Cress Improves an Already Great Series!

Cinder's revelations and efforts to save a world that doesn't even see her as human have made her one of the greatest heroines of the genre. The addition of Scarlet only added to that dynamic. In Marissa Meyer's third book of The Lunar Chronicles, Cress, Crescent (Cress), brings a little Rapunzel and one more amazing character to this story. 

Cinder, Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf escaped from Earth, but all are wanted. With the Earthens after them for "threatening" emperor Kai and the Lunars after them because Queen Levana suspects Cinder isn't just a lowly cyborg: she is the missing Lunar princess who could final dethrone Levana. When they make contact with a hacker imprisoned in a satellite, they realize their luck at remaining hidden in the sky isn't luck after all. Cress has been making sure no one could find them. Even though they can't risk being detected by Levana's soldiers, they also can't live with themselves and leave Cress in her isolated prison in space. Against everyone's better judgement, they attempt to rescue the girl with the long cresses. 

The attempt goes horribly wrong, leaving Wolf critically injured, Thorne and Cress hurtling toward space in the satellite, and Scarlet captured by the Queen's most deadly servant, Sybil. While their focus should be on stopping Levana from going through with her blackmail marriage to Kai, instead they are scattered across the universe just trying to survive. With the threat of war (or rather massacre) if Kai doesn't marry Levana and make her empress, he is making a sacrifice for his people he knows will be deadly. Not marrying Levana would keep the antidote for the plague from his people, so Kai will do anything he can to get treatment for the people of Earth, even if it means marrying the one woman he despises the most. Meanwhile, all he can think about is Cinder. While he knows Lunars have the ability to manipulate Earthen minds, he can't stop thinking about her. What he doesn't know is that Cinder is doing everything she can to save Kai and the people of Earth... even if saving the world comes at a great, great cost. 

I am not sure how Meyer came up with such a simple concept but managed to create such an incredible and complex story, but boy, am I glad she did. This series just gets better and better as it goes on, and I mourn the day it finally ends (while simultaneously dying to get my hands on the final book!). First, the twist this story took with Cress was truly ingenious. Making the Rapunzel character a girl trapped in a satellite, helping the rebel forces? Brilliant! Cress appeared to be such an innocent, delicate character, but when she was thrust from her safe, but stifling, prison, she truly rose to the occasion to match the other heroines of this tale. Cress does not disappoint! Just like Scarlet and Cinder were very different form one another but still phenomenal heroines, Cress brought a third and unique dynamic to the group but did so in a way that makes you love these women even more! I really love how this story has great and loyal male leads (Thorne being the snarky but charming version, Wolf the loyal to a fault version, and Kai the bravest emperor possible), right next to these amazing female leads. Sometimes when you have strong female characters, the male characters tend to get lost behind their power, but in this story, Meyer matched her heroines with the perfect heroes. There is absolutely nothing I would change about these characters. I think they represent different types of people, but all people we would be proud to call leaders. It is a true testament to the readers that there is no cookie-cutter template for being a good person. There are many ways to do brave, kind, phenomenal things in your life (or in the universe!) and still be you, which is a message I think we all want to infiltrate our next generation!

This is a supreme example of science fiction, supernatural, and fairy tale literature all woven into one. While the premise sounds strange, I find myself daring people (skeptics) to read the first book and not get hooked. I know that is how I got over my own initial skepticism! And I think that is what this story requires of its readers- a little leap of faith. It is so new and unfamiliar, that some readers would hesitate before giving it a chance (I know I did!). But once they do, they will be as blown away as the rest of the world has been. So convince your adult or young adult readers to give this story a try, and if your powers of persuasion are good enough, you will find them as hooked as we have all become. It isn't easy to weave together so many different elements into one book, but Meyer makes it look effortless! 

No Glitch in the System

We have seen Cinder's life, full of prejudice against a cyborg, an unloving stepmother, and a plague ravaging her world. But how did Cinder come to live with her stepmother and stepsisters? In Glitches, a short prequel story to Cinder, Marissa Meyer tells the tale of Cinder's arrival.

When Garan is entrusted with Cinder's welfare, he takes his job seriously, bringing her into his family as his daughter. She doesn't know how to feel about the man she can call dad, but she does feel grateful. When they arrive, however, not everyone is happy to see her. Peony welcomes Cinder, but Adri and Pearl are unimpressed by the cyborg they must now call "family". But as long as Garan is there, he will hold the family together...

These short stories publishers are pushing out in between the releases of series installments fall into three distinct categories: necessary for plot advancement and should be put in the next book, unnecessary for plot advancement but enjoyable and helps you appreciate the series, and completely useless and wasted your $.99. I will pay my measly buck for the first two, but the latter ticks me off. Luckily, this little short (which is available on TOR.com for free) falls into the second category. We already knew the dynamic between Cinder and her sisters and stepmother, but it was still interesting to watch it unfold in this short tale. It makes you love Garan more, and sympathize with Cinder, and love Peony and hate Adri, but then again, you already felt those emotions in Cinder. So, if you love the series, don't hesitate to check this freebie out. It will hold you over until the next book is over!

I Have Scarlet Fever!

I had the same thoughts you did... Cyborg Cinderella? Really? But Cinder by Marissa Meyer was phenomenal, so Scarlet, the sequel, had a lot to live up to! The complex but riveting Lunar Chronicles continue, but you won't be able to predict what happens next!

