Cinder

Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

By: Marissa Meyer

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2012 Marissa Meyer (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Fun fairy tale

What a great way to weave a classic fairy tale into a futuristic story! Entertaining and engaging, I didn’t want to stop listening!

The Lunar Chronicles is one of my very favorites.

I have listend to the series multiple times and still love it! I love that the series is not full of bad language and schmutt.

Loved Every Minute!

I had read the Lunar Chronicles series years ago when they were released and loved them. I decided I wanted to re-read them, but came across the audio book and decided to give it a try. I absolutely loved the narration of this book. It is well done and the book flies by. The reader encapsulates each characters voice exactly how I would imagine it. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy, action and romance. I loved these when I was a teenager, but I also love them now. They still hold up and are a great choice if you’re looking to be invested in a series because you won’t want to stop at just the first book!

AMAZING

Very vague Cinderalla aspect, but it IS there. Very compelling story and characters! Predictable plot twist however.

MEEEEPPPP (read the caps if you don’t want spoilers☺️)

Okay so: the plot was kiiinnndddaaa predictable I mean it always said she felt like she was burning in her nightmares (and her room got burnt before she got outa there) and the name Cinder sounds soooo close🤷🏼 if you don’t read books you won’t understand what I’m talking about😋 anyway very happy literally punched my leg so hard multiple times in excitement coz I knew he was gonna say it. Thank you SOOOO FRIGGN MUCH THIS IS AN AWSOME BOOK AND IT MAKES SENSE TO MY STUPID DYSLEXIC BRAIN LOVE THIS BOOK DANKE!!!

The story was amazing

I loved the series overall and it's an amazing book the romance and action was amazing

Interesting & Refreshing

I don’t know why it took me so long to FINALLY start reading this series and I LOVE IT!! I am obsessed and cannot wait to read the rest of the series!! This is as so entertaining and such a cool take on the cinderella inspired story. I’d love to see this series made into a well done movie adaptation

Family friendly

My kids absolutely loved it, I hope the rest of the books are also suitable for children.

Surpised by how much I enjoyed it

I have to admit that when I first saw advertisements for Cinder, it didn’t inspire me to add it to my ‘To Read’ list. In fact, it wasn’t until the release day that I even looked at it on Goodreads. When I read the description, I still wasn’t sold, a cyborg Cinderella story set in Beijing sounded strange to me. That and I’m not really into Cinderella retellings. However, as I browsed reviews I started to change to my mind. People were raving about it and then I suddenly started to think, “Hmm, a cyborg Cinderella story set in Beijing could actually be interesting and out of the box. Why am I being so narrow minded?”

Then I saw that it was available on audiobook and my finger started moving closer to the Purchase button. Ever since I’ve signed up for the YA Audiobook Challenge, I’ve been eager to start marking off books. That settled it. Cinder went from no where near my To Read listen to my Currently Reading list in 2.5 seconds. And let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised and so happy that I pushed aside my hesitation to read/listen to a cyborg Cinderella story.

Set in a dystopian future in what is now called New Beijing, Cinder stars a teenage cyborg girl who has it very much like Cinderella. Cinder lives with her stepmother and step sisters who pretty much loathe her and blame her for everything, with the exception of her stepsister and friend Peony. She is a skilled mechanic and her talents are put to use by running an electronics repair shop and fixing whatever her stepmother wants fixed. The stepmother and stepsisters only focus is preparing themselves for the ball held by the handsome young Prince Kai of New Beijing.

There are occasional direct Cinderella references such as an old car that resembles a pumpkin, a cyborg foot that takes the place of a glass slipper, and a cute android that replaces friendly rodents that sing and dance and help Cinderella get ready for the ball. But the originality of these references is sweet and they bring a smile to your lips when you come across them. However, if you are hoping for a fairy godmother, you won’t find one in this version. And things don’t end fairytale perfect like they do for Cinderella.

The story line probably sounds pretty familiar to you and much of the plot keeps to the original story. Despite the similarities, there are many things that set this book apart from the original. The cyborg aspect, for one, adds a whole new dimension to Cinder’s character. At a young age, she was in a horrible accident leaving a majority of her body in disrepair. To keep her alive, Cinder was turned in a Cyborg. Although cyberization saved her live, she has new problems to face. Cyborgs are considered less than human and are often shunned by others. To maintain her body she must buy expensive parts, which upsets her stepmother.

In spite of being a cyborg, Cinder is a relatable heroine. She is kind, smart, unselfish, brave, yet makes typical teenage mistakes that only further diminish her not so wonderful life situation. You will find yourself rooting for her from beginning to end.

There is a cute semi-romantic relationship between Cinder and Prince Kai and one of the things I appreciated about their relationship is that it has time to develop. Kai’s character is very likeable. He is a noble Prince who has been forced to grow up fast but he takes his role in stride and is dedicated to helping his people. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders as he searches for the cure to a world wide plague, tries to alleviate tension between Earth and the Lunar.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. When this book was over, I literally cried out in frustration. I was not ready for it to be over and I wanted it to keep going. That’s a sign of a good book. Meyer sets up the end nicely for the next book and I can’t wait to find out with Cinder will do. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages. It’s a great read/listen.

Cinderella with resonance with Star Wars

You get the Cinderella story but better. All the portions of the story are well thought out so nothing feels contrived. Cinder and the prince get to know each other. There are good reasons for Cinder to keep some secrets from the prince. The prince has urgent needs for himself and the country. Cinder may be just what the prince needs, even though neither he nor Cinder realizes it. It is adventurous and adorable. Strong female lead. Touches all the key points of the fairy tale.