Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles
Genre: YA, Contemporary, YA sci-fi and fantasy, Fairytale retellings
Release Date: 2012-2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Cinder
CINDER is a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. It follows a teenage cyborg mechanic named Cinder, who lives in New Beijing. The prince needs her assistance on fixing an android, and takes an interest in Cinder. The world is experiencing a new plague outbreak and the Emperor has fallen ill, and the country is becoming desperate for a cure. All the while, the Lunar people on the moon are keeping a close eye on everything happening on Earth. As Cinder learns more about who she is and where she came from while more and more people are falling ill from Letumosis, things get even more complicated between Cinder and Prince Kai as he is forced to make tough decisions.
I don’t know what I expected out of thisbook, just that I have had it sitting on my shelf (signed!) for a few years without having ever picked it up. While on vacation on the Nothern California Coast this weekend, I picked up Cress at the cutest bookstore, and once I returned home I finally felt like reading Cinder.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an easy, fast-paced read. I read part as an audio book (which I recommend, Rebecca Soler does a fantastic job), and the other parts with the physical copy on my breaks at work. I have been reading a lot of YA contemporary and romance, so CINDER was refreshing.
The only thing that could be annoying to some people is that the twist is really predictable, in addition to the majority of the story being familiar as it is a retelling after all.
I also loved how Marissa Meyer set this story in a futuristic China, because it is true that the earliest known version of Cinderella is from China.
Last year at the University of Washington I took a class on fairytales, and I LOVE retellings/reimaginings of classic tales. Something that Marissa Meyer did well was that although there is a slight bit of romance in the story, it still has a lot of tension and conflict(with Cinder’s family, step mother, etc., and with the Lunar Queen Levana). It is not a cute-sy love story as Disney likes to tell it, which is great because the real fairy tales don’t always have happy endings for everyone involved.
Scarlet
Scarlet was the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series, and I pretty much flew through it! I enjoyed getting to know the characters a lot better, and it was interesting with the addition of Scarlet and Wolf.
I really enjoyed how Meyer presented the character of the wolf from the classic tale, because in her retelling Wolf has redeemable qualities. I almost felt like the “wolf” from the fairy tale resembled more of the gang in this novel as a whole rather than the character of Wolf himself, which I found intriguing. Well done.
I often felt that Scarlet had a one track mind, obviously to find and save her grandmother. In some ways this makes complete sense, but I also felt that it hindered some of the character development that was done so well with the other main characters.
Overall I think that this book kept me interested, and gave the reader more of the world that I am coming to love. The plot definitely surprised me, and I loved that it was not completely predictable (despite being based off tales I am familiar with)!
Cress
Cress was the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer, and it continued on with the trend of great writing, well developed characters, and an always interesting plot. I loved how she tied in Cress’s (aka Rapunzel) character with the bigger story. This book provided so many new developments that I was not expecting but were so interesting.
The plot, in my opinion, has not slowed down. Rather it just keeps picking up momentum, and I never wanted to put it down.
Sometimes it can feel a little frustrating with having SO many different perspectives now that there are so many characters, many whom are scattered and have their own story lines that are happening simultaneously with the others, but in the end I think it just serves to add a lot more depth to the series.
It’s a sign of good writing, and how invested I am, when certain characters chapters end and I get frustrated because I want to know more, but just as quickly get wrapped up in the next characters story too.
I love how we got to see a lot more of Thorne in this book, because I love him. In general, I feel like Marissa Meyer does a FANTASTIC job with writing interesting characters with a lot of development, but I still feel like we barely know Scarlet. Her character is the only one I still feel a little disconnected with. I’m still swooning over pretty much all the male leads: Prince Kai, Thorne, and Wolf (flaws, and all). and CInder! oh man, I love her character. She is so brave, and honest, and feels so real.
Sorry if i’m gushing, but I just adore this series.
