Cinder

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) Marissa Meyer 4/5	Published 2012 First Sentence "The screw through Cinder's ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle."
Publisher's Description: 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.
Dear Reader, Everything about this book screamed "Amber, pick me! Pick me!", but I waited. I was reluctant to pick up something that seemed so perfect and be crushed by horrible it was. I let this one stew in the world for a little bit, glancing out the corner of my eye as others gave it great reviews. Finally, the last book will be published next year and enough praise has been sung, so I felt comfortable taking that leap. Now, mind you... at this point I was less excited, I thought to myself that even though it had so much "ME" in it... it wouldn't hold that goblet for me. It didn't, but at that point I was okay with that. What had me enthralled from the start was the premise (and THAT cover), a fairy-tale retelling but twisted with cyborgs, aliens with a futuristic apocalyptic world. Who wouldn't want to read that? Okay, so I was a smidge let down but I knew it was coming (just like I could predict the ending). However, all this isn't too surprising and perhaps I need to cut down my book snobbery but the writing had quite a few problems from time to time and I didn't like that the author stuck to the Cinderella tale a little too closely towards the middle. I wanted more of a change, which I got but only during the beginning and the end. Those parts became my favorite and at least the ending was done well (I did click over to buy the next book right away). Without all the nitpicking though, this is solid and I see why it caught on so well. I can't wait to see where the story goes, how the characters intertwine and how epic this all becomes. I'm sold... bring on Red Riding Hood (Cress). Happy Reading, AmberBug

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