Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

Despite being based on one of the most famous romantic fairy tales of all time, Cinder by Marissa Meyer proves to be a fresh and exciting read for readers of all sorts. I love to read, but I'm a slow reader and a reader that needs real excitement in order to finish a book. That said, I'm happy to report that I finished this book in two days. This means, I REALLY liked it.Cinder starts off quickly and the easy, swift pacing is held throughout the book. I'm also not usually a fan of sci-fi stories, finding them hard to relate to and get lost in, but Meyer does a fantastic job of creating a vivid reality of Cinder's world while still keeping the book easy to follow and absorb. What's more, the author seems to make Cinder's world so real by creating unique technology that is still easy for us to relate to. For example, in Cinder's world they rely on "portscreens" and "netscreens" for communication, news, etc. I found it realistic and easy to imagine these things as future advancements on tablet computers and our modern flatscreen TVs and computers. It's very easy to see Cinder's life in New Beijing as a very realistic possibility for earth's future. This makes the sci-fi aspect of the book easier to handle for folks like me, who usually are lost in sci-fi fantasy.Cinder's story is very much like the classic Cinderella in many ways, she has an evil stepmother who keeps her as a slave, two stepsisters, and an uncertain past. When her paths cross with Prince Kai, Cinder is thrust into an unlikely romance. I have read a few reviews here that criticize the ease and "love at first sight" quality to Kai's attraction to Cinder. To this I have to say, come on, this is the retelling of a fairy tale! It's supposed to be "love at first sight" and "true love", and the reader should be expecting this. Much to my pleasant surprise, while Kai is immediately smitten with Cinder, she--on the other hand--does NOT turn into some swoony, pathetic girl in love with the handsome prince (I'm talking to you, Bella Swan). Thank you, Marissa Meyer! Too many heroines of the popular young adult novels feature whiny, weak girls for young readers to look up to. While Kai is the charming, strong hero I look for in a romantic book, Cinder is refreshingly intellectual and thoughtful.I think many teen readers will enjoy and relate to the character of Cinder because, despite being cyborg (human with artificial body parts), she is a very real character to read. She is teased and mocked by her enemies because of her artificial body parts, and seeing how so many teens (and adults, too) struggle with self-image, I think Cinder is a heroine MANY will so easily relate to. She struggles to love herself at times, because of her cyborg parts and her downfalls, but when it really counts Cinder stands up for herself. I love this!The pacing throughout all 38 chapters is swift and kept me unable to put my Kindle down until I finished this story, so readers in need of excitement and romance will definitely be happy with this read. Cinder's story is full of a few surprises and twists, though it also has a few non-surprises, at the end we are left with a cliffhanger. This is one difference from the classic Cinderella story. Cinder's first book does not leave us with a "happily ever after" complete with a bow. Instead, we are still hopeful for that "happily ever after", but it's obvious there is more in store for Cinder and Kai before that is even possible. This was fine by me, however, seeing as I rushed through the book so quickly, I'm excited to read more of what happens to Cinder and Kai and I'm hoping Meyer can deliver as well as she did with this first book!Finally, as a mother of two young daughters, I'm very happy to say that this book gets the mom seal of approval from me! Cinder is not without it's dark and intense moments, but Meyer respectfully wrote a clean (I'm talking language and intimacy) book that I would definitely share with a reader even as young as 10. Too many young adult books have been showing up on shelves lately, full of cursing and promiscuity. It's nice to see an author finally show her talent without trying to sellout to what the publishing world seems to THINK teens want/need in a book. Which reminds me, the writing was clear, concise, and impressive. I would compare it to the style of Suzanne Collins of the famous Hunger Games books. Meyer clearly has talent.I would absolutely recommend this fresh new novel to the young readers, AND adult readers who are interested in any mixture of adventure, fairy tales, sci-fi, and romanticism. I think it's a fun, fascinating read, and it kept me on edge for most of the book. I'm very much looking forward to the release of Meyer's next book--let's hope it doesn't take too long!

