Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Publication: 2012 - Feiwel & Friends, Macmillen
Page Count: 387
Target Audience: Grades 7 and up
Themes/Topics: retold fairytale, future Earth, Cinderella, cyborg, moon, appearances vs reality, trust, courage
Summary: Set in futuristic Asia, Cinder revolves around a sixteen-year-old, talented mechanic named Cinder. Although Cinder is skilled and works hard, her adopted stepmother and older stepsister refuse to accept her for who she is, a cyborg. She does find friendship, however, with the family’s odd android servant and her younger stepsister.
Tasked with making money for the entire family, Cinder works at the local market, fixing machines and androids. When the prince of New Beijing seeks out Cinder’s help in fixing his own personal android, Cinder is thrown into a time-sensitive mystery regarding the safety of the entire planet Earth, as well as her own past. Everything Cinder believed to be true turns out to be nothing more than a fairytale, told for her own protection.
Now that she knows the truth, Cinder and Prince Kai must decide if love is worth an entire population.
Review: I was taken aback by my enjoyment of Cinder. Honestly, it has been sitting in my TBR pile for months, and only after several students urged me to read it did I pick it up, and I am SO glad that I did.
Meyer authentically creates the characters throughout the novel, and I found myself caring for all of them (except Queen Lavana...). I was actually almost in tears when Cinder discovered Iko's remains. (Seriously? Yes. Seriously.) Cinder, Prince Kai, and even Dr. Erland seem real to me. Their emotions, back stories, and dialogue are natural and effective.
The structure and plot development are terrific. I tend to steer clear of retellings, because I feel like I will already know how the story will end. With Cinder, however, the events progress naturally, and as much as I tried to guess what was going to happen based on my knowledge of Cinderella, Meyer was able to keep me on my toes and wanting to read more. She injects the traditional tale with a new narrative of space and a lunar battle. This second storyline is enough to keep readers moving and trying to figure it out before Cinder and the prince.
The novel takes a few pages to introduce Cinder's futuristic world, and the technical lingo could be a stopper for some students, but in general, the action begins pretty quickly. After chapter 2, I was sold and on my way to the end...or onto Book Two.
This is definitely a 5-star novel and Meyer is an author to watch...
Moments to Share:
- Pages 28-29: “The cyborg draft...inside her head.” Cinder discusses the cyborg draft and the possibility of her being chosen.
- Page 179: “He hesitated...she would kill you.’” Dr. Erland reveals Cinder’s true nature and danger.
- Page 274-275: “The messenger stepped...from the disease.’” A messenger brings Prince Kai information about a possible cure to letumosis.
Booktalk: Imagine a world in the far future, post WWIV. Robots and humans coexist and mingle on the streets of New Beijing, and a deadly plague is threatening most of the human population. In the midst of the hustle and bustle lives an extremely talented mechanic named Cinder. (Read beginning with “Cinder was the only full-service mechanic...” to “...next to her.” on pages 3-4) You see, Cinder’s gift was not just natural. It was a part of her. She is half human, half robot - a cyborg. One day, the prince of New Beijing approaches her to fix his personal android, and Cinder is thrown into a time-sensitive mystery that may very well place the safety of planet Earth in her hands. While working on the android, Cinder discovers secrets about Prince Kai, the Lunar Queen Levana, and herself. She must put the pieces together before it is too late. This is the first novel in the Lunar Chronicles, an intergalactic struggle of good and evil, all resting on the shoulders of Cinder.
Book Trailer: http://www.marissameyer.com/book/book-one/
Discussion Questions: http://www.marissameyer.com/books/discussion-questions/
Related Works:
- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire - Maguire has a knack for stepping into the unseen roles of secondary characters in fairytales. This title pairs well with Cinder, as readers attempt to draw the connections between the story of Cinderella and their respective book. Maguire also penned several other titles in this fashion.
- Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - Pearce weaves extreme violence and fantastical creatures like werewolves nicely into this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
No comments:
Post a Comment