Cinder

I've had this book for some time now and I've been hesitant to pick it up. I admit the cover art drew me to it, and the title leaves little to the imagination about the story line, but still I had it, looking at me on my shelf and I finally decided on a rainy day to take a chance and gave it a read.

And I was glad I did.

I think Marissa Meyer wove an interesting tale using elements from Cinderella in a very blatant way but in a new setting and with so much more to it than a girl who is mistreated by her family and lands a Prince in the end. There is no fairy-godmother for Cinder who makes her dreams come true. The closest she comes is a doctor who ends up providing her with information she needs to stay alive.

Here is my review of

Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm giving this one 3.5 stars...
http://readingmymindreviews.blogspot....

I have to admit, when I decided to read this one I was a bit leery of the whole "Cinderella" premise and how it would work in this story. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised how Marissa Meyer used it in a unique way to enhance her story.


All the girl wants is a foot that fits.

A plague is killing countless people. Once someone shows signs of the plague, black spots on their skin, medics are called and the infected are taken away. To be quarantined. To die. In the midst of this plague, Cinder is a cyborg who works as a mechanic in New Beijing. Her reputation and skill leads to a very special request from Prince Kaito who happens upon her booth and asks her to see if she can fix a robot of his. He hints it might have important information on it, then reveals it's a robot he's had for many years and it has sentimental value. A flustered Cinder agrees to look at it and get back with him. And so begins Cinder.


What I liked about it: I liked how Marissa Meyer didn't shy away from the references to Cinderella in her book, even going so far as to name her lead character after her. Many authors would have written a story line similar to this, but given the character a different name and played it off as it's own creation. I liked how she went back to small pieces of the story of Cinderella, but they were more accessory pieces to the main story line. I liked the relationship between Cinder and Kaito, it seemed very true to the situation they were both placed in.

What I didn't like: Many of the characters on the book are not what they seem. The first one, I bought, the second one, was a stretch, by the third one I was wondering how anyone with 'powers' could be so dense. I also am not a fan of the "big cliff-hanger ending" in a book. Especially because in this book, nothing is settled as it ends. Many things are set up, but nothing comes to conclusion. It ends with more questions raised than answered. I also figured out the big secret early in the story because it was a bit predictable, but it didn't matter it was interesting to see it all play out.

I think this one is definitely worth a read just to see how Marissa Meyer weaves elements of the classic Cinderella tale into a futuristic, cyborg setting that is far more like Star Wars than Disney World.

Thanks for Reading My Mind!



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