Thursday 5 January 2012

Cinder review

Cinder
Marissa Meyer
January 5th 2012
Puffin Books


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 was a book that kind of took me by surprise. When I first started reading it I didn't really get into it that much, and I must admit I felt it had a kind of slow start, but after a while I found that I really didn't want to put it down, and I read the last part of the book in one sitting. It's kind of a grower, but it's a book worth your patience.


Cinder herself was actually a really great character. Despite her pretty horrible life, and her being a cyborg and getting treated like a lesser life form (which I didn't really get because Cyborgs are awesome. Maybe that's just me though... I watched a LOT of Teen Titans when I was younger and all) she wasn't a mopey, pathetic heroine at all. She was feisty and kind of made the best out of her situation, even when things got really, really bad. Like, if that was me I would've been a complete wreck and moaning about how unfair the world was and all that. But she takes it and she fights back and I admire her for that. Also, she wasn't a swooning, quivering wreck at the sight of Kai, and not only was he handsome, he was a prince! Yay!


Kai was also really great. He, too, had a lot of pressure on him, because he's royalty and he's about to become the leader of a country, and there's some crazy space woman who wants to marry him (for malicious purposes of course.) Which, if you ask me, is a lot of crap for a 18 year old to have to take. But he was nice, and he dealt really well with all of the stuff that was going on with his life. Though I'm a little bit concerned about his reaction to Cinder at the end... 


I really liked the world that Marissa created, though I did find some of it to be a bit far fetched... And I still don't get the cyborg hate. Do people usually hate cyborgs in things? Why does everybody hate cyborgs?! They never did anything wrong apart from being kind of nearly not completely human. But still, why do people find that so hard to over look? Sorry. The cyborg rant ends NOW.


I kind of found the plot a little bit predictable, and I could tell a lot of the revelations before they happened, but I still enjoyed it regardless. One little niggle I have (which isn't actually with the book) is that I really, really wanted this to be a series of interconnected standalones, like Wicked Lovely or something. I kind of wanted a closed off ending, even though it would've been really rushed, but we'll just have to wait and see about what happens when the next book comes out! Though I can't really see how she can drag Cinder's story out through 4 books...


Cinder is a little hard to get into, but totally worth it if your into futuristic (but not really dystopian) books. A great read! 

4 comments:

  1. I keep debating on whether I should pick up this book or not! I loved your cyborg rant, that would bug me too if the reason behind cyborg-hate wasn't really addressed. That's awesome Cinder was feisty and not just a mess around Kai, I love strong female characters! That sucks you found it predictable though, suspense is the best part! Awesome review Cicely! :)

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  2. "A grower," lol. Nice term. We know a few of those.

    Anyway, great review! We met Marissa Meyer last night and she was beyond adorable. She also had some very cool things to say about the world of Cinder. It's on our blog if you're interested: http://www.weheartya.com/2012/01/author-event-cinder-by-marissa-meyer.html

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  3. I loved Cinder and loved even more that she was such a feisty character despite her circumstances. I felt like the "cyborg hate" probably grew out of the fact that they were considered property...but I totally get what you're saying. Kai's reaction was slightly disheartening at the end there, but she did kind of lie to him so I guess it's to be expected. :) Great review!

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  4. I've heard everybody raving about this, but I still don't think it's my kinda thing. IT just sounds a bit too complicated and I don't want to read it with expectations and have it fasll flat or anything. Glad you enjoyed! (And the cover is way freaky)

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