Cinder by Marissa Meyer

                                            

YA Sci-Fi

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a 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.

Why did it take me so long to read this???

Cinder is based on the Cinderella fairy tale, and I love the inventive ways Marissa Meyer uses this well-known story line. Cinder is an unglamorous mechanic, a cyborg, and ward to an evil-stepmother. She has a mechanical foot instead of a glass slipper, and no real desire to attend any ball, even one in honor of the very handsome Prince Kai. There's nothing I didn't love about this girl! 

Add a horrible plague afflicting citizens everywhere, including Cinder's beloved step-sister and the King. Add an evil Lunar Queen determined to rule Earth with her mind tricks. Oh yeah, and if that's not enough, add Cinder's mysterious origins. Is she really just a lowly orphan her step-father took pity on and adopted? Or is she something more?

I loved all the twists and turns this novel took. Every single character, even the minor ones, were well drawn and three-dimensional. I found myself sucked into this world of New Beijing, and can't wait to read more!