Ten Likes/Dislikes1. (+) Cinder, the protagonist - snarky and strong but realistic. I loved that this book was more of a story of Cinder coming unto herself than anything else. It made me like her much more as a character too to see her struggling with what she is. Also, her strength is to be admired, because even though she goes through some incredibly tough situations, she doesn't break down. She also doesn't do anything immature even though she's clearly provoked by the stepmother. A teenage protagonist for the older crowd.2. (+) The World-Building - loved the world-building! Lunars vs. Earthens and the Lunars's powers as well as their government and history, leutomosis and the research facilities, the ID chips, New Beijing and the market place, the emperor and the traditions, the way the Earthen government became the Union... I want to know more... particularly how the Lunars became so cruel.3. (+) The Romance - it was nice, and I liked that the Prince seemed to like her for she who is and her mechanic tendencies, and I enjoyed them having their little chats--the Prince talking a lot about what's going with the realm... but I think I would've liked more of an explanation. Cinder is "easy to talk to," yes, but that's not unique enough for me. I want to hear more from Prince Kai. For one, it almost seemed unprofessional of him to be telling Cinder as much as he did. I get that he's not that old yet and hasn't really led anyone, but he surely should know that revealing that much isn't right. And secondly, of all the things to say about Cinder, he says "easy to talk to?" There must be thousands of girls who chase after him; I doubt that he can't find another one who's also easy to talk to.... But I really liked Kai as a romantic lead and since this is the first book and Meyer is setting up the romance for the next three books, I thought that she did a pretty decent job with it. It seems like it'll be slow-burning romance and happily it was not one based on love-at-first-sight or anything like that.4. (--) Character Stereotypes - I know it's a fairy tale and she's following it but she didn't need to make them so much like the stereotypes... the stepmother and stepsister really bothered me - they were clearly cut from the fairy tale, and honestly they didn't seem like real characters/people to me because of that.5. (--) Not Enough Reflection - There was a part of me that wondered why Cinder could still feel emotion. First off, it's the first cyborg book I've ever read... and secondly, when I saw how much machine invaded the human, I thought... well... why? Are there ever times when she can't feel emotion? She can't blush or cry and there are temperature controls and whatnot, but I wanted to know more. How does being a cyborg affect her? Is it really just the inconvenience and the second citizen-ness? (And something else which I won't spoil for you)... Other than that, Cinder's perfectly normal? No super strength or?6. (+) The Take on the Fairy Tale - That was a pretty funny take on Cinderella's ball and the lost slipper. I didn't completely see that one coming. Really loved the ball scene in general.7. (+) Predictability - In this case, I think the predictability worked for Cinder. It was obvious what the big reveal was going to be, but the tension of not knowing how that would fit in this new mold carried me through the novel. If you're someone, though, who gets annoyed with knowing what's going to happen, maybe this isn't the book for you then.8. (+) Pacing - Pretty fast-paced and enjoyable to read because of that. Book was split into four parts but each part was appropriately paced.9. (+) The Writing - Her writing is pretty seamless. It didn't strike me but it didn't pull me out of the story. Occasionally you hear from both Kai and Cinder, and though their voices didn't seem that different, it was nice getting to see the world from both their viewpoints (especially getting to read about the villain from Kai. The villain is top-notch, dangerous, and realistic because of how much she believes in what she's doing... Her minion, meh. But I suppose that's something to find out later.)10. (+) The Cover - Captures both the essence of Meyer's take on Cinderella and the original fairy tale.I really loved Marissa Meyer's world-building, and all in all, Cinder was a fun spin on a classic fairy tale. I'll likely keep my eye out for the sequel and recommend this book to all fairy tale lovers.

I loved the variety of characters and plot of this book. Definitely one of my favorites in the twisted fairytale genre! Highly recommend, and easy to follow. Read for inspiring girl power and crazy giggles over drama and love!

La portada es preciosa, me llego en muy pocos dias y en buenas condiciones. Solo me falta leerlo. <3

Não sei como essa série não teve maior repercussão no Brasil! A construção do plot é impecável e todos os acontecimentos são muito bem costurados uns nos outros, além de ter a relação dos personagens muito bem desenvolvida e crível. Não sou fã de releituras mas essa série é uma exceção. A edição é linda, o livro chegou em *quase* perfeito estado porque não estava embalado em plástico (só dentro da caixa de papelão) mas não é um problema pra mim.

Interesante

Title: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)Author: Marissa MeyerPublisher: PuffinEdition: KindleAmount of Pages: 404Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction,Date Read: 03-01-2020 - 04-01-2020Favorite Quote: “Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.”Review:This is the first book I've finished this year! I started another one but I had to put it on hold. I didn't know what I wanted to read and seen many people post about this book so I've decided to give it at try. It's definitely not what I would normally read but it was a good story non the less.What is this book about:This book is set somewhere in the future. There have been two more world wars and cyborgs and androids are a real thing now. They are hover treated as second class citizens.Cinder is a cyborg, she lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. You can totally see the Cinderella vibe hanging around there. Anyhow Cinder is a gifted mechanic. One morning at work the prince of the commonwealth (new Beijing) drops off an android for her to fix. They talked a bit and Cinder expected not to see him again. That's not what happened though. A plague is spreading all over the world, taking lives left and right. Cyborgs are being drafted left and right in order to try and find a cure. Something Cinder really doesn't want to happen, however certain events don't give her much of a choice.If that isn't bad enough, the species that live on the moon, called lunar, are closing in on earth, well their evil queen is. Cyborgs, the plague, and a inevitable war? Things sure aren't boring, that's for sure.What did I like about this book:I liked the retelling of the Cinderella story. It gave it a nice twist but also kept allot of the same elements. It made the story quite predictable though. There where no surprises I didn't see coming in this book.I found the story interesting and I would definitely read the rest of the books to see how it all turns out but I didn't love it. I didn't find it an amazing story. It just isn't a 100% my thing anymore. Overall it was an enjoyable story though.Rating:3 1/2 I liked it Stars