Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is a science fiction novel set in the future city of New Beijing in the country called Eastern Commonwealth. The story follows a sixteen-year-old cyborg mechanic named Cinder, whom the country's prince hires to fix his android, Nainsi. Since Cinder is a cyborg, she faces discrimination, so she tries to hide who she is from Prince Kai. Soon, Cinder’s stepsister catches letumosis, a deadly disease, and is sent into quarantine. Cinder’s stepmother, angry with Cinder, volunteers her for letumosis research. However, it is revealed that Cinder is immune to letumosis and that she is Princess Selene, the rightful ruler of Luna. In summary, the story is a reimagined Cinderella, “despite the simplistic and incongruous-feeling telepathic-enslaver theme.” (“Although it packs,” 2011)

Critical Analysis

Cinder is told in the third person, and the plot is easy to follow. The main protagonist, Cinder, is intelligent, selfless, and stubborn. The main themes of the book are discrimination, selflessness, and courage. Readers may enjoy a similar book called Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, a science fiction set in a dystopian future. The strength of Cinder is that it can take an old story like Cinderella and transforms it into a futuristic ride with robots. Its weakness is that the end is abrupt, leaving the reader without closure.

References

"Although it packs." (2011, October 26). Cinder. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marissa-meyer/cinder-meyer/

Meyer, M. (2012). Cinder. Feiwel & Friends.