Scootsa1000′s #CBR4 Review #20: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Along with many of you, I am SO FAR BEHIND on my reviews, I don’t really know what to do about it. I can barely remember what I did last week, so its certainly going to be a challenge to review some books that I read over a month ago. Sigh.
But I do remember this one, Cinder by Marissa Meyer. A few of you had read it and liked it, and even though I was a bit “blah” about the book cover, I thought it sounded interesting enough to try out. I’m not going to lie: I tore through this sucker in one sitting. I enjoyed it immensely, even though I knew where it was going (for the most part) and saw the huge “reveal” coming from a mile away. Maybe its because my 2 year-old has recently discovered Cinderella, but this was one of my favorite modern retellings of a classic story since Bridget Jones’ Diary.
For those in the dark, Linh Cinder is the most talented mechanic in the futuristic New Beijing. She also happens to be half-cyborg, which isn’t too popular in society, as cyborgs are definitely looked down upon by the rest of the population. She lives with her horrible adopted stepmother and stepsisters (one she hates and one she loves), and her only friend is her android, Iko.
New Beijing (and the rest of the world) is suffering from a terrible plague that kills its citizens pretty quickly and is extremely contagious. When Cinder’s sister Peony (the one she loves) gets sick, her stepmother “volunteers” Cinder as a test subject for a cure, as the government is always asking for young, female cyborg test subjects.
Meanwhile, Cinder becomes friends with the dreamy Prince Kai, who has an android that needs repairs. His father is dying from the plague and Kai is under pressure to marry the ruthless Lunar Queen, Levana.
As Cinder spends time in the hospital undergoing tests with the kind Dr. Erland, secrets are uncovered and the plots for the future books of the trilogy (but of course!) are laid out.
Even though I pretty much knew how the story would turn out, I still enjoyed the new telling of Cinderella, and will pick up the future volumes of the story as the are released.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
The “twist” really bothered me. It was probably the thing I liked least about the book. I REALLY wish she had just let us in on the secret earlier and let the tension come from us wondering when Cinder would find out. That would have been so much better.
I’m excited for book two in this series. It will be interesting to see how she deals with a new plot and new characters, and how she’ll deal with the characters from Cinder at the same time.
You know, the twist was annoying, but didn’t bother me all that much. Mostly because I try to remember that these are YA books, and that I am very, very, very far from that demographic!
Wait, what is Bridget Jones a retelling of? How have I missed this??
Also, great review. I have this on my list, but it keeps getting pushed down in favor of other books.
Pride and Prejudice!
However, there is no excuse for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Jane Austen is staying far away from that one.
I just pretend Edge of Reason doesn’t exist. And I really should have known that given the Darcy character. Sometimes I’m *pretty*