Review of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Narrator: Rebecca Soler
Published by: Macmillan Audio
Length: 8 sound discs (540 min.)
Source: Libaray
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: 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.

Revamped fairy tales?  Whether you love them or hate them, they seem to be the big trend right now in YA literature and Marissa Meyer joins the gang with Cinder.

While I'm not a huge fan of science fiction, I do enjoy it every once it a while.  While Cinder was a cyborg, the story went beyond who she was mechanically.  It was a story of not fitting in or being accepted by your family.  It's a story of finding someone who likes you and understands you, but at the same time may not know the real you.  It's the story of Cinderella with a whole new twist. 

One of the great things about this novel is that Marissa Meyer made all of her characters seem real, whether they were cyborg, android, human or lunar.  Cinder is the type of character that everyone can relate to.  Who hasn't felt a little different or left out at times?  While Cinder doesn't have the perfect life she makes the best out of it and every situation she is put in.  She's got enough spirit to be a feisty at times, but she also knows when to back down.  I really disliked her stepmother/guardian and I think she put Cinder in really difficult situations.  She twisted reality and always blamed Cinder.   

The relationship between Cinder and Prince Kai is innocent and fun.  Of course he's the almighty prince and he thinks Cinder is a mechanic, but they seemed to click.  He begins to fall for her without knowing who she really is or her history.  Throw into the mix a spiteful stepmother/guardian, a jealous lunar queen, a deadly disease, and a missing lunar princess and the plot gets more exciting by the minute. 

While I did enjoy the story I found myself drifting off at times.  I'm not sure if that had to do with the story or that I just wasn't engaged enough in the audio.  Rebecca Soler did a good job as a narrator so I'm guessing that the science-fiction parts of the story are what lost my interest.  While this is a retelling of a classic fairy tale and I knew the general plot, I often felt it was predictable.  I wanted a couple of more twists and surprises.   

Cinder is a enjoyable read and as with all fairy tale retellings, it was fun to see how the author changed this well known classic tale.