Friday, October 24, 2014

Mini Review: Cinder

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.

The fact that there were cyborgs and androids in this book had me dying to read it...the fact that it was a Cinderella retelling, not so much. Despite my great love for the genre of science fiction [I'm a total geek, what can I say?] and the fact that I've yet to really read a fairy tale retelling that I hadn't enjoyed was up against a serious enemy in the choice of retellings. You see, I've never really cared much for the fairy tale of Cinderella. The only version of it I've ever really been attached to is the movie version with Brandy and Whitney Houston. Aside from that, I've always thought it to be one of the more mundane fairy tales. I never wanted to be Cinderella, and as a shoe person I've always been a bit grieved by that whole leaving one behind thing. [Yes, that was a just a silly little joke. Never say I don't try to amuse you people!] But the hype has been insane for this book, and I can only resist cyborgs for so long. In fact, after about a page of Cinder I wish I had never resisted at all.

If you know where to look you can see the resemblances between the fairy tale and the retelling that Marissa Meyer has recreated, they aren't hidden too deeply, but they're altered just enough or turned just a smidge on their heads so that they're now and fun. Marissa Meyer did an amazing job of creating an engrossing world that you just couldn't wait to dive into. The world-building was simply fantastic, and I'm looking forward to even more in the next novels of the series. [Also, no info dumps!] Everything just seemed to flow so naturally.

As for the cast of characters, Cinder was amazing. And yet so hard for me to explain why. I mean, first off she was a cyborg which I found utterly fascinating. Even better yet she was a mechanic...which I guess you could say makes her self-sufficient in a way that you don't often find female characters...unfortunately. But I loved her voice. And I definitely want to know how she's going to get herself out of the situations of the first book in the progressing novels. Iko was my favorite character however; I have never met a sassy side character I didn't immediately adore and she was no exception to the rule. She makes me want an android of my very own. [You know, I do have a birthday coming up. Hint hint!]

I can honestly say that I am so very glad that I put the rest on hold at my library [I seem to be getting very good at this...but in this case I did it on the off chance that I would enjoy the first book in the series since they're all in such high demand at the same time that I checked out this first book.]

4.5/5

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