Cinder by Marissa Meyer Review

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
★★★★★
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Macmillan: Feiwel & Friends
Age: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Futuristic, Dystopian, Fantasy, Cyborgs
Format: e-book
Source: publisher via Netgalley
Buy it: Amazon | B&N

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. In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

I feel obligated to begin this review with one comment: Holy epic series starter. This book has been hyped up in the blogging community, and beyond, for a few months now and I'm excited to share my thoughts. Before I began reading Cinder I had seen various 5 star reviews and sometimes when there's this huge bubble surrounding a new book and author I end up being disappointed, Cinder proved that theory wrong. I will never look at a hyped up book the same way again, I will welcome it whole heartedly.

Cinderella is one of those stories that almost everyone knows. A version or retelling exists in most cultures, I know because I did a paper on it in college, and we all know how the story goes. That said, I think it's best to throw everything else you know about the old story away when you dive into this one, it is its own book filled with new and exciting characters that I absolutely adored. Cinder with her low self esteem, dreams, and hope for the future is a character a lot of people will fall in love with. And, I am happy to say that our story does have our prince charming, or more of a charming prince, but you have to read it to find out more about the other fantastic characters Marissa Meyer has dreamed up, including the wicked witch ;)

The very human story about the prejudices and injustices found on all levels of society, worked so well in this book. Judging, ridiculing, and looking down on others for various reasons is a topic that can be worked into so many daily lessons for not only kids but adults as well. I think Cinder would be an excellent book group book, there is so much between the pages to analyze, dissect and discuss. As a teacher I really appreciate a book that will make you think about things in a new way, and from a different angle, and this book is just an overall prime example of fluid discussion worthy text.

Marissa Meyer is my new hero, this woman (and her exquisite team at MacMillan) weaves a wonderful web of a story (it must be late, I'm resorting to alliteration). But, in all seriousness, it's true. This book flows beautifully and captures such intense subject matters such as plague, war, and death like no other author I've read.

The setting and very presence of this light retelling is captivating. I'd describe it as dark and damp with streams of light filtering in, a little thing I like to call hope, especially when times are rough. I loved everything about this book, and will could rave about it all night. This beginning to what is sure to be an amazing series will no doubt be something everyone will be talking about soon enough, and I can't wait for the next book in this series.