You know how you see certain books in other people's reviews and just side-eye the book and think, "really?... how old are you again? Fairy tales are for kids!" Yeah...This was one of those times where I was totally wrong!
******SPOILER******Cinder's story starts two centuries into the future after Earth has gone threw a destructive Fourth World War and the world is broken into new factions known as The Earthen Nations and their enemy, Luna a.k.a "The Moon."In what we would now consider to be Asia, Cinder, a cyborg girl lives in New Beijing and works as a mechanic. Orphaned at a young age and lacking a sufficient memory of her childhood, she is adopted by the Linh family and taken in as their third daughter. However, once her stepfather dies after falling ill with the Leutomitis Plague, Cinder's life becomes a fictional Hell. Not knowing who she really is, Cinder lives life as an outcast and her stepmother's personal verbal punching bag. Yet, things start to look up one day when the Prince of the Eastern Commonwealth (a.k.a Asia) stops by her mechanic booth and gets her to fix his droid. From there, the fun begins. Love sparks start flying and secrets become the backdrop to a kick butt storyline.
Things that I enjoyed about this story:
1. Marissa Meyer seems to have thoroughly thought out what pieces of the Cinderella fairytale she would use to create her story. Instead of just extracting the whole tale, Meyer takes what she needs and leaves the rest of the tale alone. Her story never feels as if it was written between the lines of the Grimm brother's fairytale or in between the scenes of the Disney film adaptation. Meyer's story takes on a life of its own standing in the forefront in a saturated genre of literature where most stories have already been re-written to death. Her characters are well thought out and so is her setting for the story. Which brings me to point #2...
2. The setting of Meyer's story made me extremely happy due to me not really being a fan of dystopian novels. I always feel as if dystopian writers are trying to prove something when they write about worlds that have gone wrong in their quest for perfection/one country dominance/etc.. Yet, Meyers makes me feel as if this world has naturally evolved even though she makes it clear that their was once a war that took place. Unlike her contemporaries though, she doesn't force the issue of gore and death or other bad things upon the reader.
3. The technology in this novel was so cool! I really felt like the portscreens were really just amped up smart phones and this made me a little giddy about where technology might go in the future (LOL I know...how very nerdy of me). Cinder's BFF/Sidekick was one of my favorite characters. Iko, a humorous droid kept me laughing continuously whenever she oogled over the Prince or did some other human-like thing to cheer her buddy.Also, the ball scene where Cinder drives the car through New Beijing's streets seriously amused me. LMBO It was like a slight PSA about what'll happen if we don't learn to clean-up our Earth and recycle and all that Jazz.
4. The ending was also my favorite part of the novel besides the ball scene when Cinder danced with the Prince/Emperor. ***SPOILER***The fact that Cinder is ended with her in jail makes me giddy at what's going to happen next. I always feel like the best stories end with the character in a hard place.
Overall, Cinder was an excellent read. That I am glad that I picked up. I am now a true believer that fairy tales are not just for kids.
Great review hon! I adored Cinder, it was one of the best retellings I've ever come across. Lemme assure you that Scarlet was even better! <3
ReplyDeleteI loved Cinder too but, Scarlet fell a little flat for me. I really want to hear more from Wolf's perspective in the next book though. I'm uber pumped for 2014 and Cress!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete