Reviews tagging 'War'

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

56 reviews

rwnhlfx's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Honestly, this book is really fun. I read it & the sequel for a class & I'm thinking about finishing the series on my own time. It does, however, lose a star due to some repetitive phrasing & Meyer's failure to portray an Asian culture in a respectful or believable way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Police brutality, Xenophobia, and Medical content

Minor: War

noellegrace8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This is such a cool modern (future, actually??) retelling of Cinderella. She is NOTHING like any Cinderella we've read or watched before. She is a mechnic with a good portion of her body being mechanical in and of itself. Meyer does a fantastic job creating interesting plot points that surprise the reader yet also point them to the original source material of Cinderella. Overall a quick pased, clever book. I can't wait to read the next installments! The few issues I had with the book were just that it was a bit hard to get into at first, especially because some of the characters weren't as interesting as they could have been, and sometimes the word usage was odd, almost like she used the word adjacent to what she actually meant.

I don't include the audio performer in my overall star review, but I'd give Rebecca Soler 3.75/5.0. There isn't much to say outside of her performance falling flat. It wasn't actively bad, but there wasn't enough excitement and variance in her narration to intrigue me; my inner reading dialogue is much more enthusiastic than her performance itself is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Ableism

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Classism, Bullying, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Xenophobia, Deportation, Self harm, Car accident, Colonisation, War, Vomit, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Gun violence, Death of parent, Torture, Confinement, and Violence

Those listed in "graphic" are central themes, although the ableism is more of metaphor (Cinder is a cyborg and treated poorly because of it) than a direct commentary. Moderate categories listed are related to the death of a loved one in the plot, a medical research focus due to the epidemic theme, and the aforementioned ordeal of Cinder being cyborg. "Minor" category items are straightforward and not too present in the book.

brebeingwell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book is a very loose Cinderella retelling taking place in the distant future after several world wars and major world events that have changed the borders and culture of the planet. Humans have gone off world and settlements have been made on the moon and possibly other planets (other planets unconfirmed in this book). 

My favorite trait of the main character was that she was capable. So many fantasies and sci-fi books make the main female character out to be unskilled until a major event happens. Cinder, from the beginning, was a very capable and skilled being. But she is also still a teenage girl and has the desires and feelings of someone befitting her age. I thought she had a good personality and very interesting abilities that made her POV enjoyable. 

The world building, while complicated, was explained in a very digestible way. The only issue I took was with the lunar colony. Besides doing things for power and seemingly to be evil, there was no real reason presented as to why they were so ruthless. I suspect this may be explored throughout the series.

Kai's response towards the end was not akin to how I pictured him as a person, which makes me think that his actions were only for dramatic effect. The ending straight up sucked and was super unsatisfying, which is why this book only received a 3 star rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: War

jessicadoom's review against another edition

funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

After reading Renegades, I had high hopes for the rest of Marissa Meyer's books. World-building wise, I was still very much impressed. And the story was great! There was just something missing to keep it from being a full 4 stars. Maybe it was the insta-love. Maybe the fact that I called the twist from very early on. Not sure, but I did still enjoy it! Just not yet ready to pick up the next book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Abandonment, and Violence

Minor: Murder, Self harm, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

michimiya's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Moderate: Blood and War

jadeandherbunny's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Self harm and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Slavery and War

moomoo_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and War

kal_el_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Gun violence

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

Omg!! The Lunar Chronicles was one of my favorite series back in middle school and being able to reread it the way I’ve always planned too makes me so happy. I forgot how much I loved this book and feeling as though I’m reading it for the first time again makes me live it even more after all this time. If you’re looking for a thrilling, adventurous YA dystopian novel with a romantic side plot, Cinder is the book for you. 1000000% recommend !!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicide attempt

hollyheartless's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: War