This is a new book, so it may seem a little early to put it in the favourites column, but as soon as I started it, I could tell it would end up there eventually. I was gripped from the first page and can’t wait for the rest of the series to be released (and written).
I heard about Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, through one of the many mailing lists I belong to that keep me up-to-date on all the children and teen books out there. I’ve been hearing good things about the book and the series, which all feature retellings of classic fairy tales. In later stories: Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Rapunzel. But Cinder is, you guessed it, based on Cinderella, except it’s sci-fi.
In Meyer’s interpretation of the tale, the main character, Cinder, is a cyborg, part human, part machine, and she is treated like a servant by her guardian and distrusted by most of the people she comes across. Her machine parts mark her as different, and she spends every day working as a mechanic to support her stepmother, a woman who hates Cinder and blames her for everything that has gone wrong in her life. When Cinder’s stepsister Peony, the only person who has ever showed her kindness or affection since the death of her stepfather, succumbs to the fatal disease that has been ravaging Earth for years, Cinder’s world is turned upside down. Her stepmother volunteers Cinder for medical experimentation, which means doctors will test potential cures for the plague on her. No cyborg has ever come back from these tests. But something is different about Cinder, and being experimented on is only the beginning.
This story sets up the series really well, creating a very interesting world that is completely absorbing. I was hungry for more details about how the world was organized. Why was there an Eastern Commonwealth? What had happened to change the world so dramatically? Why are humans so distrustful of the Lunars, the society that lives on the moon’s surface? You get some of the answers to these questions, but in providing them, Meyer only makes us yearn for more details, more information, more of the world!
This book would appeal to so many readers. Anyone who loves sci-fi will get a kick out of the cyborg story, but those who like dystopias will also find something in Cinder. It’s an adventure story with hints of romance. You have an interesting female protagonist, but you also get to know Prince Kaito, so it has a really balanced feel.
On an aesthetic point, I wasn’t a big fan of the cover illustration, but I loved the font that they used for the text (both cover and inside). When a book uses an unconventional font, I find it really helps create the perception that you are reading something new, interesting, and special. It helps, of course, if the story reinforces that idea, and Cinder did that for me. Like I said before, I am fascinated by this world.
Tell me what you guys think! Does this book sound interesting? Do you think you’ll read it? And based on the little thumbnail at the top of this blog post, what do you guys think of the cover?
-Valerie
It must be hard for an author with her last name, and a cover illustration that’s blatantly derivative of a more famous “Meyer,” to establish her individuality on the library shelves. Sounds like she manages, though!