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.
Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.
I grew up with adoration of Cinderella fairy tale. She is Disney Princess I love. I even potrayed myself as the main character while I was reading Cinder lol. I adore Marissa Meyer's Cinder as much as I love Cinderella. The plot is delightful and the writing is engrossing!
The story still captures the classic parts of Cinderella. Cinder has an evil stepmother and 2 stepsisters. There are Prince Charming and THE BALL! I couldn't help not to enthusiastic with the ball because I love dance scene. I was just a little bit disappointed that there was no glass slipper like in the cover.
The twists are cleverly twined with sciene-fiction and make the plot rich! Cinder is set in New Beijing, in Eastern Commonwealth. The country is plagued with blue fever, a pestilence that haven't had a cure. The emperor is caught by the plague, while the prince is too young to rule the country if the emperor dies. In the other hand, Levana, queen of Luna (I'm thinking it's really on the moon because Sailor Moon lol) threatens to wage a war if she doesn't get place in the alliance. In this case, this 30-something woman wants to marry 17 years old Prince Kai. WHAT?!
I think the world building is very brilliant, combining the futuristic setting with classic fairy tale. I was confused with mechanic and futuristic terms, but it didn't bother me much. There was The 4th World War long time ago, they divided the world to 6 countries that formed Earthen Union after the war. I love how Marissa Meyer puts cyborgs, politics, and magic on Lunars (people from Luna). From the 1st book, I have already seen how vast the world of Lunar Chronicles series is. I'm very excited to explore more countries in the sequels.
Although I love Cinderella story, I usually don't like the Prince Charming. Because guys, he has eyes and he looks for his true love based on a slipper. But in Cinder, Prince Kai is not only charming, he's adorable and vurnerable and very honest about his feeling. I like the romance between him and Cinder, I was grinning over their interactions. I didn't feel it was insta-love, they were attracted to each other, not something we call love. Beside I didn't expect that they would spark the love slowly though, in Disney edition Cinderella met Prince Charming and sang So This Is Love lol.