Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

Cinder

Marissa Meyer

Published January 3, 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Amazon Book Description:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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This book sucked me right in.  I was sold from the first time I saw the cover.  A Cinderella remake with a cyborg mechanic?  Move over, Seven of Nine, I've got a new favorite cyborg.  Not to mention that I heard before I read this one that the sequel will feature Scarlet, a new take on Little Red Riding Hood, and she allegedly might be French fighter pilot.  How could I not love this series?  Anyway, this book was easy to dive right into, and it certainly kept me hooked.

Over all, I give this book a 90%. Here's the breakdown:

Setting: 19/20
Though the timeline is vague, Cinder's story takes place in the far future, in what Meyer terms the Third Era.  The world has been remade as a small number of united countries, and New Beijing is the capital of the Eastern Commonwealth.  Technological advancements coupled with economic class divisions and indentured servitude create a nice contrast between old world and new.  New Beijing is clearly imagined, thoughtfully crafted, and fully realized.  The future created in Cinder is one that I, as a reader, could really see it coming to pass.

Characters: 19/20

A unique feature of Cinder is that the characters include not only humans and cyborgs, but androids, as well.  And I have to say that, as much as I enjoyed the main character, it is her android friend, Iko, that steals the show for me.  'She' has more personality than many of the humans in other books; she's funny, sweet, and completely enamored with the Prince of New Beijing, Kaito.  Fascinated with all things human and amazed by anything beautiful--including a simple scrap of ribbon--Iko is charming and relatable.  Who could have imagined a relatable android?

Aside from Iko, the other characters in Cinder are pretty well developed, as well.  Cinder is tough, but the narration shows us a side of her that is easily affected by the harsh world around her, and though she perseveres through whatever challenges are thrown her way, she reacts with just the right mix of endearing common sense and justified outrage.  The supporting cast fill their roles nicely, with a truly magnetic love interest, a frustratingly logical doctor, and a couple of villanous women rounding out the storyline.

Style: 17/20
I can't complain about Meyer's style, and for a beginning effort, I am especially appreciative of the talent illustrated in Cinder.  It didn't hurt that I listened to the audiobook for most of the story, and Rebecca Soler does an excellent job with the narration.  Even the parts I read in print, however, convey a winning combination of lightness and gravity that keep the story going without weighing it down.  In a book highlighted by an actual plague, the jokes are still funny, the flirting doesn't seem inappropriate, and the discussions of dresses and balls is not out of place.

Plot: 15/20
Let's get one things straight:  the actual story here is phenomenal.  The take on a tired fairy tale is breathtakingly original, the additions of robot parts and a deathly virus and an Asian setting are ingenious, and I can't imagine anyone complaining that they weren't rooting for Cinder in this book.  So why am I only giving Cinder a 15?  There are two reasons.  The first is that I had figured out all the major plot points within the first four chapters.  This didn't ruin the book, clearly, but it was cetainly disappointing.  The second is that the ending is a total cliffhanger.  I understand wanting to attract readers to keep reading the series, but giving us absolutely no resolution is not the best way to accomplish this goal, in my opinion.

Heartbreak: 20/20
I did not shed a single tear for this book.  There are deaths, and other tragedies, but nothing so awful that I was moved to break down emotionally on behalf of the injustice of it all.  I am someone that likes to be left uplifted by everything that I read, and so for me, the light darkness in Cinder is just the right touch of heartbreak to leave me wanting more.  I only hope that Scarlet delivers.