“Even in the future the story begins with Once Upon a Time.”
– Cinder, Marissa Meyer
This week I’d like to talk about Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Cinder is a Futuristic spin on Cinderella, where Cinder is part cyborg and an engineer in her spare time when she’s not at home with her stepsisters and stepmother. In the first chapter she’s greeted by the prince Kai who requests her help in repairing his cyborg since it is very dear to him and has important information he needs since he’s heard that she’s the best mechanic around. Soon after she agrees to help fix the cyborg, a case of a deadly plague Threatened the place of her work and she ends up rushing home to not get infected as another worker to taken to Quarantine. Once Cinder is home she notices her stepmother and sisters are getting dresses ready for the ball that will be happening soon, with no dress for Cinder. Late in the night Cinder takes a trip to a junkyard with the little stepsister Peony and her handy robot Iko so she can work on a car that’s shes been tinkering with for a few years.
The following day, Peony ends up getting the deadly plague that’s been going around the town, but Cinder tests negative. In anger, Cinder’s stepmother sends her away to be a test subject for people that have the disease against her will. In the meantime we find out that the prince Kai’s father is also dying of the letumosis disease and a Lunar queen Levana is trying to force a marriage alliance to become part of New Beijeng. We as the audience discover that the reason Kai wanted Cinder to fix his andriod was because he’s looking for the Lunar Queen’s missing niece and true heir to the throne Princess Selene. Will we discover why Cinder is immune to be diesease that’s being devloping around the world? Will she end up going to the ball? Will Prince Kai end up getting his cyborg back and finding Princess Selene? You can find out throughout this book and the 3 that follow.
If you love new takes or new retelling of a classic Story tale this is the read for you. It takes an ordinary and almost boring Cinderella story and changes it into a very empowering and greif ridden take on putting your destiney in your own hands. I intend to read the rest of the series of this. I wasn’t able to put the book down the entire read. There were a lot of changes that are made in the book that made this reimagined tale something that can turn into a new classic.
In 2013, this book won Best fiction for Young Adults.
Meyer, Marissa. Cinder. Feiwel & Friends, 2012.
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