August 8, 2012

Put the Shoe on the Right (Mechanical) Foot • Cinder

Cinder book cover
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Source: Bought || Hardcover

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.


No one is more influential on my reading choices than my fellow book bloggers - and Cinder is a prime example. I finally bought and read this book after reading Tara's review, hearing some awesome feedback from Lena and finding out Magan would be reading it too.

I must say, you guys, that I cannot believe I waited so long to read this book! Cinder is magical and compelling.  The mere fact that it's a very creative retelling of Cinderella makes it even more awesome - drawing inspiration from any fairytale is enough to guarantee my interest in a book.

One of the things I loved most about Cinder were the characters. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love it when an author manages to flesh out a character enough for me to really fall in love. Marissa Meyer did such a wonderful job with her cast in this book!

Cinder, the title character, is so interesting to me, as she's a cyborg. I had a field day while reading, because both very sensitive topics (like about her ability to truly feel things) and very trivial topics (like whether or not getting wet would cause her to rust or getting too hot would cause overheating or a meltdown) would pop into mind every now and again. The conflict between the machine and the human parts of Cinder was of interest, as well as her stubborn persistence, incredible access to and utilization of knowledge and her loyalty to the ones she loved.

The other characters in the book were all vivid in my mind, as well, particularly Kai, Iko, Peony, Levana and Adri. I loathed Adri for how she behaved towards Cinder, and the way that she seemed so incredibly materialistic and concerned with appearances. I feared Levana because she seemed so incredibly powerful and intimidating; I was also angry with her because she was abusing her power. Peony was such a sweetheart and I adored her kind, thoughtful nature and her relationship with Cinder. Iko was so funny - I would love to have someone as entertaining as her in my life.

And Kai, well, he deserves his own paragraph, because he definitely made me swoon. There are just too many things for me to love about him - he's intelligent, brave, thoughtful, loyal, generous and kind. As much as Cinder fell for him, I did too - he's an incredible person, and I can't say more than that without spoiling a lot of the plot, so just trust me when I say Kai is totally crush-worthy.

It wasn't just the characters that I loved about Cinder, but the story as well. What Marissa Meyer did was clever and very creative; I was definitely pleasantly surprised at how she wove everything (the setting, the characters, the actual conflict) together in the end. It's hard to write about it without spoiling things, so I will just leave it at it was very well-done. I did guess one of the major twists very early on, but that definitely didn't deter me from loving this book.

There is one more thing that I want to mention - and that's how initially, the book seemed to be moving a little too slowly for my tastes. I'm happy that I persisted though because it got so good in the end. Just a little disclaimer: even if you think it starts out slow, just keep reading because it gets awesome

I wasn't expecting such a strong personal emotional response to the book - but the fact that Marissa Meyer was able to make me feel everything was definitely in its favor. As I declared on Twitter right after I finished reading, I truly believe Marissa Meyer deserves all the stars because this book is fantastic! There are so many aspects to please all kinds of people - romance, friendships, self-discovery, uncovering mysterious plots - that I think I will be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book. Cinder is one of my favorite reads of 2012, and if you're hesitating, I highly suggest you hesitate no longer and buy this book!

20 Comments:

  1. I actually read this book too! I loved it soo much. I can't wait to read 'Scarlett!' Awesome review. (:

    Anastasia @ http://characterized.blogspot.com/

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  2. so many ppl have read it
    i\m one of the very few that has. hides in a horner
    gr7 review ALEXA

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  3. I'm trying to buy this book but they were out at the bookstore when I went and there's 3(!) people in line ahead of me at the library!!! *hyperventilates* Lol. I feel like I'm one of the last people to read this. But I want to, so badly!

    Great review, too! I'm definitely with you about fairy tales. Even mention to me that a book maybe kinda slightly based off a fairytale-ish type thing and I'm already sold. Haha.

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  4. I've been hearing about this book for a while now but I've always been hesitant to read it. I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole Cinderella cyborg thing. But after reading your review.. I think I will definitely have to give it a try!!

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  5. Oh my, I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book so much!! I agree that it was SO CLEVERLY done. I loved the mash-up of all the genres. I can't wait for the next book to come out. Honestly, though, I read this one when I was doing book tours, so I read it back in like January. It's been SO LONG that I'll definitely have to re-read it again before I read Scarlet. Great review! Everytime I see that someone loves this one I get all excited because it deserves all the positives!!

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  6. This is such a beautiful review, Alexa! I really liked the characters in this book too, especially in terms of Cinder's humanity. I thought this was a really creative premise but unfortunately, as cool as it sounds, the world building fell a bit flat for me. I believe that Scarlet will be even better though and I can't wait to read it!

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  7. Gosh, Alexa! This book! This book! Probably one of my favorites this year. I need a finished copy of it pronto. I loved absolutely everything about it! So glad we were book reading twins so we could chat when we were done. :)

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  8. YES! I can't wait to read this! Especially now that I finally have the book! :)

    Great review, Alexa!

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  9. Yay! So glad you loved Cinder! It's definitely one of my 2012 favorites as well, and I agree with everything you said, especially that there are elements in this book capable of pleasing almost everyone! Great review!

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  10. Another book and writer to put on my TBR list. :-)

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  11. I liked this book as well. It really is so creative and gave the Cinderella story a mind of it's own. I did the audio version and it has a really great narrator. I've never really wanted an ARC of a book so badly until after I finished this and realized I'd have to wait a year for Scarlett.

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  12. This makes me smile so hard :) So thrilled you enjoyed the book and can't wait to hear your thoughts on Scarlet!

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  13. Fabulous review, Alexa!
    I borrowed Cinder earlier this year from the library and it was one of those books that after reading it, I immediately had to own a copy. Not only is it a beautiful book physically (have you seen the Spanish version?), but it's an awesome story. I love fairytale retellings and Marissa Meyer made this one so much more than just a retelling, it's a whole other world ;)
    I'm so glad you enjoyed Cinder as much as you did!

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  14. Great review! I love how this wasn't just a typical fairy tale retelling--it was complex in so many ways from the plot to the characters. Such a good book!

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  15. I loved Cinder! I loved the cyborg part of the story, especially the way Meyer wrote her interface reads into the story! I can't wait for Scarlet!

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  16. I just finished reading Cinder and it was so good! I cant believe I waited so long to read it, but in the plus side I don't have to wait so long for Scarlet now!

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  17. I LOVED this book! It took me awhile to actually read it because of the whole cyborg thing. Part of me is glad because now I don't have to wait quite as long to read Scarlet, but the other part of me cannot believe I waited so long!

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  18. I really want to read this one. I love Cinderella themed stories!

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  19. This review really makes me want to finally get my hands on a copy of Cinder. Obviously I haven't read it yet but I feel like I'm really missing out now! I've been hearing amazing things about Cinder and Scarlet so I really need to get on it! Thanks for the great review!

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  20. Still on the shelf about this. I'm not sure about fairytale retellings.

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