Cinder, by: Marissa Meyer

Blurb

       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.

       Cinder (92%) is a book I have put off reading for a long time. I hadn't really heard anyone rave about it, and I have a really strange edition of this book, which you can read about here. But, I have to say, I am so happy that I picked this book up when I did. I hadn't read a fairy tale retelling before, but I can say that my standards have been raised tremendously by Marissa Meyer.
       First of all, the world that Meyer builds throughout the book is so amazing, there are no words. Instead of creating the world at the beginning, she introduced us to Cinder's world first, then started to add to it until we finally got the entire picture. I really enjoyed how she didn't throw it all at us at once.
       I also loved how we got to see through Cinder's eyes a little bit. I liked the little bits when we got some inside information about her foot, and when we learned about the little orange light in her eye. Small things like that were what really set this book apart for me.
       My favorite part of the book, though, was all the unexpected humor that came with the story. This book made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion, and that is a big selling point for me. Iko did a lot of comedic relief, which made her one of my favorite characters, but there were a few times Kai said some things and had a "Well we were all thinking it," kind of mentality about it, which I absolutely loved.

Review

       What are your thoughts on Cinder? Let me know in the comments below!

While she waits for her futuristic prince,
Ashton

Even in the future, the story begins with once upon a time.” 
― Marissa Meyer, Cinder