Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Oct 15, 2019 Candace rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5 This is mindblowing creative and a delight to read. A Cyborg Cinderella? Such fun! And I searched for the little details too. A very impressive debut. My only issue is it just ends. ENDS. So of course I have to hurry and start the next one. Books like caffeine are so addictive.

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Oct 28, 2020 Christy rated it liked it

Shelves: scifi, young-adult, educ-542

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This YA retelling of Cinderella transports the classic fairy tale to a futuristic world of cyborgs, artificial intelligence, hover cars, and a deadly plague. Part sci-fi, part fantasy, the main character Cinder lives with her stepmother and two not-so-ugly stepsisters in New Beijing. Her sister's father died several years before from the plague, but before he did, he made his wife promise to take on Cinder as her ward since Cinder was an orphan he found on his travels in Europe. However, as is s This YA retelling of Cinderella transports the classic fairy tale to a futuristic world of cyborgs, artificial intelligence, hover cars, and a deadly plague. Part sci-fi, part fantasy, the main character Cinder lives with her stepmother and two not-so-ugly stepsisters in New Beijing. Her sister's father died several years before from the plague, but before he did, he made his wife promise to take on Cinder as her ward since Cinder was an orphan he found on his travels in Europe. However, as is similar to the original fairytale, Cinder's stepmother is cruel, jealous, and bitter -- partly because Cinder is seen as a burden and party because Cinder is a cyborg. She forces Cinder to use her skills as a mechanic to make money for the family by working at the local market and taking on odd jobs repairing tech devices and robots.
In New Beijing, a royal ball will soon take place where the handsome Prince Kai is expected to pick a bride. But in the weeks leading up the ball, he not only meets Cinder and they become close, but his father (the Emperor) ends up dying from the plague. This leaves Prince Kai as the new Emperor and he faces added pressure to pick a proper bride as part of intergalactic politics. After all, the Queen of Luna (the moon) wants to marry Kai -- she may be beautiful, but Lunars have a magical ability to manipulate what people see and brainwash them.
While much of the book is predictable (not just because it's a retelling but because of the way Meyer dropped details into the book) -- spoiler alert: Cinder is the lost princess from Luna that everyone thought died in a fire when she was a child (the queen tried to kill her off) -- the book is still fast-paced, interesting, and worth adding to a middle or high school class library or book club choice.
I could see using this book in several book club options for students. It could be offered with other science fiction or fantasy novels, especially ones that retell old stories. It could also go along with books that have underdogs who overcome unsurmountable odds against them. I would even pair it with books about outcasts -- even ones that are more realistic or even historically based: Girl in Translation or Where the Crawdads Sing.
While I found this title on one of the suggested lists from class, part of me was wondering why it was being included in a fantasy book selection because this has far more sci-fi characteristics. However, now that I've read it, I see how it blends between the two in the same way that Star Wars blurs those very lines. There is a kind of magic woven into this futuristic and technologically advanced world, and to me, that makes this book refreshing. ...more

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Apr 23, 2016 Stefani rated it it was amazing

I liked this book a lot more than I was expecting. I put off reading this book for almost a year until I had multiple people telling me to just read it, it was amazing. So I finally did it. Boy am I glad!!! It has a different twist than most books I have read recently, which has helped with a reading slump I've felt my self getting into. I love how this book took a classic story & put a great futuristic, sci-fi twist to it. Plus the characters, & their amazing sarcasm, were GREAT! I can't wait t ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Carie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I LOVED this! Fantastic story! It has an underlying Cinderella theme, but is largely very original, unpredictable (view spoiler), and surprising, with some really scary and suspenseful, as well as sweet and romantic moments. Also, some sad (view spoiler) and infuriating parts, too. Lots of emotions here! I loved the characters, particularly Cinder, Kai, Iko, Peony, and Dr. Erland. The endin ...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Erika B. (SOS BOOKS) rated it really liked it

Shelves: backtothefuture, clean-read, ya, blogged

This one is like a 3.5 for me! It was such a different and unique take on the Cinderella story. Cinderella is a cyborg-there's more than one villian-it takes place after world war 4-there is also a nasty plague! See very inventive! I guess my only complaint is that I felt like the story just cut off with no warning! Imagine Cinderella losing her shoe and the prince finding it and then the story just ending! I'd be like "Cool. Cinderella is still in her sad life and the prince has a random shoe f ...more

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