Cinder learned more about her origins than she can fully process, even though she should have plenty of time to think in prison. Instead, she has to find a way to escape. Using her new-found Lunar abilities to tap into people's minds combined with her cyborg technical abilities, Cinder finds a way out, but she has to take an unwitting felon with her. Together, Cinder and Thorne make it to Thorne's ship, but with little power on the ship, they must find a way to get back to Earth undetected. More importantly, they must find answers about who brought Cinder, also known as the long-lost Princess Selene, to Earth and how she is supposed to stop Lunar Queen Levana from marrying the Emperor and taking over Earth. 

Scarlet is content with her simple life gardening and taking care of her grandmother, but when her grandmother goes missing, she refuses to believe the case is closed like the police tell her it is. She is going to find her grandmother even if it means trusting Wolf, a strange newcomer who fights for a living and doesn't seem fully human. But when Scarlet finds out Wolf's former pack might be the very ones who kidnapped her grandmother, she isn't sure who to trust.

The world is in danger, and while Scarlet and Cinder haven't met, their lives are about to become entwined. Both have different missions, but the people behind their lives may be too similar to be any kind of coincidence. But will they find each other? And who can they trust at this point?

This seems like such an oxymoron, but this is a simple yet complex series. With the fairy tale connections, you feel a sense of connection to the characters you think you know. But then Meyer takes them, refashions them, and all of a sudden you have a character whose name is familiar and situation is vaguely familiar, but who is so different from anything you have seen before that you can't put the book down! I admit I was skeptical of a cyborg Cinderella, but after reading Cinder, I knew this series was pure genius and I couldn't wait for Scarlet to come out. Now, having read the sequel, I am desperate for the next two books!

The beauty of this series is the combination of the familiar and the novel in one fell swoop. I think that is comforting and intriguing to students. They like the familiar connection, but they want something new and interesting, and this series is all of those with a dystopian/science fiction background! It is brilliant and great for a variety of students, including those who don't often read science fiction. And if you haven't read them yet, even if you usually don't read YA, pick this series up- it is phenomenal!

Cinderella, Cyborgs, and a Plague

My brother-in-law went to see Snow White and the Huntsmen a couple of weeks ago, and when he told us about it, he said it was "predictable". My response was, "It's Snow White you goof! What about that story don't  you know already?!" But then I went to see the movie and was blown away by how innovative and unique it was despite being a fairy tale we can all recite by memory. In fact, it was that experience that made me get over my preconceived notions about Marissa Meyer's Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles and just read it already. I mean, Cinderella and cyborgs? How much more creative can you get?!


Cinder is a cyborg: a person with machine parts. She has more machine than most cyborgs, but she suffers the same second-class citizen status as every cyborg. In fact, the cyborg draft solidifies their status as "non-humans" to the non-cyborg folk. It allows the government to draft cyborgs against their will to be used as guinea pigs in the race against the plague to find a cure. And no one seems to mind that the cyborgs never return from these tests. But the plague is threatening the very existence of the country... almost as much the Lunars are. Luna is the country that conquered life on the moon, but over generations, the Lunars have developed "powers" or the ability to control electro-magnetic pulses that can alter emotions, feelings, and perceptions. Now their crazy Queen wants to make an alliance with the kingdoms on earth and she isn't afraid to bully or blackmail her way in. 


But Cinder's life is a lot less complicated. Not a lovely life by any means, but less complicated. She goes to work, the money she earns goes to support her stepmother and stepsisters (only one of which is awful), and she tries to hide her cyborg parts as carefully as possible. But when the crowned Prince Kai comes to her booth for help with an android, she is more worried than ever about someone learning of her cyborg parts. When the plague hits too close to home, Cinder is sent to the labs for experiments, but the results are nothing she could ever have dreamed of. Now, she is more than just a cyborg outcast, but her lot in life is no easier. Especially when all she wants is Prince Kai, a desire she won't even allow herself to dream about because there is no way a man in line for the throne who could have any girl he wanted would ever want to love a cyborg... or is there?


OK. Let's get this out in the open. Marissa Meyer is a bloody genius! Who would have ever thought to make Cinderella into a cyborg? And if you think you are going to go into this book to find something predictable, you are totally mistaken! This is an old, well-known story that has been taken, stripped to its bare elements, and transformed into something FANTASTIC! It is Cinderella like you have never seen before, and you will love what Meyer has done to the story. Take the fairy tale element away and this is still a phenomenal story. First, I love the twists on the old story Meyer has created. Cinder's character is every bit as lovely as Cinderella, complete with the same issues and troubles, but her situation is even more dire than before. With the plague and the division of the cyborgs, she couldn't be more of an outcast. Then you have the strong science-fiction element with the androids and Cinder's family's droid Iko who has a personality chip that makes her more person than machine but completely unwanted for it. And the prince? Oh Kai is fantastic. He would even submit himself to the most awful of situations to save and protect his people. It is no wonder everyone loves Kai! I know I did!


This is a great story for any strong middle reader through adult reader. It has a brilliant Science Fiction twist on your tried and true fairy tale, and you will be thrilled to have it on your shelves. Don't let yourself be discouraged by "Cyborg Cinderella" like I was. This story is so much more than that. This is a book that would appeal to a wide range of readers from your SF junkies to your dystopian fans to the average modern lit readers. Trust me. This isn't one to ignore! And with the way the story ended, you will be dying to get ahold of the next three books in the Lunar Chronicles!