Cinder, by Marissa Meyer.

Buy it now! Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles

What is it about? Cinder is a futuristic retelling of the Cinderella tale – and this time, she’s a cyborg. Set in “New Beijing,” Cinder makes her living as a mechanic while living with her horrible stepmother and two stepsisters. Based on her reputation as the best mechanic around, the handsome Prince Kai approaches her one day in the market where she works, asking her to fix his android. She realizes that the android is suspiciously important to him, and can’t help but notice how kind he is.

But when her one sweet stepsister falls ill with the plague ravaging the Kingdom, Cinder begins to have real problems. Her wicked stepmother blames her for the death of her little stepsister, and Cinder is handed over to the government to be poked and prodded in the name of finding a cure. When she turns out to be more valuable than everyone realized, she is saved. Her fate once again intertwines with Prince Kai’s, and she becomes tangled in a brewing storm of intergalactic intrigue with the fierce and cruel Lunar people. Can Cinder escape her life sentence as a second-class citizen cyborg? Can Kai ever be interested in a Cyborg, or will Cinder accidentally set off an intergalactic war?

Review: Great book. Hands down, one of the most surprising books I’ve read this year. You think, Cinderella, the cyborg? Really? But seriously, this is so much fun. Cinder is such a great, sarcastic teenaged girl who fights for what she believes in. Prince Kai is suitably dreamy, and the setting of New Beijing is so beautiful and real, I wish I could visit. I’ve read that Meyer’s next books will feature more fairy tale characters, including Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. Super exciting! Side note: The cover with the red Cinderella shoe, the cyborg joints and the spot-varnish on just the red high heel? Beautiful.

Read it? Yes. Most definitely. In fact, click on the link below and buy it now.

Buy it now! Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles