Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

26 reviews

readingqueerly's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

How have I not read this before? That's what I keep thinking. It read so smoothly and quickly. While I wasn't on the edge of my seat the whole time, I also never got bored or felt like I had to work through some chapters. This book felt like going to see a good movie and not once checking your watch but being surprised when it's over.
The story is a refreshing take on a the classic Cinderella Story (obvi). It has quite a few relevant themes and topics not the least of which a scary disease of course. 
A few of the plot twists I have to say I saw coming from quite far away but I'm not personally deterred by that (same with spoilers for that matter). In fact, it was fun to see that I was right about things and even looking forward to the reveal moments. 
For a book that's a decade old now (yes 10 years!) I have to say it holds up really well imo and the main character is actually really interesting and well written. That can be a downfall with those 2010s strong female main characters.
I'm well chuffed I finally read this book and I cannot wait to get the next one in the series.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death

meganpbell's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Cinderella is a cyborg, the prince and his palace are in New Beijing, the wicked stepmother is outdone by a vicious queen from outer space, and a plague adds to all the peril, but the adventure, romance,and heroism are as epic and enchanting as ever in this sci-fi young adult retelling of the classic fairy tale. I look forward to continuing the series, meeting more fairy tale heroines in new forms, and exploring more of Cinder’s universe!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Deportation, War, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Terminal illness, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Xenophobia

catsphodel's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

This is definitely a poorly aged story. Bringing up a child's fertility after a "trans" joke is weird and quite frankly, distasteful. I appreciate how fans have completely ignored Cinder as European and have instead claimed her as Asian. As for the Asian "influences" of this book I wouldn't consider this hodge podge and mixing of several different cultures anything to get excited about. Oddly both fast paced and a little info dumpy at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Child death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Vomit, Transphobia, Body shaming, Violence, Torture, Car accident, and Ableism

ravensandlace's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Title: Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: Dystopian Young Adult

Format: hardback library book

Series: The Lunar Chronicles

Star Rating: 3 stars

tw: sickness, death from illness, mentions of suicide, infanticide, mind control, extreme pain

Yes, I am very late to the party with this book series. About 11 years late. But hey, better late than never! I’m only just now getting into popular young adult books. I like to wait for the hype to die down a bit before I read a popular book so that way, I don’t get a mob after me if I end up not liking the book. Cinder has been on my radar for some time now. I think it was the way the cover was. It drew me in. I had seen that my local library had it so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised. 

I enjoyed the aspect of this being a Cinderella retelling. I don’t like Disney and I haven’t read the original story of Cinderella but I do know about Cinderella and the story well enough to know what is going on. I enjoyed the way Meyer reinvented it but also kept the story there with a spin to it. I can also appreciate an author that keeps the spirit of the story but still make it their own. 

There were two POVs: Cinder and Prince Kai. I liked Cinder’s chapters more than I liked Prince Kai’s. I loved the bond she had with her adopted sister and how she was willing to do anything for her. Considering the abuse she experienced with her stepmom and other sister, she was surprisingly empathetic and truly cared a lot. Prince Kai’s chapters were okay. There were a lot of politics involved since he had an empire to run. I didn’t mind his chapters but I couldn’t wait to get back to Cinder’s chapters.

Overall, this was a good book. I called the plot twist early on but that wasn’t a bad thing. It didn’t hinder my enjoyment. I’m not super in love with the book, but I like it enough that I will continue the series as I have enjoyed the ride and the characters so far. I think I would have liked it a lot more if I had read it when I was younger. I’ve read so many dystopian novels since I’ve gotten serious about reading, that they all kind of blend together.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Bullying, Child death, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Blood, War, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, and Confinement

renyoi's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fun and sometimes even innovative YA novel, with surprisingly likable characters and worldbuilding that feels natural, if a bit simplistic at times. The conglomeration of Asian cultures into a single monolith is problematic in some instances, but I do think the author was aware of the differences, even if that wasn’t always the impression in the text. Creative writing and striking characters with clear agency are the strengths of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: War

angelaocmon's review

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Ableism, and Medical content

Moderate: Xenophobia and Grief

ginameix's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

reddeddy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Ableism, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Medical content, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Blood, Child death, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Minor: Gore, Misogyny, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Murder, Drug use, Slavery, Torture, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Infidelity, Racism, Trafficking, and War

risten's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and War

filipa_maia's review

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I started this book not expecting much from it. Being a retelling of Cinderella and all I though that it might be quite boring. But, to my surprise, and despite being very predictable, I really liked this book.

The story is set in the future, a hundred plus years since the IV World War, it involves humans, androids, cyborgs and Lunars (royalty who lives on the moon)... this is what makes the story so interesting (that, and the fact they are facing a deadly plague).

The story was going really well untill the end. It seemed rushed and not thought through. All those big reveals, everything happening at the same time... it was very confusing. I understand that in the real story, Cinderella has a deadline to meet - at midnight she becomes a "regular girl" - so I understand the rush to put all these events happening at the same time... but I don't think it works as it should have been. And that last interaction with the doctor was just ridiculous - Ok so now you run away from prison, all by yourself and meet me in Africa - excuse me? Is she supposed to get to Africa and ask around for the doctor? I don't know how Africa looks like in the future, but right now, is a gigantic place and I'm pretty sure that "ask around" wouldn't work.

Nevertheless, i intend to read the next book and see what will happen to Cinder now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Death, Blood, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Grief

Minor: War, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury