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A review by wingsandfables
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
5.0
Back-Story: I kept seeing this book pop up here on my Goodreads account as a suggestion for me. I read the summary a couple times after that would happen but I couldn't decide if I really wanted to give it a try or not. I did end up downloading a sample of it for my Nook and I liked it but I was still unsure since it was only the first chapter. The other day, however, I saw that the first five chapters are available for free on the Nook so I downloaded them immediately. I was hooked.
Review: I absolutely LOVED this book. I'm surprised actually how much I like it because it isn't my typical read. However, this book is so well-written and so interesting and captivating that it had me from the start.
Looks- The cover is really cool, of course. I love that it kind of gives you a clue that this is not just an ordinary Cinderella that you will be reading about.
Content- Like I said, this book is amazing, in my opinion. It captured me right from the start. This is set in a futuristic society, however it is not dystopian which is a nice break from the dystopian craze. There's virtually nothing that I do not like about this book.
I loved how each section of the book quoted from the original fairy tale and gave you a clue as to what was going to happen in the section. Although it's a very different version of Cinderella, I felt as if it stayed true to the original tale.
This book is well-written and well-thought-out. I remember only catching one spelling error which is always noteworthy in my book. Cinder is a very interesting character. Very versatile and not your typical female lead in a book. She's thoughtful, and caring, and endearing. I never found myself annoyed with her as I often am with the main character. I liked how the romance part of hers and Kai's relationship was realistic and it was refreshing not to have a female main character head-over-heels-won't-stop-talking-about-him-all-the-time kind of character. I liked how the entire time, Cinder tried to keep everything in perspective and thought more about the greater good than herself.
I thought all of Meyer's characters are very interesting and versatile. They aren't boring. They aren't flat. They're all developed well in their own roles. The plot was very well-written as well. It never lagged which is always something that bothers me. I thought the entire plot was very realistic, especially in the end when Kai has to make his big decision and how he handles finding out the truth about Cinder. I liked how Meyer brought back around characters and told their fates such as Chang Sacha and then Chang Sunto. It was an interesting twist to have one of Cinder's stepsisters actually like her and be nice to her. I also really, really liked that Meyer didn't just stop at the second to last chapter in the "big reveal." Most authors would have. I liked how she kept writing past that which I thought was definitely unique.
Also, there is only one cuss word in the entire book and no inappropriateness between guys and girls which is always something I am thankful for. It's a nice, clean, interesting book and I like that Meyer showed that that kind of stuff isn't needed in order to write a good book.
Likes: The plot. The characters, specifically Cinder, Peony, Iko, and Kai. No inappropriateness. Interesting read. Realistic.
Dislikes: Very minor things. Minorly predictable--I knew almost from the beginning who Cinder was going to turn out to be. I don't remember Meyer ever saying truly what Cinder looks like. I don't think we even know the color of her eyes. I also think it would've been nice to have pictures of the different futuristic robots and such so I would've known what they look like. May just be me but I have no idea what an android looks like.
Overall:
Recommend? YES!!!!!
Reading the next in the series? I've already downloaded the first five chapters that are available for free of "Scarlet" which is the next book in the series. I will most definitely be reading the rest of this although I really wish it wasn't a year between each book release.
UPDATE 2-16-15
I read this book almost two years ago and decided to reread it after finishing "Fairest" and I still love it just as much as I did the first time reading it.
Review: I absolutely LOVED this book. I'm surprised actually how much I like it because it isn't my typical read. However, this book is so well-written and so interesting and captivating that it had me from the start.
Looks- The cover is really cool, of course. I love that it kind of gives you a clue that this is not just an ordinary Cinderella that you will be reading about.
Content- Like I said, this book is amazing, in my opinion. It captured me right from the start. This is set in a futuristic society, however it is not dystopian which is a nice break from the dystopian craze. There's virtually nothing that I do not like about this book.
I loved how each section of the book quoted from the original fairy tale and gave you a clue as to what was going to happen in the section. Although it's a very different version of Cinderella, I felt as if it stayed true to the original tale.
This book is well-written and well-thought-out. I remember only catching one spelling error which is always noteworthy in my book. Cinder is a very interesting character. Very versatile and not your typical female lead in a book. She's thoughtful, and caring, and endearing. I never found myself annoyed with her as I often am with the main character. I liked how the romance part of hers and Kai's relationship was realistic and it was refreshing not to have a female main character head-over-heels-won't-stop-talking-about-him-all-the-time kind of character. I liked how the entire time, Cinder tried to keep everything in perspective and thought more about the greater good than herself.
I thought all of Meyer's characters are very interesting and versatile. They aren't boring. They aren't flat. They're all developed well in their own roles. The plot was very well-written as well. It never lagged which is always something that bothers me. I thought the entire plot was very realistic, especially in the end when Kai has to make his big decision and how he handles finding out the truth about Cinder. I liked how Meyer brought back around characters and told their fates such as Chang Sacha and then Chang Sunto. It was an interesting twist to have one of Cinder's stepsisters actually like her and be nice to her. I also really, really liked that Meyer didn't just stop at the second to last chapter in the "big reveal." Most authors would have. I liked how she kept writing past that which I thought was definitely unique.
Also, there is only one cuss word in the entire book and no inappropriateness between guys and girls which is always something I am thankful for. It's a nice, clean, interesting book and I like that Meyer showed that that kind of stuff isn't needed in order to write a good book.
Likes: The plot. The characters, specifically Cinder, Peony, Iko, and Kai. No inappropriateness. Interesting read. Realistic.
Dislikes: Very minor things. Minorly predictable--I knew almost from the beginning who Cinder was going to turn out to be. I don't remember Meyer ever saying truly what Cinder looks like. I don't think we even know the color of her eyes. I also think it would've been nice to have pictures of the different futuristic robots and such so I would've known what they look like. May just be me but I have no idea what an android looks like.
Overall:
Recommend? YES!!!!!
Reading the next in the series? I've already downloaded the first five chapters that are available for free of "Scarlet" which is the next book in the series. I will most definitely be reading the rest of this although I really wish it wasn't a year between each book release.
UPDATE 2-16-15
I read this book almost two years ago and decided to reread it after finishing "Fairest" and I still love it just as much as I did the first time reading it.