Cinder

I was a touch wary of this. A retelling of Cinderella where Cinderella was a cyborg and a mechanic, set in a Beijing of the future with a weird (potentially dystopian?) government, moon colonies, and also a mysterious (potentially apocalyptic?) disease? It sounded like too many things put together. How on earth could something like this actually turn out to be worth reading?Apparently, like this.I love fairy tale retellings. One of the things I love about them is the feeling I get when I know what is going to happen, but I have no clue how. I love the process of ticking off those boxes of the basic Cinderella story. In any given retelling, you generally have a deserving but not high class girl, an evil stepmother, some questionable stepsisters, a ball, a prince (ideally one worth winning), a lost slipper, a fairy godmother, and a coach that is not what it seems. All of these elements don't need to be there, certainly, and it is often very difficult to sneak all of them in while retaining a veneer of originality, but there needs to be enough that it is recognizable, even if just barely, as the same story. It is a difficult job, honestly, to balance things just right, and as a sincere fan of the genre, I often am generous in my definition of "original," as well as in my definition of "interesting."This book did not need any extra generosity. And no, I am not telling you which boxes it ticked, because that would take away half the fun.Cinder herself was easy to root for and empathize with. She had the agency that a lot of Cinderellas lack, and I love to see that. She had interests and talents and a desire to escape that I don't often see in this story, and she even had a female friend to support her, albeit of an odd variety. She was spunky. I felt like a more modern telling of this story, and not just because it was set in a future time period.I would like to state that I saw the reveal ofCinder as the lost Lunar princess super early. That doesn't strictly bother me, but since that was such a divergence from the classic tale (and thus not guessable going in), it would have been nice to have been longer in suspense there. I appreciated the building of a relationship between Cinder and Prince Kai, since I have never really enjoyed the "love at first sight" concept so prevalent in fairy tales. (That is probably at least partly why I love retellings so much, actually.) Kai was an intriguing character in his own right, and, while certainly not perfect, was fun to get to know. I appreciate that he was clever and driven to do right by his people, whatever he needed to sacrifice for that to happen.There was a thread of something I felt like I should recognize throughout, yet I could not pinpoint. When, in the acknowledgments, Marissa Meyer gives a shout-out to "Sailor Moon fandom geeks," I finally realized what it was. And I loved that.The entirety of the Lunar people and their politics was fascinating. It felt both very sci-fi and very classic fairy tale. I can't wait to hear more about them. I will be picking up the rest of the books in the series and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Such a good story. A very different retelling of the famous fairy tale and keeps you on your toes from the beginning. Quite an un-put-downable book in my opinion as well.

The Vibe: A creative, highly addictive sci-fi twist on a classic fairy tale that holds up beautifully on a reread. My Thoughts: A Cyborg Cinderella story—honestly, what more could you possibly ask for? This is my second time reading through this book, and I absolutely love this series. The Retelling: It takes the familiar bones of the Cinderella story and gives it a wonderfully unique, futuristic spin that feels incredibly fresh. The Pacing: The narrative is wonderfully paced. It hooks you early on and moves at a smooth, steady clip that keeps you thoroughly entertained without any lagging sections. The Style: It is a very accessible, easy-to-read book that serves as the perfect, high-energy launchpad for the rest of the series. Bottom Line: Whether you are diving into the Lunar Chronicles for the very first time or coming back to it for a nostalgic comfort read, Cinder is a phenomenal, fun sci-fi adventure that never disappoints.