The idea of Cinder is nothing new; it is a retelling of a fairytale, Cinderella. I picked up this book expecting a rip-off of Ella Enchanted, but I got a very decent dystopian science fiction story instead. The titular Cinder character is easily the best part of this novel. She is clever, witty, and resourceful. I also enjoyed the new spins the author put on the classic fairytale. Instead of a glass slipper, Cinder wears a cybernetic metal foot.
Peony, one of Cinder’s stepsisters, goes out of her way to be kind to Cinder. The main antagonist reminded me more of the evil queen from Snow White than any Cinderella character, which was a bit of a disappointment.
Despite the fact that Cinder regularly ventures out of her home, none of the settings wowed me the way a dystopian story is supposed to. Additionally, the major plot twist is predictable from the second chapter, and by the time it is revealed, the reader has been banged over the head with so much foreshadowing that the moment loses its power.
Reviewer Grade: 9
The third book to the Lunar Chronicles is long, but totally worth reading!
This book takes Rapunzel and twists it in with the Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella from the first two books. There is tons of action in this novel and a whole lot of planning. They still have to stop Kai's wedding and the risks they are willing to take to get there make the whole book one riveting adventure! I loved it so much and can't wait to read it again! If you enjoyed Meyer's first two books then you'll absolutely fall in love with this one.
This book takes Little Red Riding Hood and twists it with a unique Cinderella story. It's a bit confusing at first they way it jumps around between characters, but once you get the hang of it, its hard to put the book down!
There is plenty of action and just enough romance that nobody can resist. I have read this book several times and I still never get bored of it! There is so much information that you discover in this book after reading Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles, that reading this one is a must!!
Review Grade: 8
I have read this book multiple times and it never gets old! There are plenty of Cinderella stories out there, but do they have Lunar cyborgs who can manipulate your thoughts at the drop of a hat? Do they have flying cars and a deadly virus set out on killing every human that contracted it? Cinder is a riveting and unique tale that Meyers wrote incredibly well! She managed to take an ordinary story and turn it into something so unique and amazing. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy!
In this book, you happen to meet Alyssa, the great-great-great granddaughter of Alice Liddell. You may think that's really cool, but no. As her great-great-great granddaughter, she must live with the legacy that the original Alice left behind, which happens to not be a very positive one. Everyone knows that the original Alice went to the asylum for being "crazy" after she came back from Wonderland, and most of her decedents are destined to follow. Those family members that were "destined to follow" include Alyssa's mother, Allison. Now Alyssa is living with just her father and occasionally goes to the asylum to visit her mother. Then, all the teasing from others about her family history pushes her over the edge. She ends up determined to find Wonderland and prove that no one in her family has been "crazy" at all! She decides to follow out with this plan A.S.A.P.. Once she finally gets there, (yes, Wonderland does exist in the book) she goes throughout it and sees that Alice's story has many things wrong with it, and that because of Alice's age at the time, she was mistaken about many things. You'll see White Rabbit and his descendant are NOT really cute rabbits at all. Then the "pretty" flowers from the original tale turn out to be almost like zombies! Eventually, you find out that all the characters you met in the original story, are backwards and creepy! Alyssa will encounter many trials that might keep her from ever going back to the real world. Or will they? I loved this book a lot even though I'm not a fan of the original 'Alice in Wonderland'. This twist made it really exciting, thrilling and like every chapter held an even better part of the adventure! Also, there is a little romance too! But I actually didn't pick this book out. I ended up getting it from a friend for Christmas, and I really didn't think I would like it. That is... till I started it! My favorite parts are seeing all the characters be so different from the originals! But, I also had a least favorite part, which was actually still a great part! It was when Alyssa goes to the asylum to visit her mother and something crazy happens, but I'll leave it a surprise! ;) I feel like I could even relate to Alyssa because I'm always trying to prove I'm right when others think I'm wrong, which might not be a very good thing but..... Anyways, I think that any one over the age of eleven can read this. (if their parents approve of zombie flowers and whatnot) So, if you're looking for a good book, you just found it. No matter if you like the original 'Alice in Wonderland' or not, this story will keep you engaged no matter where you are in its adventure!
Reviewer Grade: 8
Hideous Love is a verse novel about the life of Mary Shelley, the woman who wrote the iconic Frankenstein. Mary Shelley ran away with her lover, Percy Shelley and traveled around Europe, getting inspiration from the scenic surroundings for her writing.
Mary Shelley had led a very interesting life full of tragedy and drama and with award-winning Stephanie Hemphill writing it, it'll be great, right?
Ha... no. All I got was disappointment and dissatisfaction.
