Reviews

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

candece's review against another edition

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1.0

Ok, I'm all for a fresh new spin on things, however, this is just ridiculous. A cyborg Cinderella???? Really, ok so even after I found out I still really tried to finish this book. But it just kept getting more and more ridiculous. I could make it past Chapter 12.

candece's review against another edition

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5.0

So this book really surprised me. I kinda understood the just of the story about Cinderella, but the spin and twist that Meyers put on the book was surprising. The book kept me interested the whole time. The story was so unique and evolved that I had to become completely immersed in that world. I was at first put off by the whole Cyborg thing but before long, it was feeling sorry for Cinder. I completely empathized with her. She was a mechanic of all things but Meyers weaved a quite adventure. I’m really looking forward to reading the second book. In can’t believe it too me so long to read this beauty!

theforestlibrarian's review against another edition

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4.0

Cinderella as science fiction version. Liked!

lisaesmee's review against another edition

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2.0

Only 3 stars because it was lacking some things. But I will explain that all in a video review in the near future.

nashwa234's review against another edition

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4.0

Four and half stars.... absolutely amazing, i loved every part of it once i opened the book i couldn't put it down..it's even better than the original cinderella

itsnatalie_z's review against another edition

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1.0

I thought it was ok which really disappointed me because I really wanted it to be great but:

-The big "Twist" is definitely not a big twist, you can guess it pretty early on.
-What annoys me the most is that it's so close to Sailor Moon (and I don't only mean the plot with this but also: Princess Selene and Serena (in Sailor Moon) is just too similar a name for my taste sorry).
- The romance: I hate insta-love, and luckily this book didn't have it (so thank you Ms. Meyer :) ), but I just didn't feel the connection between Cinder and Kai.

And the more I think about it the more annoyed I get I just can't overlook how alike the 2 stories are (especially because Ms. Meyer is a big Sailor Moon fan).
And please someone tell me I'm not the only one who recognized this?!

So yeah it was an ok book but if you look at it closely it's not Cinderella rewritten but Sailor Moon mashed up with Cinderella.

annatsp's review against another edition

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5.0

Internal monologue before dinner: I need to find something light and fluffy to read over dinner and then I'll set it aside and go work on my editing. *picks up Cinder* Okay, this looks perfect. *DOESN'T STOP READING UNTIL 1 AM*

The only thing I am upset about is that it did end on a rather cliffhanger so now I have to figure out where to get the rest of the books :(

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The thing with fairy tale retellings is that if you wander too far from the original, people get upset. And yet if it's just a same ol' rehash, people get bored. Marissa Meyer walks a risky - and bold - path in her retelling of Cinderella.

Cinderella, or Linh Cinder in this case, was saved from the terrible road accident that killed her parents, by being turned into a cyborg. She doesn't remember anything from before her surgery, and she's been earning her keep in her adopted home by working as a mechanic at New Beijing's weekly market. And earn her keep she must, because as a second-class citizen and property of her stepmother, she must do as she's told.

Before you get all excited about how this is an Asian-based story, you need to come to terms with the fact that this is the Earth after World War 4. Countries and alliances as you know them have changed, and the world is largely united against two threats: the Letumosis Plague and the Lunar Queen. Other than scattered Asian-type honorifics, and the fact that most of the story takes place in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth, there isn't anything very culture specific. But that works fine, because dystopia anyway.

So following the Cinderella story, there's this annual ball, where Crown Prince Kai is rumoured to be looking for a bride. Everyone wants to be there, especially Cinder's two stepsisters, Pearl and Peony. Cinder kind of wants to go, but she also wants to make her escape. Then the plague changes everything. First of all, Peony, Cinder's one human friend, contracts the disease, and then Prince Kai's father dies of it. Queen Levana makes an unwanted appearance, Cinder gets hold of some classified information, and all of a sudden, Cinder is caught in a web of destruction.

Does she run for freedom, as she has been planning for so long? Or does she risk her life to get important information to the Prince?

Cinder is a book that you read for the sheer joy of the story. It's not one for complicated plots or sudden twists; after all, it is a fairy tale retelling and you should already know where it's headed. Cinder's hidden past is obvious to the readers, though Cinder seems oblivious to it. In fact, certain times during the novel, it seems that Dr Erland is on the verge of spilling all. The only reason Cinder doesn't get it is because she's too worried about whether the Prince could actually love a cyborg, hoping that Peony will get better and trying to escape a deranged Lunar Queen who wants to kill her for unknown reasons. Well, saving your own life takes a lot more brain space than trying to figure out seemingly coded sentences and dangerous obsessions.

The novel doesn't get to reach its happy ending, though, mainly because Meyer has 3 more stories in the Lunar Chronicles, each of them a fairy tale retelling as well. I guess we'll have to wait until book 4 ([b:Winter|13206900|Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470057036s/13206900.jpg|18390887]) to see if Cinder really gets the Prince.

selkie110's review against another edition

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4.0

Well at first I was pretty skeptical since it was centered towards the younger readers of YA, but after a few pages, I was into it. It was an unexpected story for what I thought it was, and all the characters are definitely badass. It's definitely a fun and easy read and will get you out of a reading slump. READ IT! I feel that if I had read it sooner, especially earlier in my teen years, I would have had so much more fun talking about it.

elizabethaedyn's review against another edition

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4.0

Minus one star for being predictable HOWEVER I literally could not put this down and stayed up until 4 am to finish it.

memereadslove4's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a different read for me.
Kinda gave me a headache trying to understand what everything was lol.
Liked it but didn't love it
Will I read the rest of the series? Sure hope it gets better.