Book Review: Cinder by Aiyla S.

Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, the first book in the New York Times #1 Bestselling series The Lunar Chronicles, is a riveting and fascinating science fiction novel recounting the fictitious tale of a

sixteen-year-old cyborg in a futuristic world. What with Meyer’s detailed, prolific writing;

unique, lovable, deadpan characters; and gripping storyline, it’s no wonder this novel is a bestseller. Cinder is an enthralling, intricately woven novel based on the story of Cinderella, in which Marissa Meyer has cleverly shaped the renowned character Cinderella into a most sarcastic, stalwart, resourceful, erudite character.

Linh Cinder is an adroit mechanic in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth. She is constantly being ridiculed, even by her own stepmother, who abhors and vilifies her, treating Cinder like an entirely inhuman creature because of her cybernetics.

Meanwhile, a virulent plague known as letumosis has New Beijing under constant angst. The plague is deadly and detrimental and has not allowed any of its victims to survive. Scientists are working day and night to develop an efficacious antidote, but they haven’t yet found any success, and letumosis works swiftly once an individual has been unfortunate enough to catch it. Scientists on the royal team of the emperor of the Commonwealth have organized a cyborg draft, where cyborgs volunteer to be test subjects for a potential letumosis antidote, but no cure has been developed yet, and the plague has been claiming victims for many years.

When Cinder encounters the beloved Prince Kai, the son of Emperor Rikan, she finds herself dealing with repairing a broken android that, previously unbeknownst to her, contains vital, furtive information relating to an avaricious, ruthless queen . . .

And above the blue planet is Luna, where a tyrant who calls herself the queen is plotting to usurp Earth. Queen Levana, the sovereign of Luna, as well as most of the other Lunars, all possess a powerful gift called glamour that permits them to alter their appearances by manipulating the minds of both Earthens and Lunars. Even worse, they have an even more powerful gift of being able to grasp control of the minds and bodies of others, which makes the Earthens no match for the callous Lunars, especially Levana, the most sadistic one of all. If Levana wages war, all will be lost, and the plague only exacerbates matters.

Cinder doesn’t think she has any significant role in any of this . . . until she discovers suspicious, mysterious information about herself and her recondite past from a doctor who seems rather shady himself.

Suddenly Cinder is trapped in the midst of a befuddling, life-threatening dilemma that she can’t escape, and her problems are only accumulating. Conundrums that she can’t comprehend engulf her.

This compelling bestseller is a must-read that will keep you engrossed by starting out with a stupendous, well-written plot and leaving you on the edge of your seat after an intriguing cliffhanger. Cinder will have you captivated and itching to read the next books, Scarlet, Cress, Winter, Fairest, and Stars Above.

C.S. Lewis once stated, “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” Once you have read all of these titles, you’ll wonder why you ever stopped.