Fantastic Finds

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads


Now that is a hard premise to resist. Also, there are so many fairy tale retreads that I really appreciate when an author makes it worth my while. Why choose Cinderella? Why not write about a cyborg Snow White, or one of any other dozens of characters? Because Cinderella's lowly status in the traditional version segues perfectly into a look at the social status of cyborgs, that's why. Hurrah, a reason for a retelling!

I was hoping for a smidge more in the way of world-building, and some of the plot points were fairly predictable (then again, how could they not be in a story with such a familiar framework?), but those are pretty much my only quibbles. This was an interesting story with enough brains, heart, and originality to keep me interested. There was plenty going on- politics, a plague, romance, subterfuge, medical experiments, social tensions, endearing robots, and more. Also, her "pumpkin" is pretty amazing. You'll see.

Ash is a teenage girl whose loving father has died, leaving her alone with her cruel and violent stepmother. Ash's sole source of comfort is reading fairy tales by the dying light of the fire in her room each night. Ash dreams that, one day, fairies might find her and spirit her away to their world where all her wishes will come true. One night, the mysterious and sinister fairy prince Sidhean finds Ash and begins to prepare her to enter fairyland. But shortly thereafter, Ash meets Kaisa—a noblewoman and the King's Huntress. Ash and Kaisa not only form an immediate and deep friendship, but Ash begins to fall in love with the beautiful, strong woman. Ash's feelings seem be reciprocated but Sidhean returns to claim what he says is rightfully his due, and a battle for Ash's body and soul will push Ash to the brink. -Plot summary borrowed from Amazon

I really loved this book. As a fairytale retelling it was in some ways only loosely based on the original- despite the frame of a girl orphaned and "cared for" by her stepmother and a ball scene, this is a very original novel with plenty of welcome plot/character additions. At the same time, there were bits and piences that were straight from original tellings of Cinderella. For instance, Ash finds solace sleeping at her mother's gravesite, recalling the Grimm's "The Juniper Tree."

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The world building was solidly done, dialogue was believable, and I found myself really caring about not only Ash but her relationships with Sidhean and Kaisa. If you enjoyed other fairly lighltly romantic fairytale re-tellings like Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing or Jessica Day George's Princess of the Midnight Ball, you might enjoy Ash.