Cinder

Reading a great piece of young adult science fiction.  Cinder, by Marissa Meyer is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles and I can't put it down!  The main character, Linh Cinder, is such a "kick-butt" girl!  Love her!  She's strong, independent and driven.  She's smart, compassionate and generous.  She's also a cyborg.  And although I'm only halfway through, I predict she is someone extremely important to the rest of the world... I'm thinking she's the lost princess Selene. 

My students will love the fairy tale, Cinderella, entwined into the futuristic world formally known as Earth.  Cinder lives in what I think is Beijing, China.  It's called New Beijing.  There are lots of references to "Africans" and "Europeans".  No mentions of the "Americas".  It appears that people are now identified by which continent they were born to.  The handsome prince, Kai, will inherit the emperor's throne when his father dies of the Blue Plague, a terrible pandemic that threatens to wipe out all human life.  Cinder appears to be immune.  Wonder what that's about?  She has an evil stepmother and two stepsisters, who are supported by Cinder's mechanic business.  As a matter of fact, Cinder isn't allowed to attend the ball because she has to repair her stepmother's hovercraft instead.   She's the best machinist in the city.  I'm still wondering who will emerge as her fairy godmother...she has a robot named Iko that does seem rather protective.  Her glass slipper has yet to make an appearance, but in the first chapter she did get a new foot!  ha!

My students will also love the science fiction elements, such as the Lunars (those who live on the moon) and the Star Wars-like robots that exist right alongside the humans.  They'll be able to identify prejudice and malice towards cyborgs. They'll like the action-packed scenes and the techno-talk.  I'll admit it was a little tough to get used to at first, but now that I'm over 100 pages in, I'm hooked.

With that said, I wish we could just sit outside today and read.  It's going to be a balmy 80 degrees here in Kentucky and the first really pretty day of Spring... guess I'll have to settle for reading during lunch again.  Perhaps, like Cinder, I can make the best of the situation and eat my lunch outside!  Ingenuity...that's her secret!  And I will definitely be reading book 2!

Happy Reading!
RC