Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

From Goodreads: 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. 

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Wholly unique, Marissa Meyer’s Cinder is a re-telling of Cinderella with sci-fi elements. Set in New Beijing at a time when androids and cyborgs are common, a plague known as letumosis is decimating the global population, and the leaders of Earth are more or less united against the threat of the Lunars – a race led by a devious queen (who I found really fascinating); Meyer does a good job striking a balance between describing the world in Cinder and allowing it to unfold in the reader’s imagination.

To be honest, I was never a huge fan of Disney's Cinderella because it seemed like she got everything due to her fairy godmother. That’s thankfully not the case in Cinder – Linh Cinder remains hard-working but is a much more strong-willed and independent character. I also really liked that Meyer made Cinder a mechanic, which is a career you don’t see too many females in.

Although I guessed the major twists early on, it was fun to see how Meyer made this re-telling of Cinderella truly her own. For example, Cinder meets the charismatic and attractive Prince Kai way before she actually goes to the ball; and so by the time the ball arrives, the two are already friends. Thus, there’s a gradual development of attraction and both remain aware that Kai is a prince who is responsible for running the Eastern Commonwealth.

A spellbinding story that will have you craving the next book in the series, Meyer’s debut is not to be missed!

Cinder will be released on January 3, 2012 by Feiwel & Friends. 

Comments About the Cover: I think the red shoe is really eye-catching and like how the cover subtly hints that Cinder is a cyborg. Cinder’s shoe also kind of looks like the glass slipper and so it instantly makes you think of Cinderella.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group) for free via NetGalley.