I've heard nothing but good things about this book so I had to read it. Even though I wasn't interested because of the cyborg aspect, it's a nice refresher to read something I don't typically read about. This is Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and the synopsis is provided by Goodreads:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the 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.
Reference:
I've seen this book in the bookstore, however the reason I decided to actually read it was because of all the good reviews I've read from book blogs.
Review:
(safe for those who haven't read this book yet)
I love the world-building in this novel. The exoskeleton molds the countries and alliances to the modern continents/ countries of the modern world but puts its own twist to them (a new calendar which makes this dystopian/non-dystopian world seem to be the Earth in a parallel universe. so cool!)
Yes, I'll admit that this book was hard to get into... try 167 pages hard, but once the boring first chapters were out of the way, the story really began to develop and open itself into the tensions between Cinder and those around her. And yes, the technical, mechanical aspects of this story were really hard to get into and understand (especially to a mechanical baby I am) but by the 167 page point I got used to it and it was a little easier to understand. If this book didn't take quite as long to get interesting, I would definitely have rated this 5 stars, but alas.
I have to say, I actually enjoyed Cinder's as the main character. As you may or may not know, I don't usually take well with the main character since in my opinion they tend to be overdramatic, but I felt Cinder was unique since she was a cyborg and had to deal with that side of her over the human side. And then Kai, what a babe! No wonder 200,000 girls fawn over him, he's not even real and I did! And the fact that he was so persistent with Cinder made it even more adorable. I found his humor in the story not only a defense mechanism, a greater look into his character, but it also kept an upbeat tone to the story where it seemed only anything wrong could happen to Kai or Cinder. Well, that isn't exclusive to Kai, Cinder and Iko were hilarious too, but it emulated his true personality more.
As for Ms. Meyer's writing style, I felt it paralleled with Cinder's character. It was mechanical, it was concise, it was clean and cut and right to the point (redundant and I apologize). Not that that's a bad thing, it's not, I felt it blended well with this futuristic world. I also enjoyed the structure of the story, separated into four books, each with it's own little "poem." It reminded me of the Night Circus.
But boy oh boy that ending! There's no doubt about it, I must get Scarlet, the sequel to this book! There isn't much I can say about this book, but it'd definitely be worth a read, just get past the first 167 pages first. ;)
I give this book 3/5 stars. I'd recommend it and I would read it again.
Author's Quote:
“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.”
― Marissa Meyer, Cinder
My Goodreads:
Next To Read:
Eon by Alison Goodman
River Song's Spoilers:
(unsafe for those who haven't read this book yet, so don't read this section)
Can someone explain to me the part near the end when Cinder dances with Kai and he "understands" what was wrong with Cinder, but then it turns out he didn't, he thought it was something else? Was it that Peony had died? Because it didn't make sense if you look back at their conversation.
When Peony died I nearly teared, I was like nooooooooooo! I was devastated and I loved when Cinder kept trying to get her to drink it. I think that was the moment that Cinder began to become more and more human. The grief that she was feeling wasn't hers to feel since she wasn't related to her by blood and had no obligation to her, but the fact that she cared so much to take out her ID chip because it belonged with her family, knowing that she could be arrested for such actions, really proved that she loved her. Oh and when Iko was disabled and taken apart, that was another tear-jerking moment. They were too close together.
Alright, when I read about the Princess Selene, I knew for a fact that it was Cinder. I read the sentence and 2.5 seconds later I was like, "watch it be Cinder." And lookie there in one of the last chapters look who it turned out to be, I'm so smart. ;)
Alright, when I read about the Princess Selene, I knew for a fact that it was Cinder. I read the sentence and 2.5 seconds later I was like, "watch it be Cinder." And lookie there in one of the last chapters look who it turned out to be, I'm so smart. ;)
Until Next Time,
Nicole Ciel
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