Book Review: Cinder

ABOUT THE BOOK:
It is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles and is followed by Scarlet. The story is loosely based on the classic fairytale Cinderella. 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 centre 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.

REVIEW BY DANIA:

“Vanity is a factor, but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.”

I first came across this post on my Insta feed when the new cover came out. I hunted for it across Amazon and Flipkart but couldn’t find it. Eventually, I came across the original cover, something about the elegant red shoe and the cyborg’s foot called out to me, telling me “Buy me! Buy me!”. So fast forward two days and by the courtesy of Amazon Prime, Cinder lands in my hands and from that moment on, the book never left my side.
Disclaimer *YOU MIGHT WANT TO KILL QUEEN LEVANA AFTER THIS BOOK. PLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE IN VIOLENT ACTIVITIES. ‘CAUSE TRUST ME, YOU WILL HAVE YOUR REVENGE*

Favourite Character-
My favourite character has to be Iko. I love her truthfulness and her ability to punch cinder into the world while still taking care of her. She makes Cinder stretch out her wings and fly, while being the best friend anyone would kill to have.

Things I didn’t like about the book-
Absolutely nothing! Though I would have liked to know more about Cinder’s past, I guess now have Stars Above to refer to questions about Cinder’s life.

OTHER INFORMATION:
There are four books, a prequel novel, and a collection of novellas in The Lunar Chronicles. The second book in the series, Scarlet, is based on Little Red Riding Hood. The third book, Cress, is based on Rapunzel. Book 3.5, which was released in January 2015, is called Fairest, which acts as the fourth book and is a prequel focusing on the main antagonist, Queen Levana. The fifth one (officially book four) is called Winter and was released in November 2015.Both Winter and Fairest are loosely based on the story of Snow White.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
1. Blood
2. Death
3. Discrimination
4. Emotional abuse
5. Medical experimentation (nonconsensual)
6. Mind Control (non-consensual)
7. Needles
8. Plague