Ratings661
Average rating4
Good book. Kind of predictable but I like the world Meyer created. I'll probably read the next one in the series.
Freaking loved this book from beginning to end, couldn't put it down. Excited to read the rest.
This is a fun light read. It's a cool twist on a classic fairytale. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to start the next book.
I know I'm like the last person on the planet (though not the moon) to read this one, but for the record, I dug the shit out of it! Really cool worldbuilding with a great cyborg protagonist. Makes good use of Cinderella's ~totally unfair~ vibe in a very satisfying way.
Ends on the kind of cliffhanger that made me want to immediately pick up the next book! (Unlike the kind of cliffhanger ending some books have where I just want to read the Wikipedia summary so I can find out what happens without having to actually read another book.)
Recommended for fans of fairy tale retellings, sci-fi fans in general, and cyborgs.
Really surprisingly well written for something I'd written off as stupid new YA fiction when I first saw it. Clearly you really can't judge a book by its cover because I'm now obsessed with the Lunar Chronicles.
This and other reviews can be found at my blog, Pages of Starlight.
“For starters, I just spent my life savings on a foot. But even if I did have money, why would I spend it on a dress or shoes or gloves? What a waste.”
Is there something wrong with me? Is there? I wanted to love this book as much as everyone else. Instead I have a book that the longer I'm away from, the more ire I have for it. And believe me, I had enough - and enough sheer boredom - when I was reading it. I might be convinced to read the next in the series because, because Little Red. Excuse me me now while I curl up in the corner and let my depressive funk overtake me.
Okay, okay, I latched on to this book because (I mean, seriously) a cyborg Cinderella! How cool is that? And, honestly, this part of the story was done so well. You see, Cinder is a cyborg in more than just name. She has a processor connected to her brain. There's always ‘netscreens' coming up in her retina. She cannot cry because she has no tear ducts. She cannot blush because certain systems click on/off to prevent her from overheating. A orange light flashes in her vision when someone lies.
In short, you are never allowed to forget that Cinder is not fully human. That was great. However, part of the reason you're not allowed to forget she'd human is because she won't let you. Cinder has this borderline self-pity thing going on. She hates being a cyborg. Of course, this could possibly be because the way most people treat her that know she's a cyborg (but more on that later). I do think I would have found Cinder a more relatable character had she enjoyed what she was a bit more - after all, the excitement of a cyborg character was what drew my attention. (Oh, yeah, about the twist concerning Cinder... I saw it coming so far off that I just wanted it out in the open.)
The setting itself is a sci-fi, future tech Asia. Very cool although not so inventive if you watch as many anime's as I do. In fact, I had such problems at the start of this book because of that that, even though the city name is New Beijing, I kept imagining a more Japanese culture than Chinese. That was doubtlessly just my own little problem, but I was all set to give this major kudos for the inventive setting until I realized that it's not really so unusual. For books, however, it is something that I personally have never experienced before, so still a thumb up for that. (I did read the author interview in the back of my copy and, surprise, surprise, Marissa is indeed an anime fan.)
What I don't understand was why the society hated and reviled the cyborgs so much. They are basically being used as lab rats - tested on and killed - to save the ‘humans' from this plague. The cyborgs can contract the disease and, from everything I've heard, they die horribly. There is even a ‘cyborg draft' to give the future version of the CDC new test subjects. (I will mention that, at almost the end of the book, there was a rather...unpleasant explanation as to why there was a cyborg draft in the first place. I could understand it - but it also kind of made me sick.) Sometimes cyborgs will willingly volunteer. No matter how the cyborg finds themselves a lab rat, their family is given some money. Through all this, cyborgs are still hated by the ‘normal humans'.
I'm sorry, what? You have these people that still behave as people in mind and heart - and usually look quite human on the outside - being given a disease strain for which there is no cure, in the hopes of finding a cure, and the general populace still hates them. They even believe it is suitable for creatures that are obviously no longer human. I do understand that this isn't a pretty world - it has it's own share of problems - but if you're not going to explain why this society behaves this way, it just doesn't work for me. Honestly, in this world, if you were injured badly enough to die if you didn't get mechanical parts - you'd have to choose between death and general disgust. And don't even get me started on people that would choose to be a cyborg just to replace a missing foot and - whatever else it was that that guy had - to be merely six percent cyborg.
Cyborgs are fairly common from the sounds of it so I cannot imagine why they are still so stigmatized. What happened? Did the first cyborgs go on a rampage - unable to handle the mechanical parts connecting to the organic of their bodies - and now it's been ingrained into the human mind to loathe them? What? What happened?
After awhile, I realized another issue with this story. I couldn't see it. I couldn't see the city. I couldn't see Cinder. I couldn't see the prince. And that was all because no time was spent describing anything. Actually, the city did have brief moments - like the sun breaking through the clouds and shining on a little plot of land - and you could almost picture the place.
Honestly, I had a better mental image of the villainess than I did Cinder or the prince. As for Cinder... Was her hair color even mentioned once? All I knew about her was that she had long hair that she wore in a ponytail sometimes. To be fair, her clothing too was roughly outlined. All I could tell you about Kai's looks was that he had dark hair with bangs. In a particularly uncharitable moment, I wondered if it was one of those bowl type haircuts.
Besides my inability to see the people/setting, I never really connected to them. Cinder was a rather dry main character. The only times I found her very likable was when she was talking to Kai, Peony and Iko - the rest of the time I was rather indifferent to her. I wasn't really rooting for her to succeed. I was just reading her story.
The romance was...cute, but it fit in with fairytales too well. I know, I know, this is a fairytale retelling, so what did I expect? Well, you see, I can handle this type of budding romance when it is in a fairytale. We expect the romance to be rather insipid (or at least, I do) and too quick. I don't expect a well rounded fairytale romance - but I do expect one in my books. There is over three hundred pages to this book and I still don't feel the romance. It felt convenient. Cinder fell in love with the prince because... Well, because he was the prince and every girl (and a certain android) was in love with him. Kai fell in love with Cinder because... Uh, did he fall in love with her? I remember him showing an interest in her, but that seemed to be only so he could avoid all the crazy girls that ‘loved' him. He showed no interest in Cinder except as means to an end. Or, perhaps, as a friend - something I believe he had none of.
Which leads me to the fact that this is a fairytale retelling. I will admit that this is only the second one I've ever read, so... Maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about. Or maybe this genre isn't for me. I felt as though the fairytale aspects just didn't work. They felt crammed in, forced to fit where they really didn't. The world was interesting on its own, but the Cinderella additions just felt stilted.
I feel like I should complement something. Now, this will be a backhanded complement if I've ever given one, but... The writing was nice. Even though I couldn't see things, the story was easy to follow. There were no confusing moments, though I think my eyes probably glazed over a bit from all the techno-babble. That happens to me sometimes and it's certainly not commentary on how interesting the technology was because, even though it was not described as well as I might have liked, it was some of the most interesting stuff in this story.
Ultimately, this book was just too dry and sterile for me. I know I didn't laugh once during this book and I don't believe it even got a chuckle out of me. (If it did, it was at that quote at the top of this review.) I seldom felt any emotional connection to the characters - and the only times (twice, I think) it happened was for Prince Kai. He was trying his best to take care of his people and keep them safe and he had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. I do, honestly, like those type of rulers. For me though, the story just felt emotionless - even when there should have been emotion. Maybe it's because our main narrator cannot demonstrate emotion like most humans. Whatever the reason, I felt a perpetual disconnect from the characters.
Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.
I enjoyed the book, it definitely kept me interested, but I didn't experience the same amazement as a lot of the people on Goodreads.
Having read 62% of book last night, I replied to Oana that I really loved some of the concepts in it. I though they were quite ingenious, compared to most YA literature. I could have easily adored this book just from the feeling of the first few pages.
