Welcome to the Speculative Chic Book Club! Each month, we invite you to join us in reading a book that is voted on by YOU, our readers. Following a short review, please feel free to discuss the book in the comments!
Cinder (2012)
Written by: Marissa Meyer Genre: Science Fiction Length: 10 hours and 2 minutes (audio) Series: Book One of The Lunar Chronicles
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Why I nominated this for book club: It’s been on my radar for a while just as a book that friends thought I would enjoy, but there always seemed to be something else to read first. The fact that it was a NaNoWriMo project made it the perfect nominee for this month.
The premise:
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.
Obvious spoiler warning for a book we should have all read.
Discussion: I did like this book, enough that I’ve already checked out the second (easy enough when they’re instantly available at your library via hoopla) and want to see where the rabbit hole goes. As a fairy tale rewrite, Meyer definitely used Cinderella as a jumping off point rather than a plot device. I mean, yes, her name is Cinder, she’s got two stepsisters, and she left her cyborg foot on the steps of the palace, but that’s really about it. It also had some Snow White elements and I’m curious to see if that gets its own book or not.
The world building was interesting — I liked the differences between Earthans and Lunars, how Meyer talks about each group evolving over time. I found myself wishing at some point in the story that it was actually told from a Lunar perspective, they’re definitely the more interesting group. How did this society evolve? What keeps the Lunar queen in power, other than her glamour? Is that honestly it? How do they survive on the moon without resources from Earth? (Is any of this information I glossed over because I was listening instead of reading?)
I liked that Cinder had a good relationship with one of the sisters, and that Peony made Pearl and Adri seem at least a little sympathetic and human. Like when Iko talked about hearing Adri crying in the bath, or the whole confrontation with Pearl later in the book.
I wish that the fact that Cinder is actually the lost Lunar princess (shades of Anastasia, anyone?) had been more of a surprise, instead of basically being telegraphed from the first chapter. Just knowing a Lunar princess exists, whether or not I know she’s dead, would have made me suspect that Cinder was this girl, but knowing that she’s believed to still be alive? That only parts of her were found? Yeah, okay. It’s obviously Cinder. I’m not sure if Meyer truly meant that to be a surprise or not, but if it was, it definitely didn’t land.
In conclusion: I like that it used the fairy tale as a jumping off point instead of a straight retelling, which I don’t think would have worked well here. I enjoyed the characters and the world building and am looking forward to where this story goes in future installments.
book clubcindermarissa meyerthe lunar chronicles