Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, 2012, 387p, Rating=4
Fairy-tale retelling, Young Adult, Clean
Source: Audio from Library

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. (Goodreads)

An original retelling of Cinderella! I listened to this so I don't remember all the details but I really enjoyed it.

Prince Kai comes to Cinder to fix his android because he's heard she's the best mechanic around. He's surprised that she's so young and female, but trusts her to fix it since she came so highly recommended. They form a friendship which Cinder is never quite sure about.

Cinder is sweet and kind and easy to relate to. She's just a hard working girl who has to give all her profits to her stepmother but she's easygoing and, even though she doesn't like it, she is still kind to her and her stepsisters. She has a plan to leave so she can start living life the way she wants but there are a few kinks in her plan. This book ended in a place where I'm excited to read book 2 but I didn't feel like I had to start it right away. 

What is very cool is that you can read Glitches, the prequel, here and the first five chapters are free on Kindle (see below). Book 2, Scarlet, is out now as well and you can read the first five chapters of that book for free, as well as Book 1.5, The Queen's Army, here. You can also purchase The Queen's Army for $.99. Wow, you can really give this book a test read before you purchase it, so no complaining if you don't like it!