Cinder

I really enjoyed this.

As science fiction goes, the world is truly compelling. On the one hand, it's post-apocalyptic, but on the other, it's a bit of a utopia.

World War IV happened a long time ago, and almost destroyed the world. That's the apocalypse part. What came out of that war was a treaty that saw all the countries of the world consolidated into less than ten, mostly based around continents, so you have the African Union, Europe, the Americas, and something called The Commonwealth.

This story is set in New Beijing, a massive city-state that's part of The Commonwealth. Technology has progressed to the point where humans can be cybernetically enhanced, everyone flies around in hovers, and intelligent androids, able to show emotion, are commonplace.

Now for the bad news. There's this worldwide plague, you see, with no cure, and a 100% mortality rate. If you contract it, you die. Within days. Scientists all over the world are racing against time to find a cure, while every day thousands of people are dying. It's a losing battle.

Enter Cinder, a teenage cyborg who runs a small mechanic's shop, repairing androids, portscreens (pretty much tablet PCs), and other miscellaneous electronics. She has an evil stepmother and stepsister, and a prince invites her to a ball.

This story is VERY loosely based on the Cinderella fairy-tale, but if you didn't know that, and I hadn't pointed it out to you, you might miss it. The fairy tale served as inspiration for the author, but that's where it ends. It ends up going in an entirely different direction.

There's some romance here, but not very much (less than I expected, anyway), and you're sure to enjoy it even if you're not a fan of love stories.

The one thing that bugs me is that this book is billed as Young Adult. I think the only thing that technically makes it YA is the age of the protagonist. But it doesn't take place in a high school or anything, nor do any of the characters face typical teenager-type problems, nor do they behave like teenagers would be expected to behave.

No, this is quite clearly an adult book, and it deals with some pretty adult themes. Having said that, I should point out that it's a WHOLESOME adult book. There's not a single swear word to be found, nor even any blasphemy. Which is refreshing, because blasphemy is often what stops me from giving a book 5-stars.

Editing-wise, there's the odd typo here and there, but it's very well polished, and none of them detracted in any way from the story.

If you like science fiction, and you like a good family-friendly read, I don't doubt for one minute that you'll enjoy this book!

This is an interesting, very original, dystopian take on Cinderella set in a futuristic China. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic who is the main support of her family - her stepmother Adri and her stepsisters Pearl and Peony. Adri and Pearl treat Cinder like a slave. While Peony thinks of Cinder like a sister, she won't stand up for her either. Cinder is basically on her own with only her android friend Iko to help her. Cinder also has to deal with prejudice due to the fact she is a cyborg. Regular humans see her as something less than human. Everything changes when Prince Kai, the heir to the throne, comes to Cinder wanting her to repair his android. Things aren't the same for either of them after that.

I enjoyed Cinder. Marissa Meyer did a very good job of turning the Cinderella story on its head and making it seem fresh again. Unlike Cinderella, Cinder doesn't want for a prince to rescue her - she takes an active role. She knows she can only rely on herself, especially after her two closest allies are lost to her.

The only part that rings hollow to me is the inconsistency of the security measures taken against the plague that is terrorizing China. Sick people are rounded up and taken away, but the prince holds a ball with hundreds of guests? (Look up the influence pandemic of 1918.) However, this wouldn't really be a Cinderella story without a ball, would it? That's not enough of an issue for me to lower my rating.

I look forward to reading the next volume in the series, [b:Scarlet|18139931|Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385187788s/18139931.jpg|18390691].

This is light read in a great setting. I love fairy tale retellings and this one is really special. It is the future! Cyborgs! Androids! What a extraordinary idea! Marissa Meyer tells her story very logical - the evil behavior from Cinder's stepmother and stepsister. Her status as someone who's not "worth" living the same life as the "normal" people. Her relationship to Prince Kai is also not a love at first sight - one dance and we are in love! They get to know each other in a normal, realistic (more or less) way. When Cinder lost her whole foot, I was literally laughing out loud! Haha!
The only thing which bothered me (if you can talk about bothering) is the fact that the story was very foreseeable. No news were surprising, you could guess very early what this is all about.
Nevertheless, I cannot wait to read the next books which have Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White as main characters. Yay! But not yay that book 4 is not out yet...

Marissa Meyer no es la primera autora en utilizar el recurso de adaptar cuentos infantiles en nuevas historias. Tampoco es algo que no haya hecho Disney con anterioridad... ¿Verdad? Y generalmente este recurso suele generar historias que no son para nada malas. Y este no es un caso contrario. Y la verdad es que no se trata de una maravilla de la literatura, pero puede dar horas de verdadero entretenimiento.

No obstante, y aunque no puedo afirmarlo porque no sé si la autora lo esperaba mientras planteaba la historia, el final estaba claro desde prácticamente la página cien. Y no, no me refiero al símil pie-zapato, me refiero a Cinder... Estaba todo tan sumamente claro que me habría sorprendido más si me hubieran dicho que Cress (Sí, ya sale aquí, aunque será protagonista mucho más tarde) era una princesa. Pero bueno, supongo que el libro cumple su finalidad. Y os aseguro que he llegado a odiar a Adri con muchas ganas... Que asco de madrastra/tutora.
En conclusión, una saga que de cuentos de la que espero un poquito más en sus siguientes partes. Que ese deseo no se torne en que acabe defraudado es algo que sólo sabré con la próxima lectura.
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Either this book is really good, or there's something wrong with me, because I couldn't put it down and even started the next book in the series when I finished at 1 am. Oh, okay, it's possible this book is really good and there's something wrong with me. The important part is that the book is good.

Cinder has an mean step-mother/legal guardian, two step sisters getting ready for a ball she probably won't get to go to, more chores than reasonable, and the prince's eye. Sound familiar?

Cinder also has computer chips replacing parts of her brain, an artificial foot and an artificial leg, and is the best tech repair person in post-world war IV New Beijing. Probably less familiar territory.

If, like me, you've read quite a few fairy tale retellings before, you're probably asking yourself if we need yet another twist on the Cinderella story. If, like me, you have good taste in books, your answer after starting this will be "yes, yes we do."