Monday, June 4, 2012

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)
By Marissa Meyer
Publisher:
Feiwel & Friends

To Sum It Up: In this futuristic take on Cinderella, the title character is a cyborg who lives with her human stepmother and stepsisters in New Beijing. Cinder’s occupation as a mechanic leads her to cross paths with the handsome Prince Kai, who brings his malfunctioning android to Cinder for repair. Cinder doesn’t have much time to dwell on her brush with royalty, though. Soon after her encounter with Kai, her beloved stepsister, Peony, contracts the plague that is ravaging Earth. Cinder’s stepmother, Adri, blames Cinder for Peony’s fate and volunteers Cinder as a test subject for plague research. When lab testing reveals that she is no ordinary cyborg, Cinder’s mysterious and forgotten past becomes crucial to saving Earth from more than just the plague.

Review: In addition to being a book nerd, I’m a huge computer geek. I mean, I had way too much fun tweaking the HTML and CSS of this blog’s template. Given my enthusiasm for all things technological, the premise of Cinder really appealed to me. It’s such an imaginative twist on a classic fairytale. I loved the technology of this world and how seamlessly it was weaved into the story. I loved that Cinder was a tech whiz whose skills were so well known that Prince Kai sought her help. It was great to see a tech-savvy female protagonist; I don’t recall encountering any others in my literary adventures so far.

Cinder was an interesting heroine. How could she not be, being a cyborg with a past that she can’t fully remember and all? I liked her determination and resilience. I thought that her best scenes were with her android friend, Iko, and Prince Kai. Iko and Cinder exchange the funniest snippets of dialogue in the book. As for Kai, the steadily budding attraction between him and Cinder is very sweet. I loved Kai; he’s charming, smart, and protective of his people. He isn’t afraid to stand up to the sinister Lunar queen, Levana, or her lackeys. The best part is that he manages to be all of these things without coming across as ridiculously perfect. My request for future books in this series: more Kai, please.

For all of its originality, though, Cinder has a few shortcomings. Cinder’s secret becomes pretty obvious early on in the book. The multiple plotlines (Cinder’s mysterious past, the plague, threat of a Lunar invasion, and let’s not forget the ball, either) sometimes feel as though they’re competing with one another for the reader’s attention rather than coming together as a whole. Then there's the ending. Even for a cliffhanger, it really leaves the reader dangling. I would have liked a little more closure than that. Oh well- it looks like I have no choice but to wait for the sequel.

All in All: The uniqueness of the main character is what drew my attention to this book, and it was worth checking out. I borrowed this from the library, and although I wasn’t wowed enough to want my own copy, I’ll definitely continue with the series.

6 comments:

  1. Sounds pretty good, I was always on the fence about this one but after the review I will read!! Thanks

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    1. It's definitely worth a read. I hope you enjoy it. :-)

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  2. I keep meaning to read this one, but haven't found the time. And yay for a male character that isn't completely perfect! I'm so tired of those. :-P

    Great review!

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    1. I'm rather tired of inhumanly perfect male characters, too. I need them to be at least a little flawed for me to find them believable.

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  3. I absolutely loved this book! I also loved the fact that the author is a Sailor Moon fan :) Iko is one of my favorite secondary characters in a book. She is so cute and funny for a little bot. Great review. New follower!

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    1. Iko is hilarious! She is pretty sassy for an android.

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