REVIEW: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

“She was a cyborg, and she would never go to a ball.” 

Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing (the city built on top of the old Beijing after WWIV). She is both a mechanic that works on cyborgs and is a cyborg herself. Cyborgs are humans who were badly injured, so they had to be augmented with robot parts. They are considered second-class citizens.

Adri, Cinder's guardian, blames her for the death of her husband, the man who brought Cinder to their family and adopted her. Adri resents her and exploits her, making her the sole breadwinner. 

The Easter Commonwealth is in trouble. A deadly plague is sweeping the land, for which there is no cure. The Lunars (people who live on the moon and have mind control powers) are threatening war unless their sickeningly beautiful queen and Prince Kai of New Beijing get married. 

Cinder wants nothing to do with it, but everything changes the day Prince Kai visits her booth, and the plague hits close to home.

This was a really interesting book! I thought it was just sweet, with some good world-building at first, with some obvious foreshadowing, but as we delved deeper into the societal prejudices of the city, and the Catch 22 that Prince Kai struggles with, you want to keep digging deeper and find out what happens. You expect Meyer to simply tell the story of Cinderella with cyborgs, but honestly, it is just a bare outline. Yes, you have the ball, the lost...shoe and other things, the "pumpkin," the abusive family. But those are small touchstones in a very complex story that doesn't end with the prince finding her and having a happily ever after. 

The Lunars were an element that made me giggle for a while. Aliens from the moon that controlled your mind? Sounds like a 1950s B movie. But as we met more of them, they became a truly frightening nemesis. 

There was also a smattering of Snow White in there, in the story of the lost Lunar princess who's place was usurped by a queen obsessed with beauty. 

Excellent storytelling! I can't wait for the rest of the series!

ARCHIVED REVIEW: Fairest (6/27/11)

Fairest

by Gail Carson Levine

"I'm not a Sir, but a serf,

And my enemy's worse

Than a knight ever cursed."

Aza is the ugly daughter of a kindly innkeeper and his wife. Her singing, however, is the most beautiful in the land, and the kingdom of Ayorthea is a land whose culture is saturated in song. When a duchess brings her to the palace to wait upon her at the king's wedding, the new queen takes a liking to her and asks her to be her lady-in-waiting. Yet, all is not as it seems, and Aza is ensnared in a world of lies and deceit. Will the temptation to become beautiful prove too much for her? What will the Queen do to her if she becomes the Fairest of Them All?

I had my doubts as I began this book. The sentences were short and uncomplicated and I felt like I was on a frequently halting train. The world felt contrived, and the protagonist predictable and annoying. I thought the book overly simplistic and puerile.

As I kept reading, I discovered I was very wrong. The story is delightful and enchanting! The culture of Ayorthea was irritating to me at first, but I came to love that everyone sang what they felt: snatches of song in conversations, Sings instead of balls, songbirds in the palace, healing sings for when someone is ill. It made me wish there was more singing and more poetry in our daily lives. It added a depth of emotion and meaning to what could have been a simple dialogue.

Aza herself always felt that she was ugly. She is described as having red lips, black hair, and pale skin, but in an unattractive way. She was also described as being very large. I couldn't help picturing her attractive, if self-conscious, particularly because the cover portrays her as such.

The fairy tale the book was based on, "Snow White," never overwhelmed the story's natural course. There were flavors of "Snow White" (the girl with red lips, black hair and pale skin, the jealous queen, the magic mirror, the plot to kill the beautiful girl, the flight to the dwarves (in this case, gnomes), and the rescue by the prince) but it was all wonderfully subtle. Very few things felt forced.

The love story was beautiful. The prince loves her at first sight, and supports her through her insecurities. It was a warm and fuzzy, yet unaffected romance. Even when they hit a rocky point, you know all will turn out well.

The villain, the evil jealous queen in this Snow White tale, is not really a villain, but an incredibly insecure woman who could have a good at heart but is weak, foolish, and selfish.

And lastly, the apple of the story is not dislodged from Aza's throat with a kiss, but with a good, hearty thump on the back. That pleased me to no end.

All in all, a solid sister to Gail Carson Levine's other book Ella Enchanted.

If you liked this book, you may like:

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale