Cinder Book Review
Cinder by Marissa Meyer book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 2-23-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 8.1/10
Book Cover Rating: 8.5/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 400
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Subplots: Romance, Retelling, Fantasy
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 2012
Number of Editions: 175
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audio
Awards Won: The Gateway Award, YALSA Teen’s Top Ten, Evergreen Teen Book Award, and More
Goodreads Rating: 4.13/5
Number of Goodreads Ratings: 973,761
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
Number of Amazon Ratings: 20,174
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Standard
POV Type: Single, Third Person
Pacing: Fast
Generally: Cinderella Retelling in Futuristic World
Hook: Cinder is a cyborg. A mistake. A disappointment. She is part human, part robot. This means, in judgmental New Beijing society, she is seen as much lesser than full humans. For Cinder, this is augmented by her cruel step-mother and awful step-sister. In her household, the fact she is lesser is never forgotten. For this reason, her own passions, and an escape, Cinder has taken up mechanics. Nothing gives her more joy than fixing things and helping a variety of people in the process. In fact, she has gained quite the reputation as the best mechanic in the city. So good, in fact, that the future king, Prince Kai, visits her booth himself. She is absolutely stunned and has no idea how to react to the BELOVED PRINCE being at her small stand. He gives her an android in need of fixing. To Cinder, it seems VERY important to him. Unfortunately, her opportunities to fix the android seem to disappear the instant her very own stepmother gives her up to the royal family's doctors as their newest illness test subject. This is a role specifically saved for cyborgs around the city. The problem is, after the doctors try the newest illness ‘cures’, the cyborg being tested on always dies…. so it’s no honor. But the doctors quickly realize Cinder’s body doesn’t work like any cyborg they have ever seen before….
My Review
Going Into It:
Going into this book I was SUPER excited!! I’ve wanted to read it for a while, and have only heard good things about it.
Characters:
Linh Cinder- Cinder is the main character in this book. She is a cyborg, meaning she was born human, got into a potentially fatal accident, and much of her body was replaced with mechanical parts. She is kind, but also insecure because cyborgs are seen as ‘lesser’ than normal humans.
Prince Kaito- Kai is the prince of the Eastern Commonwealth (near current China). He is smart and kind, but notoriously acts rashly. He is passionate, but has little direct leadership experience.
Queen Levana- Levana is the queen of Luna (the moon). She has a Luna skill that makes her able to influence people, and see her as the most beautiful person. But, she can actually be mean and power hungry.
I REALLY liked the characters in this book. I loved their personalities and unique backgrounds. But, I do feel like they did have a little more potential than was used.
Character Rating: 7.6/10
Setting:
This book took place in New Beijing, Earth
This was a very unique setting. It took place in the future, but in Beijing. There were some new inventions and technology. There were also some older technologies with new names.
Setting Rating: 9.1/10
Plot:
Wow!! This was an AMAZING plot. It was definitely aiming towards a teen audience, and it probably wouldn’t be most adults favorite. But, it was engaging and constantly twisting and turning. It was fast paced and hard to put down. I also loved how it was a retelling of Cinderella, so it had some similar aspects to the story, but also some new and unique parts.
Plot Rating: 8.6/10
Writing:
I enjoyed the writing, but it was clearly aimed towards a younger audience. It was still written well for a YA novel, you just need to be prepared for a younger target audience if you are older.
Writing Rating: 7.9/10
Ending:
Sometimes in retellings the ending is obvious from the start, just because everyone knows how the original story goes. This was NOT like that!! There were a couple ways it could have ended, but I didn’t guess it before it ended!! It was also the PERFECT ending to convince me that I NEED to read the next book in the series.
Ending Rating: 8.9/10
The Overall:
This was a really GREAT YA retelling novel. It was entertaining and fast paced, and kept me engaged. I loved the characters, setting, and plot. This book was written as a really good young adult novel, but would probably be significantly less interesting to an older audience.
Overall Book Rating: 8.1/10
I would obviously recommend this book
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Or buy on Amazon: Cinder
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Marissa hosts a writing podcast
She lives with her daughters and husband in Washington
She used to write anime fan fiction under the pen name Alicia Blade
She has written multiple bestselling books
She has known she wants to be an author for her whole life
For more information, view Marissa Meyer’s website: marissameyer.com
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