"No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl."
[ July 2013: BestieBook Choice ]
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't ready for the awesome that is Cinder. It all seemed too familiar fairy-tale for me. It was the promise of cyborgs, a female protagonist and lunar people that made me agree. I am super glad I did! Marissa Meyer has earned a spot on my favorites list with this series of amazing literary renditions of classic, but super-outdated fairy-tales. Cinder is only the first of four, so if you enjoy it, please look for Scarlet, Cress & Winter. Go check if your local library has this one, guys. It's completely worth it! [You can find Tatiana's review here.]
Cinder is not the storybook Cinderella in glass slippers and a pretty blue dress! Lihn Cinder is living in New Bejing, 126 years after WWIV. As a self-conscious cyborg mechanic busying herself with work, adoring her littlest step-sister, upgrading her cyborg sidekick, and figuring out how to run away - Cinder has her hands full. Throw in a stereo-typically evil stepmother and her haughty and equally vicious daughter? She's just trying to blend into the wallpaper and make her epic escape. Too bad her amazing mechanic skills just got her noticed! When Prince Kai shows up at her shop one afternoon, her whole world changes. Prince Kai is handsome, soon to be in charge and he needs her. Desperately.
This is where the story spirals into a crazy new life: a mysterious illness, a psychotic Lunar Queen, self-discovery, ballroom dancing, and strange scientists. Suddenly Cinder is center stage, and the spotlight is on. She has some very important choices to make, and it may cost her (and every one else) more than they bargained for.