{Review} "Cinder" by Marissa Meyer

Title:  Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date:  January 3, 2012
Genre:  YA Dystopian / Steampunk
Format:  Kindle 456 KB  |  Paperback 400 pages

Buy this book on Amazon:  Kindle Edition  | Hardback
Author's Website:  http://marissameyer.livejournal.com/ 
Author's Goodreads Profile:  Marissa Meyer

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the 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.

Diving In...

It took me a long time to decide to pick this book up.  I kept seeing it everywhere, but just never really thought too much about it.  I picked it up when Bunny's group decided to read it last month, but I didn't have a chance to read it before their book club meeting so I missed out on that.  Once I got started I couldn't put it down though!  It took me longer to read it because of my schedule, but I kept it close to me at work and read at lunch and on my breaks and any time I had a little time.  I am glad I finally read it, but I am also glad that I waited since now I don't have quite as long to wait for the next one.

Marissa Meyer did an excellent job building the world that Cinder lives in.  It's a little vague as to what year it is, but it's clearly some years in the future.  They are on Earth, but it's a very different Earth than the one we live on. The earth is still populated by humans, but there is also a race of Lunars who live on the moon.  There are some hidden among the human population, but they aren't supposed to be living on Earth at all.  The Lunar race is much different than humans.  They have what the humans believe to be magic.  They can glamour others and bend them to their will, etc...  It's all very fascinating and very well written.

Cinder is a cyborg, but only approximately 39%, so she's still mostly not mechanical.  She's a mechanic and she happens to be the best mechanic in New Beijing.  This is what leads Kai to seek her out.  Kai, the Prince, has an android that needs repaired.  

I don't want to give away too much so I will keep this pretty brief.  This story parallels the Cinderella story in some ways, but veers off on it's own some as well.  There are some big secrets that get revealed in the process of the story.  There is one pretty big one that I had figured out by about the 3rd or 4th chapter that I wish would have been concealed a little better, but it didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the story.  

This book it just the very beginning of the story and I can't wait to read the next one to see where this goes.  There is just something about the beginning of a story like this one.  I can't wait to see more Kai in the next book, there was definitely not enough of him in this one to satisfy me!  Marissa has captured me with this story and I can't wait to read more of her work.

I would recommend this to anyone who reads YA really, and especially to those who like steampunk or dsytopian.  I wouldn't call this paranormal, but it would kind of fit in there maybe as well.  There are really no content concerns this this book either.  I would let my 12 year old daughter read it if she wanted to.