I found the take on cyborgs and technology refreshing and I had no complaints about the writing. I liked the fact that the science fiction parts are entwined with fantasy. But I was not a fan of the chemistry between Kai and Cinder or should I say the lack of it. I thought the whole deal was very insta-lovey,and a very bad, bad one for its kind. I know that in fairy tales the “insta” is always present, but I wish Cinder would have detached itself from “Cinderella” regarding this aspect. Since the author decided to go with Cinder being a greasy mechanic, I would assume the most logical thing would have been to get them together more often, to have a chance to talk and discover each other.
By the end of the book I found a few more things that ate away at me. I thought that everything happened in such a short amount of time. The characters needed to be more fleshed out. I needed more time to know about Cinder's life with her family, with the work as a mechanic. How did she end up in this field anyways? I needed more depictions of the “New Beijing” life. More details about the Lunars. More about their special ability.
I also needed to understand why on Earth was the prince so attracted to her after talking for like 3 minutes on three occasions. And I was kind of annoyed at times with both Cinder's and the prince's immaturity. They both kept making such weird, silly, rash decisions. Could you please pause for a moment and think it over, OK? I liked that Kai stood up to the Queen, but he could learn a thing or two about diplomacy. And Cinder kept “forgetting” to fix Kai's android that it made it so unrealistic. If the prince tells you to fix the android, you fix it!
And then I just can't figure out why on Earth wouldn't the doctor just tell her she might be you know what and you know who. It was so frickin' obvious. I saw that coming from the first mention of you know who. He just kept telling her, stay away from the queen. Well maybe, just maybe she would have listed to you if you would have told her the whole truth.
And the ballroom scene was so sad and just pity worthy. Was that kiss supposed to be romantic, cause it looked kinda pathetic to me. I really wanted Cinder to be this ballsy heroine, but for a cyborg and a mechanic she was all gooey inside so many times. Please, YA heroines, can you please fall in love and remain kick-ass and maintain your instinct of self-preservation at the same time? Pretty please?
I'm confused. And disappointed. There's so much love for this book and so much hype around it that I guess I was kinda expecting to be blown away. Especially because Cinder was so full of potential, it does have some really cool ideas and I could really see this as a great novel, with some adjustments. But I'm not sorry I read it.
P.S. And I really did not get why she needed to rebuild a car running on fossil fuel to be able to get out of the Commonwealth? Especially not after the doctor sent her money. And I'm also not happy that there is no mention as to why the “cyborgs” had to belong to other humans, like androids. Why, why, why?
I thoroughly liked this book! it had a nice twist on the Cinderella story. I enjoyed figuring out the parallels, but it also made the book pretty predictable, which is why I gave it 4 stars. I totally called the big plot twist at the end when I was less than 100 pages into the book. other than being predictable, I liked the writing and I will be continuing the series!
Interesting twist on the Cinderella story. I enjoyed the futuristic bent! The story took a while to get off the ground, as do many new series. The amount of closure at the end was just enough to frustrate you and encourage further reading of the Lunar Chronicles. Time to go search out the next book!
I recently finished this book for the second time (September 16, 2015, since GR won't let me record more than one finish date) as an audiobook, to test out my audiobook skills. They're still terrible.
This book remains a 3-star. I liked Cinder, and I really liked Dr. Erland. I could have done with less mooning over Price Kai by everyone. There was also one particular line I didn't like (paraphrasing): “If not for her unruly hair, she would have been pretty”. If only you would comb your hair, Cinder/disembodied narrator would have found your appearance pleasing! Also the whole Disney/fairy tale trope of good people being pretty and bad people being ugly. Queen Levana is using glamour to convince people that she's good looking, because she's evil, and therefore can't possibly be good looking on her own.
I'm definitely going to read the next one.
I really enjoyed this book. Its kinda a re-telling of cinderella but with cyborgs and scifi. Its a really neat concept (and I personally never wanted to be a cyborg more, even though they are so hated).
I loved all the characters, they all had that right sort of believability.
I would highly recommend this to everyone. I had a very hard time stopping when I got to work.
The first time I sat down to read this book, I stopped a few chapters in and put it away. The plot seemed too obvious and the characters too flat. I picked it back up a few weeks later and enjoyed it much more. It's still a pretty simple book and the supposed plot twist was obvious from miles away; the characters don't have much of an arc and the love story is pretty bland, but despite all that it was an entertaining read. If you're looking for something deep and thought provoking, this isn't your book. But if you'd like something that's fun and a quick, easy read, this is a good choice.
I am torn. I loved the ideas but was disappointed at how unexplored the author left some of them. My biggest problem is that the “big revelation” can be guessed extremely easily and very early on. This takes a lot of wind out of the plot's sails. However, I did enjoy myself a lot reading this fast-paced, fresh take on the Cinderella story and will be back for the second volume in the Lunar Chronicles.
Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/marissa-meyer-cinder/
I really wish someone would have told me this book was going to be a part of a series because I might have not read it then. The problem for me in this book was that by the time I was completely engrossed in this novel it was almost over and then it just ended. I also found it difficult to get interested in this novel as I don't know to much about China and I fin I don't generally enjoy novels set in Asia, for some weird reason. Anyways, overall this book is an interesting retelling of Cinderella and in the end I did find myself enjoying it. I will definitely be checking out the next book, as I now have to find out what's going to happen :p
Meet Cinder, a cyborg mechanic making a living in the streets of New Beijing. She ‘earns' her keep by repairing items, under the eye of her evil stepmother. Cinder is quite used to her stepmother's cruel treatment, but everything changes when Peony, her stepsister, falls to a mysterious illness–and Cinder takes the blame. With the Prince suddenly visiting her shop and mysteries not only concerning her world, but past, she is pulled into a whole different life . . .
At first, Cinder by Marissa Meyer seems to have it all—a retelling of the classic Cinderella as a cyborg mechanic, set in future Beijing, the pretty cover—what more could you ask for?
Two words: world-building.
In every dystopia, creating the world the reader lives is probably one of the most important things to do. Scratch that—the most important thing. Why? For starters, when people want to see the future, they want to see changes from their everyday lives. Explanations are also a must. I mean, I don't think you'd believe right away that zombies feed on popcorn without any scientific evidence. Unfortunately, when I began settling myself into the 390 pages of Cinder, I found myself not reading the story for the plot and world, but for the characters. A big dystopia no-no.
As an example, one thing that I wanted to see were more Chinese references. It's a bit of a shame though, since living in a Chinese community, I felt like some of the customs could've been easily inserted here and there throughout the story. The only things I saw related to their culture were the emperors, the marketplace, and the names of the characters. I found the emperor part a bit sketchy too, since now, China has become a Communist country. If there was a reason that they reverted back to their old ways, I would've wanted to hear it.
It's not only that. Remember what I said about explanations? Yeah, that was my second pet-peeve. Aside from the part when Cinder first meets the doctor and learns about the reason for the chip in her spine and the bioelectricity detecting reason for the withholding for her abilities, I felt like I wasn't learning much about the story. Take the Lunars. All I got from them was that they were originally humans from the moon, but over the years, they evolved and gained superpowers, and they've turned insane and their goal is to take over the whole Earth.
Yeah, that's great. Don't bother to write complex plots. Just fill in the basic information, so that the readers will buy the next book, desperate to find out more. Or at least that's what will happen in my case.
Meyer does a great job on playing the angles for the characters though,. At once, I support Cinder, love Iko, and sympathize with the struggles of the emperor's son, Kai. I loathed Cinder's stepmother, felt the loss of Peony, and get creeped out at the Lunar queen's actions. Wow. Only a total psychopath would want to destroy the ‘useless' people. Along the way, I at least snickered when the comedic scenes came by (well, Peony's words did annoy a bit by the end) and adored the romance between Cinder and Kai. Not seeing any ‘omigosh I love you, let's make out ‘cause our love is forbidden' kind of jumbo here. Thank God for that.
