Book Review: “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer
Håfa adai! Welcome to my review of Cinder, Book 1 of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.
This book review consists of two parts: a spoiler-free plot summary and my thoughts on the story. In the second part, I give my personal rating and break down the setting and worldbuilding, storytelling, cast of characters, and themes. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinions of the book and maybe encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.
Click on the tags at the bottom of this post to see all reviews with the same tags in the Science Fiction bookshelf.
Spoiler-Free Plot Summary
The century since the end of the Fourth World War and the ongoing global battle against Letumosis, a deadly virus, have changed human dynamics throughout the world. Amidst this, no one is more despised by the people of Earth than two demographics: Lunars (humans who call the Moon home) and cyborgs (humans living with mechanical limbs and organs). Lunars are outright banned from coming to Earth while cyborgs are second-class citizens with fewer rights and protections than other humans on Earth.
Sixteen year-old Linh Cinder is the best full-service mechanic in New Beijing’s market square. She’s also a cyborg. Although she is the only option for many who need their androids repaired, the sight of her exposed wires and cybernetic left limbs frighten people. And what was supposed to be a normal workday in the market takes an unexpected turn when Prince Kai, crown prince of the Eastern Commonwealth, approaches Cinder in search of repairs for his personal android. Her clothes conceal her cybernetic parts, obscuring her nature from the young royal.
There are only two she trusts with telling about Prince Kai’s visit to her humble stand: her android assistant Iko and her youngest stepsister Linh Peony. Like every other teen attracted to men in New Beijing, Peony is obsessed with the tall and handsome Prince Kai. While Peony is elated with the thought of dancing with the prince at the upcoming ball, Cinder sees the ball as the perfect opportunity to make her escape. But her plans are thrown into chaos when someone is exposed to Letumosis.
My Thoughts on Cinder: 3.75 stars
In Cinder, Marissa Meyer paints a highly-detailed (but not overwhelming) picture of the city of New Beijing, capital of the Eastern Commonwealth. The century that has passed since the Fourth World War and the current threat of the deadly pandemic ravishing populations on Earth are themes that resonate with the real world today. The story explores themes of discrimination, succession, and class in the context of a divided dystopian world.
With that being said, I would classify Cinder as moderately intense science fiction. Marissa Meyer takes the reader through the futuristic cyberpunk landscape of New Beijing with segues and explanations that feel natural. And the science and technology featured throughout the story are not so advanced that I felt lost or dumb. I also suspect that Marissa Meyer has read many works from Robert A. Heinlein, an American aeronautical engineer and one of the most prolific science fiction writers of the mid-20th Century. I have read three and a half Heinlein books as of this writing and I could not help but notice many little details in Cinder that seemed to be nods or references to Heinlein’s style. As a fan of science fiction, I loved those details!
Cinder follows the storyline and story beats of the well-known tale of Cinderella—with origins and variations ranging from ancient Greece to 9th century China and Vietnam to 17th century Italy—while combining elements of an early 20th Century myth that I cannot name otherwise I will reveal a major spoiler. Like many retellings of older fairy tales, it is a little predictable. Even though I could see the general direction the story was going, I did not predict the twists and turns it would take. And I appreciate the ways Marissa Meyer departed from the classic fairy tale to create the wonderfully vivid and horrifying world that Linh Cinder lives in. I also feel like there were elements of Sailor Moon, but I may just be wanting to see that. I was a child in the 1990s, after all.
From what I could tell, the cast of characters in Cinder has many equivalencies to the original fairy tale. There is our protagonist Linh Cinder, who is overworked, abused, and underappreciated by her bigoted stepmother Linh Adri. Cinder’s adoptive father died before the events of the story, but he does play a major role in the events that unfold. The older of her two stepsisters, Linh Pearl, is just awful while her younger stepsister, Linh Peony, is a naïve but genuinely kind girl. There is a “guardian” character in the form of the medical scientist Dr. Dmitri Erland, an "assistant” character in the form of the android Iko, and (of course) there is the tall and handsome Prince Kai.
I do have some questions concerning the worldbuilding throughout Cinder. Why are nations in the Eastern hemisphere that are sovereign in the 21st century consolidated under the single total monarchy known as the Eastern Commonwealth? How do Australia and England manage to remain separate from nearby consolidations of government? Why is continental Europe consolidated as a singular nation as opposed to an alliance of nations? Are all of the Americas consolidated into a single nation? This is still only the first book in a multi-part series that I am only now reading for the first time, so perhaps these questions will be answered later.
An obvious aspect of the worldbuilding in Cinder is how the prejudices against cyborgs and Lunars is a stand-in for real-world racism. A couple points on this matter stand out to me in particular: (1) the sovereign nations in Cinder have real-world histories of colonialism, imperialism, and (as a result) intense systemic racism; and (2) the program developed in the fight against Letumosis mirrors real practices in modern-day medicine that relied on using Indigenous and Black communities as guinea pigs in the efforts to develop vaccines, hormonal birth control, and other medical interventions. I find it absolutely believable that the futuristic versions of modern-day imperialist nations could repeat the actions of the past. But I wonder if The Lunar Chronicles’ overall narrative will address or challenge the repetition of these problematic histories as the series progresses.
My overall rating for Marissa Meyer’s Cinder is 3.75 out of 5 stars. The ancient tale of Cinderella is sent deep into time in the first book of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series. Cinder both incorporates a well-known modern myth and portrays futuristic equivalents to problematic historic practices stemming from colonialism, imperialism, and systemic racism. There were aspects of the story that were predictable, yet my attention was completely held from start to finish. I look forward to continuing this series. I will not be revisiting this story, but I might recommend Cinder to those who appreciate the pacing and themes explored in Young Adult fiction, those who are considering reading science fiction for the first time, and those who are lifelong fans of the genre.
Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of Cinder by Marissa Meyer.
Rating Cheat Sheet
4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.
Post Date: 9 December 2024
Published: 3 January 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Republished: 4 February 2020 by Square Fish
