Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

  Title: Cinder                                        Pages: 387
  Author: Marissa Meyer                        Source: Netgalley
  Publisher: Feiwel & Friends                 Published: Jan 3, 2012
  Series: Lunar Chronicles #1                Purchase: Amazon

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.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

Cinder had such a unique premise, that I immediately was drawn into the story. I believe it has the chance of being one of the best dystopians of 2012.

Cinder is one of my favorite heroines of all time. Just the amount of rejection and pain she goes through, just because she's a cyborg is heartbreaking and I felt immensely for her. Her stepmother is such a witch and the things she says to Cinder, to put Cinder down is absolutely horrible.

The reason why I loved Cinder so much is because even though she's verbally abused, she was so strong. She didn't break down and be angsty for the rest of the novel, she pushed through and thought of a way to escape. She grew so much and overcame so much and that's why Cinder was one of the best female characters I've read in a while.

I loved Prince Kai and I adored his and Cinder's interactions. They were so cute when they were flirting, even though Cinder was trying to pretend she didn't like him. I really liked their chemistry as well.

The plot twists weren't that surprising to me. In fact, I pretty much guessed what was coming around page 45 and I was cemented in my guess by page 100. Even so, I loved the plot. I couldn't get enough of it. I felt the ending came way too fast, which was a great thing in my opinion, because I haven't read a novel lately where I'm dying to read the sequel. And trust me, I'm dying to read Scarlet.

Also, this book was so darn creative. I have never read a novel about androids and cyborgs and Marissa Meyer brilliantly executed them. The planet Luna and its inhabitants were also brilliantly executed, down to every detail.

Overall, I loved Cinder. I loved Cinder even before I was finished reading. I'm incredibly anxious to read Scarlet and I urge everyone to pick up this wonderfully unique novel. I doubt you'll regret it.

Cover thoughts: I absolutely love it. It's unique, like the book, and actually has to do with the book, therefore automatically earning points from me.