. Also, the futuristic setting was necessary for this story; it could not have been set in another time period and remained the same.
- I thought this book ended at a good and logical place. It hinted at future conflicts, but readers could be satisfied with the action of this story. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.
Weaknesses
- I didn’t understand why Prince Kai was so taken with Cinder, or why he pursued her even in the midst of losing his father, planning for his own coronation, and dealing with the Lunar envoy. His interest in the midst of such conflict seemed unlikely.
- I wanted more explanations about Queen Levana. Why was she so cruel? What did she want to gain with threatening war? She was the thinnest character.
Short Librarian's Blog 
I thought the ‘big reveal’ was pretty obvious through the book and not very shocking. It was almost too-foreshadowed. I did listen to, and not read, the book which sometimes makes a difference. Your thoughts?