The Cinderella tale was almost non-existent. While I would've wanted to see more scenarios interpreted, I'm glad that it gave it some sort of twist as opposed to just sticking rigidly to the story. However, it's also a neutral zone for me.
The plot wasn't exactly riveting to be honest. From the first sixty or so pages, I predicted a couple of things that were going to happen. All of them came true, except for one, which was admittedly a bit far-fetched. Two of them were cliché. I don't know if this is because I'm used to knowing the ‘twists and turns' due to my obsession with reading, but they weren't so hard to guess. For people who love to be puzzled while reading, this book isn't for you. The science-fiction part was a bit interesting—but not riveting either. The additions like the memory chips and such were okay, but nothing out of the box that made me go, “Wow! This is awesome!”
Overall, although this might be a hit with the mainstream readers, it didn't work out for me. If the dystopia was built up in this book and the events harder to guess, this might've been a three-starred book for me. Since it wasn't, hence, the score. Nevertheless, if you're in a bookstore waiting for someone to appear, just sit down and read a copy of Cinder—it's good for passing time, but not worth buying a hardcover of.
In A Nutshell
Despite the lack of surroundings, I didn't hate Cinder, and I'm sure that others will find this interesting. The main idea and the easy flow of Meyer's writing will keep most people hooked. I guess it just wasn't the right book for me. Two-point-five-stars.
It is true that I am drawn to the retelling of fairy tales in an almost magnetic fashion. There is something about taking some that has been hashed and rehashed so many times, and still finding the ability to add something new, that makes me smile. That is why when I found out about Cinder, it instantly rose to the top of my reading list. What Marissa Meyer has done with the story of Cinderella is truly magical. Take a story about a fairy tale princess, add in cyborgs, androids and alien races, and you have a book that captured my imagination. Is it steampunk? Is it a fairy tale? I think it's both.
At the heart of everything is the basic story line of the original fairy tale. Cinder is a character that was orphaned, and is now being raised by her stepmother and stepsisters. She does in fact do the majority of the work around the house, as well as running the family business to bring in money. However, that's where most of the blatant similarities end. In Meyer's story our princess is anything but a wilting flower. Cinder is tough. She's stubborn and willing to work hard for what she wants. She's witty, and her charisma flows off the page. In fact, Cinder has no idea at all that she is a princess. To her, life is all about working hard for her dream. Nothing else matters.
That is, until Prince Kai comes along. Oh, Kai. I swoon for this gorgeously portrayed prince. If ever there were a princely figure to fall in love with, it would be him. Kai is young, and being pushed into becoming emperor sooner than he'd like. However he takes it all in stride and so graciously. Even when Meyer mentions his worry, Kai finds a place in himself that he draws a smile from. He is the type of character that it is entirely impossible not to fall in love with. Paired with Cinder, the two of them shine.
The world that Cinder and Kai inhabit is beautifully rendered and immersive. Although there are ties to our current Earth, things on their world are still vastly different. Androids are a commonplace part of daily society. Lunars, or the society of people who come from the moon, are in terse negotiations with the people of Earth. Everything is so new and fresh. The one thing that boggled my mind was simply why Cinder was so afraid of people finding out that she was a Cyborg. I kind of hoped that at this point in society people would be accepting of them. Still, it's likely an important part of the story that just hasn't been revealed yet. I believe it. Cinder is a complicated character, and I love her for it.
Although the first half of the book was a little slow for me, I soon became intensely invested in Cinder and Kai's story. Marissa Meyer has created something amazing with this retelling. If you too are a fan of the retelling of fairy tales, give Cinder the top spot on your reading list! If this is the first time you're delving into this part of fiction, this book is a great place to start. Part steampunk. Part science fiction. All fairy tale romance. Cinder is a wonderful book, and I cannot wait for more!
I really enjoyed this. It felt so original, I forgot I was reading a retelling of Cinderella. Better review later....