Cinder by Marissa Meyer

YA Science Fiction

Even though the slipper is not glass the cover points to Cinder being a variation on the Cinderella theme.   For me that was a big part of the fun of reading this book.  I know how the Cinderella story goes and I loved how some of the book followed the original story, some of the book used a twist on the story, and some of the book went it’s own way.  There are other fairy tale themes in the book as well.

Cinder was saved, partially rebuilt and adopted by a man who died leaving her with a stepmother and two sisters.  She is a master mechanic and her work supports her family but she is a second-class citizen unloved by her family.  There is a ball coming up, she meets the prince when he needs something repaired, and the story unfolds from there.  There is plague killing person, the Luna queen wants to marry the Prince, and Cinder becomes a key player in an intergalactic struggle.  This is the first book in the series so we are left with many questions and a few answers. 

Cinder is a great character and we get to know a lot about her in this first book.  Some of the secondary characters are as well developed and some were more like cardboard cutouts.  That did not take from the story.  They were all the story needed and were what I expected because of the similarity to the fairy tale.  The plot development is smooth and filled with some surprises.  I admit that there were enough hooks that I was not surprised when Cinder’s real identity came out.   This was a well-written start to a new series.  Cinder is listed as YA but I think any age would enjoy the book.  I certainly did.

When I finished I was ready for the next book.  Since I got Cinder as an ARC and it will not be out until January I have quite a bit of time to wait for the next book.

Feiwel and Friends will release Cinder by Marissa Meyer in January of 2012.

I received Cinder as an ARC from Amazon Vine.

Tor released a free short story prequel to Cinder.  Click here to read.