Cinder

“Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.”

4.5 STARS

I really, really liked this book! Which is really surprising given my aversion to almost all of its principles: retellings, space, aliens, and robots. I know those are all kind of stupid things to not read a book because of, but I am so iffy on space it's ridiculous, and retellings I am very wary of because it is extremely hard to find a balance between going too far off of the original classic and being a carbon copy of it in a different setting. But this blew me away! It was the perfect blend of dystopian themes, technology, a dash of space and interplanetary tensions, and with just the right amount of cameos to the original Cinderella story. I thought that the characters in this held very well. Cinder was enjoyable to read and understand her thoughts, but I liked that there were little snippets of other people's perspectives; I almost wish we had a little bit more, but I'm told there will be a lot more of that in the coming installments. I loved how horribly evil Lavina was, and how we got to learn about a whole other society on the moon and how the Earth essentially became all buddy buddy against them. And I laughed every time the Lunars insisted on being called a planet, it was hilarious and I loved the lightness that was embedded in the book to balance the serious themes. Cinder was strong, smart, and all around a very genuine character that was very approachable to slip into perspective with. If she's not my favorite character it's only because Kai is right there with her; he was funny, sarcastic, and just the right blend of arrogance and heart and I thoroughly enjoyed having him as the main male lead. I also loved how he had fansites and fangirls following his every move, including Cinder's stepsisters. Speaking of, this brings me to the family dynamic of the Linhs. I was so worried that the author would overdo it with abuse and whatnot, or downplay the awful dynamic that Cinder was forced into, but it was done very well and I especially liked that Cinder remained with her step family even after she was sent away for experimentation. I also really liked that Peony was a lifeline for Cinder, as opposed to the original story of Cinderella in which she is alone besides the animals and wildlife around her. I enjoyed the dynamic the sisters had, for as short as it lasted, unfortunately. I think one of the most interesting things about this book was the disease that infected the world and the technology created and being developed to defeat it. I was really interested in the fact that no sense of magic was given to the story, but it was rather completely scientific (like with the Lunars and their command over bioelectric energy as a form of compulsion and mind control). I loved the car, which was essentially Cinder's pumpkin, for the ball and that was probably my favorite crossover of the retelling. Additionally, it was interesting how the disease worked in stages and once you see the spots, you're already done for and must be quarantined and essentially forgot about even while you're still alive. Basically, all of the medical and scientific explanations fascinated me and I was really glad that the author didn't just explain it away as the disease or magic, etc. I think the only thing I really had an issue with in this book was that I could predict the ending only about eighty to a hundred pages in, as soon as the little nugget of information was dropped about the Lunar society and their ruling lineage. However, this did not make me stop reading the book by any means, I only wish I had pieced it all together a bit later, but c'est la vie. This book was intelligent, well written, held a whole cast of wonderful characters (including an android I became very attached to and slightly broke my heart for), and held me enthralled for the entire one sitting I flew through it with. Highly recommend, and I'm going out in two minutes to get the sequel from Barnes and Noble!

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