Cinder

Starred review from November 7, 2011
First in the Lunar Chronicles series, this futuristic twist on Cinderella retains just enough of the original that readers will enjoy spotting the subtle similarities. But debut author Meyer’s brilliance is in sending the story into an entirely new, utterly thrilling dimension. Cinder is a talented teenage mechanic and cyborg—part human, part robot—who has been living in New Beijing with a demanding adoptive mother and two stepsisters, ever since her late stepfather took Cinder in after a hovercraft accident. Several events abruptly turn Cinder’s world upside down: a chance meeting with the handsome Prince Kai has her heart racing; a plague pandemic threatens her beloved sister Peony; Cinder learns she is immune to the plague; and the evil Lunar Queen Levana arrives on Earth, scheming to marry Kai. Though foreshadowing early on makes it fairly clear where the story is headed, it unfolds with the magic of a fairy tale and the breakneck excitement of dystopian fiction. Meyer’s far-future Earth is richly imagined, full of prejudice and intrigue, characters easy to get invested in, and hints of what might await in future books. Ages 12–up.

November 15, 2011
Although it packs in more genres than comfortably fit, this series opener and debut offers a high coolness factor by rewriting Cinderella as a kickass mechanic in a plague-ridden future. Long after World War IV, with a plague called letumosis ravaging all six Earthen countries, teenage Cinder spends her days in New Beijing doing mechanical repairs to earn money for her selfish adoptive mother. Her two sisters will attend Prince Kai's ball wearing elegant gowns; Cinder, hated because she's a cyborg, won't be going. But then the heart-thumpingly cute prince approaches Cinder's business booth as a customer, starting a chain of events that links her inextricably with the prince and with a palace doctor who's researching letumosis vaccines. This doctor drafts cyborgs as expendable test subjects; none survive. Cinder's personal tenacity and skill, as well as Meyer's deft application of "Cinderella" nuggets--Cinder's ill-fitting prosthetic foot (loseable on palace steps); a rusting, obsolete car colored pumpkin-orange--are riveting. Diluting them is a space-fantasy theme about mind-controlling Lunars from the moon, which unfortunately becomes the central plot. A connection between Cinder's forgotten childhood and wicked Lunar Queen Levana is predictable from early on. Despite the simplistic and incongruous-feeling telepathic-enslaver theme, readers will return for the next installment in this sharp, futuristic "Cinderella" tale. (Science fiction/fairy tale. 12-15)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-This re-imagined fairy tale, the first of a quartet, is neither imaginative nor compelling enough to keep readers involved in the detailed plot. In New Beijing of the Eastern Commonwealth, citizens are plagued by a deadly disease called lutumosis and are in constant danger of being obliterated by a moon-dwelling population called the lunars. Cinder is a human with surgically implanted robot parts who lives with her stepmother, two stepsisters, and an android named Iko. She slaves away as a mechanic, working hard to fix robots, hovercrafts, and netscreens. One day a hooded stranger walks into her booth at the marketplace with a broken android. To her shock, it is Prince Kai. The teen is flustered by the handsome young man who is soon to be emperor but manages to hide her mechanical arm and foot, which would reveal that she is a lowly cyborg, and agrees to help him. Meanwhile her stepsisters, Pearl and Peony, are readying themselves for the ball, intended to help Prince Kai find a princess. After Peony becomes afflicted with lutumosis and is taken to quarantine, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her hated stepdaughter for research in a desperate attempt to save her. With the help of a strange yet kindly doctor, Cinder learns a shocking secret about her past that could help save Prince Kai's empire, if only she can figure out what it means. The author's skilled, concise writing style cannot save this lackluster tale that has way too obvious secrets. Die-hard retold fairy-tale lovers who are also fans of future worlds such as that in Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series (S & S) might enjoy this one, but otherwise it is an additional purchase.-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 There's a lot of moving parts in this fresh spin on Cinderella, the first in a four-book series. First, we've moved from a fairy-tale kingdom to a postWorld War IV future in New Beijing. Plagued by her stepmother and shunned by society for being a cyborg, Cinder keeps her head down as the city's best mechanic until she catches the eye of the dashing Prince Kai. He's got matters of state to worry about, though, including an incurable plague and the ever-present threat of war from the moon-people, known as Lunars. The over-the-top, spiteful cruelty that dogs the heroine from all sides is a little too cartoonish to take seriously when retrofitted from fairy tale to science fiction, and it's best not to ponder things like why such a technologically advanced civilization would get into such a tizzy about a fancy-dress ball. Still, readers will enjoy lining up the touchstones from the old favorite, and Meyer brings a good deal of charm and cleverness to this entertaining, swiftly paced read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
Sci-fi meets fairy tale in this futuristic Cinderella story blending androids, hovercrafts, and netscreens with royalty, a ball, and an evil stepmother. With no memory of her life before becoming a cyborg, teenage Linh Cinder lives with her guardian stepmother and two stepsisters after her adoptive stepfather's death. She's treated as subhuman and forced to earn the family's living as a mechanic, but her life changes after an encounter with New Beijing's Prince Kai. Kai and Cinder are drawn to each other, even as she hides her cyborg identity and feelings from him, believing they can never be together. Soon Cinder is involved in finding a cure for a plague that's decimating Earth's population and also helping in Kai's search for the missing heir to the Lunar throne, who (unlike the current, brutal Lunar queen) he hopes will be sympathetic to Earth's plight. Debut author Meyer ingeniously incorporates key elements of the fairy tale into this first series entry. Early foreshadowing makes the cliffhanger ending involving Cinder's true identity rather predictable, but the novel is full of enough twists and turns, complex characters, and detailed world-building to redeem itself. While nearly the entire Cinderella story plays itself out here, Cinder's unfinished journey, together with Meyer's vivid sci-fi world, will leave readers anticipating the next installment. cynthia k. ritter

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2012
With no memory of her life before becoming a cyborg, teenage Linh Cinder (who lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters) is forced to earn the family's living as a mechanic. Her life changes after an encounter with New Beijing's Prince Kai. Meyer ingeniously incorporates key elements of the fairy tale into this sci-fi Cinderella story.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)