Reading Hideous Love was a chore. I kept on thinking it would get better, but it didn't happen.
The poems were choppy and I feel like Stephanie Hemphill just tried to make her sentences as short as possible, put them in a pile, and called it poetry.
Horrible Love didn't even scratch the surface of the emotions Mary Shelley must have felt, I couldn't relate to her at all; it was hard not to skim through the poems. I can't help but think that Hemphill didn't even try putting any structure or effort in her novel. A few poems in Hideous Love were written fairly well, but that meager amount can't make up for all of the rest of those tedious and boring poems.The verse novel was mostly about Mary Shelley worrying about the faithfulness of her husband and her actual writing was just tacked on there like an afterthought.
I don't recommend this to anyone, and Hideous Love is possibly the worst book I have ever had the misfortune of reading. The Wikipedia article on Mary Shelley was more interesting and gave more information.
Reviewer's Grade: 8
Elena is a peasant living in Miersk, a village in Russia. Ekaterina is a noble that was passing through Miersk on her way to a ball. Due to an unfortunate accident, Elena and Ekaterina switch places and need to set things right again.
I first took notice of Egg & Spoon because of the aesthetic of the cover. I was about to choose not to read it after seeing the summary, but then I saw that it was written by Gregory Maguire, so I decided against not reading it.
The writing style is truly beautiful, and I can't really find the right words to describe it, which is frustrating, to say the least. To me, the story is slightly reminiscent of having a (very long) conversation with someone; it kind of goes off into tangents, it gets unusually descriptive on small things that don't really matter, and it talks about a little bit about everything. I find that really enjoyable, but for some people, it can seem long and tedious. I had to really concentrate while reading it because I kept on admiring how amazing the writing was instead of actually processing what was happening.
The characters were incredible! Everyone had different and unique personalities and reacted to things differently. I found all of them quite charming in their own ways. They all just had so much character!
The humor had me dying of laughter and really lightened the mood of the whole story.
One thing I didn't like about the novel was its pacing. Everything happened too slowly, and I was always waiting for something to happen to push the story along; Egg & Spoon is definitely not for impatient people, especially since it has almost 500 pages. It was really hard to get through.
Egg & Spoon was based off of Russian folklore and really gave off a fairy tale vibe, which is always a plus.
Egg & Spoon is definitely not for everyone, but, in my opinion, it was phenomenal.
Reviewer's Grade: 8
Linh Cinder is unusual. Her stepsisters and stepmother hate her. Her best friend is an android. Oh, and she’s a cyborg – and she wants to go to the ball. Politics, adventure, and a deadly plague all play roles in this book.
Cinder was fun and exciting. Cinder is a protagonist you can really root for. Prince Kai is complex and interesting – he’s more than just the love interest. Queen Levana is a great creepy villain. The futuristic sci-fi world of New Beijing is expansive and really quite interesting. The plot moved at a very fast pace.
I only have one complaint: the plot twists were a little predictable. But, besides that, it is a fun and interesting book! I have yet to read the rest of the series, but I really think they’re going to be spectacular based on what I’ve seen from this awesome book.
Reviewer Grade: 9
This is one of my favorite book series of all time. Overall, it is a mix between star wars and princesses, perfect for both genders. Rather than set in the past like Cinderella, though, Cinder lives in the future. International affairs on Earth are not so much a problem as the impending war with the Lunars, ruled by Queen Levana. Cinder and Prince Kai have to squash their feelings for each other for more serious matters such as the epidemic spreading quickly across the world as well as how to keep Levana happy, in order to prevent a war against all of Earth. Read this book for an epic, unique dystopian along with a fantastic, surprising ending.
Reviewer Grade: 12
This book focuses on the main antagonist of The Lunar Chronicles series: Levana, before she became the queen of Luna. This book explains many things that were mentioned in The Lunar Chronicles, and shows Levana’s journey from an unfortunate youth into the powerful queen. It was interesting to see the world through the younger Levana’s eyes, and understanding her past. This book also describes drastic steps she took in order to become the ruler of Luna. The setting for the story, the moon, was described and built from a unique perspective, which made it interesting to see Earth from the moon’s.
Reviewer Grade: 8
Similar to the old tale, Cinderella, Cinder follows a cyborg with a mysterious past. Living with a horrible family, much like Cinderella, in the midst of the blue fever, she works as a mechanic and considers herself as useless as her family accuses her of being. That is, until she meets Prince Kai and the Lunar people. What follows is a love story of unbelievable proportions, with action and climax, and every chapter a cliff hanger. A must read for the lovers of the old Cinderella and anyone who wants to experience the story coming back to life in a way that is wholly unexpected.
Reviewer Grade: 12