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.
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In my version of Cinder, there's one quote: "THIS IS NOT THE FAIRY TALE YOU REMEMBER. BUT IT'S ONE YOU WON'T FORGET." I can never deny how true it is. You can never begin to imagine the awesomeness of this book until you read it. So go ahead, if you love sci-fi novels.
This book is the futuristic version of the age-old fairy tale, Cinderella. Her stepmother dominated Cinderella. Her sister despised her. And then a fairy godmother helped her to encounter the handsome prince and left a glass heel behind. And the prince find her using that heel and happy ever after. Lame story, right? But in this book, the fairy tale is turned into a heart-stopping modern tale. The plot is so similar to the original one yet so different.
Yep. There's Cinder. But she's not your delicate Cinderella. She's tough, like literally. She's a cyborg, after all. She's not that submissive girl you know in the original tale. She longs for freedom, and her actions is very obvious comparing to Cinderella. But she's not that different from Cinderella. She has a good heart. And she has a family like Cinderella. She still has to work for the
And then there's Prince Kai. He's not that prince either. There's not much about the prince in the original tale, though. Just that he was handsome and he wanted to find Cinderella like crazy. His first encounter with Cinder is so different. Not like the dreamy-ball-scene. And then he faces his own problems too (well, maybe not his OWN problem, but still). There's not much about Kai in the book, which is the only not-so-good part. But then, this book is called CINDER.
There's the
The romance is very different. Not like the love-on-the-first-sight kind in the original tale. And there's no big make-out scene or epic-love-confessions like typical YA novels. There are no real confession between Cinder and Kai. There are no making out scenes. And then there's only one single brief kiss, half of the purpose is because of appearance in front of the public. It's like they are just slightly more than friends. This kind of... I don't know, silent-romance or something? suits fine with the book. Great, actually. This is a book about androids and cyborgs, after all. Too much affection will definitely ruin the book. So Marissa Meyer's ability to control the amount of YA romance is to be appreciated.
On some level, this book is so similar to the original fairytale. Cinder's biological dad and mom is dead. And she has to work for Adri. And then there IS a ball. But it's so different on many level, which is why the book is epic as hell. Marissa Meyer successful combine the elements of the original tale and her new crazy ideas into one single book. It holds a strong echo of the original tale yet gives out fascinating futuristic elements like androids, cyborgs, and battle between two planets (Not the Star Wars kind, obviously. It's a YA novel, for crying out loud).
The book is not your typical fairy tale. I mean, there are no heart-stopping and breath-taking parts in the original tale. But there are plenty in Cinder. Not only does Cinder discover what she really is, but who she really is (Yep, you read it right. Spoiler: Who she is is way more important than what she is). But it's unforgettable. It's a tale you will always remember.
Rating: 8/10
Book Trailer of Cinder:
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