Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

57 reviews

empathephant's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I think I really do just have a problem getting my brain to adjust the the new conditions of an SFF universe, because on this second read through I enjoyed the book so much more, no longer being unfamiliar with the setting and vocabulary. I need to remember this and just push through in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Excrement, Dementia, Violence, Slavery, Vomit, and Car accident

A pandemic that causes nearly death threatens the world. The plot takes place under the looming threat of war, centering on trying to prevent the war. Main character is an orphan, living in an abusive adoptive family.

At various points in the book, main character and other character are imprisoned, subjected to mind control, and manipulated into harming themselves. Two characters die from the pandemic, one in squalid conditions.

Book maintains a relatively lighthearted tone throughout, with moments of darkness and grotesqueness.

getbrekked's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content

lilawsahar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I remember reading this book when it was first published and I loved it so much (I was a teenager then). Re-reading it as an adult, I’m so glad that it’s as good as I remembered. 

Cinder is a young girl and cyborg living in New Beijing. She lives with her step-mother/guardian and her two step-sisters. Classic Cinderella story. However, in this world there is a virus that is killing people on earth brought by the people of the moon. The prince must secure an alliance with the moon queen in order to protect his people from the virus and imminent war, but if he goes through with it the queen will use her power to control the whole planet. That is if his feelings for Cinder don’t get it the way. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, War, Car accident, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Grief, and Body horror

nxclx's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Honestly, the combination or Cinderella retelling mixed with a few other fairy tales didn't work for me. The third quarter was the most interesting for me, but then it got right back to being a retelling and it was distracting and all the plot twists were way too predictable for my tastes.
I didn't get the

feeling of sadness for Peony and her sickness and death, and Cinder seemed way more concerned with the Prince and the romantics kind of took over there.

Also... we get it. The prince is hot. He's attractive. Woo.
Cinder for me could've been such a bad ass character, but she came across as brash and impulsive - which I get it, she's a teenager, but still. She' s grown up in this abusive household and her actions from the beginning don't show that. It would've been more appropriate to me to see that growth. Kai comes across the same way to me: out of character. I know that's a weird phrasing since he is the character but hear me out. He's grown up a prince and has presumably been taught his entire life how to run a country, how to act, proper diplomatic moves to make... and yet here he is, impulsive and not acting like a prince, but more of a regular teenager/young adult.
I feel like I've read this story before many times over in YA Fantasy that came out around this time, and maybe I need to stop reading books like that, but they all start to blend together and sound completely unoriginal...

"Chosen"

Girls who are commoners/lower class, and they're 'not like other girls'

(and who also turn out to be royalty for some reason or another, so that eliminates the class barrier - one of the reasons I love Aladdin)

and yet the prince/special higher class boy who either 'isn't like other boys' or doesn't act like the setting he was placed in, still finds her stunning and she catches his attention. It's over played and unrealistic.
I did like that they

weren't together at the end of the book, that works more for me than forcing the ending to wrap up quickly and rush things.

I don't know if I'll be continuing on with the series, but it's been on my TBR the longest, and I'm glad to have gotten it out of the way so I'll stop wondering about it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Gun violence and Sexual assault

Clarifications: (partial spoilers, nothing major) - Body Shaming: for being a Cyborg and not human, not related to weight - Medical Content: medical examination and blood draws - Suicide: not actual suicide, but attempted forced suicide (twice.) - Terminal Illness: there's a deadly plague. sound familiar? - Xenophobia: aliens/cyborgs, not modern xenophobia - Gun Violence: again, attempted forced suicide (with a gun) - Sexual Assault: SPOILER she kisses him against his will and he does not reciprocate

reocalabra's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Xenophobia

arocknrolldream's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Beautiful writing style, great world building - only reason it’s a 4 for me is that it’s a little too dark for me personally

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Medical content, and Child abuse

Moderate: Gun violence

hamohero's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Terminal illness, Medical content, Child death, Bullying, and Ableism

Moderate: Gun violence