Cinder

When middle school librarians in my district shared their “new must-haves for the library” list, Cinder (Book 1 of the Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer was on most of them. Cinder reminded of Cinderella merged with Star Wars and Contagion. In a futuristic world in new Beijing, Cinder is an orphan cyborg being raised by her manipulative stepmother. Cinder, like other cyborgs, is looked down upon by society for being part machine. Her saving grace is that she is a talented mechanic who can fix anything…she earns money for her family by offering her services at a local market. She has very little information about her past. Her only allies are her trusted android named Iko and her younger stepsister, Peony. A terrible lethal plague is destroying lives…when someone comes down with the initial spot on their skin, the government sends medical droids to pick them up and put them in quarantine. The handsome Prince Kai stops by the market to ask Cinder to fix his beloved android. He isn’t aware that Cinder is cyborg and becomes attracted to her (even invites her to his ball). When her little sister, Peony, becomes the victim of the plague and her mother blames Cinder, she is donated to the government by her stepmother to aid in the research of the plague against her will. While there, Cinder begins to learn about her past. A bewitching queen from Luna is determined to form an alliance with new Beijing by tricking Prince Kai into marriage and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Will Cinder be able to escape and find a way to help Prince Kai before it is too late? I borrowed my friend’s copy, but knew I had to buy myself a copy to keep and multiple copies for my library. Cannot wait for Book 2, Scarlet, coming in 2013.