Cinder

Meyer, Marissa. Cinder. 2012. 390p. ISBN 9780312641894. Book 1 of the Lunar Chronicles. Available both as a book at FIC MEY on the library shelves and as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Cinder is a lowly mechanic who works in one of the marketplaces of New Beijing. Her life forever changes when Crown Prince Kai comes to her to fix his nanny android, Nainsi. Self-conscious, Cinder is terrified the Prince will discover her secret. Cinder is in fact a cyborg, a sixteen years-old girl who has several cyborg appendages and a computing unit embedded in her brains.

Adopted at the age of 11, she does not remember her previous life, but she has powerful memories of a fire. She’s been told that she was involved in a terrible hovercraft accident that literally cost her an arm and a leg. And the father who adopted her died of Letimosis, a powerful contagious disease that cripples then kills its victims, leaving her alone with her stepmother and her two stepsisters. Both Adri, the stepmother, and Pearl, the older stepsister, are horrible to her and mistreat her every chance they get.

Fixing the Prince’s android creates a cascade of events and throws Cinder’s life into chaos. First, Kai appears to be falling in love with her, and he invites her to the Ball thrown every year by the Eastern Commonwealth. Second, Cinder is given by Adri to the authorities as a test subject for the Letimosis plague, but when injected with the disease her body defeats it. The doctor examining her realizes she is more than she thinks, and he eventually reveals to her that she is a Lunar.

Coincidentally, the Lunar Queen, Levana, arrives on Earth to participate in the funerals of Kai’s father, who died of the Letimosis plague. A villainous queen who uses her bio-electric abilities to glamour those who see her and influence their thoughts, the queen seeks nothing more than total world domination, beginning with the Eastern Commonwealth. Kai has been investigating the murder of her niece, Princess Selene, thirteen years ago, hoping to find a solution out of war, but he knows that time is running out and when Queen Levana does not get what she wants she will send her armies to fight Earth.

When the Queen sees Cinder, she realizes that there are Lunars on Earth and obliges Kai to give her up so she can be brought back to Luna, tried and executed. Kai loves Cinder, but a rash move gets her imprisoned in the palace. The doctor then reveals to her that she is in fact heir to the throne of Luna. She is Princess Selene. And her life is in mortal danger.

Cinder must now make a decision. Will she use her Lunar gift to influence others to escape, fulfill her destiny and claim the throne, or will she remain plain old Cinder? Can she survive the intrigues beyond her control?

Cinder's story continues in Scarlet. If you liked The Selection or Matched, you will definitively enjoy this series. Meyer also released a new series, Renegades, which is excellent. And for a new take on the age-old tale of Rumpelstilskin, take a look at Gild by the same author!