Hello, people of Earth. I come in peace, unlike the Lunars in this book. those guys? Wild. However, the concept? Incredible. It's a super cool sci-fi futuristic retelling/reimagining of the old story of Cinderella. I was wondering how many Cinderella adaptations there were and someone made a list on Goodreads (#notspons #butmaybeoneday) and there are 288 books on that list! Although, even without reading them, I know they pale in comparison to this one as far as creativity. Heckin loved it. 10/10. Especially if you love sci-fi, fantasy, and the tiniest sprinkle of romance this one is a must-read.
So, our story begins in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth sometime after WW4. Already I'm like wow that's unexpected but very cool. This book has rich lore. Even if you don't know much about Chinese/East Asian culture you can really tell that Marissa did her research and put a lot of thought into the world-building of this universe. Also, the way the countries are set up is slightly different from how we know them. There's the European Federation, and American Republic, The United Kingdom, The African Union, and Australia (lol.) Earth has also united against the Lunars as the Earthen Federation. Cinder Linh lives with her Stepmother and two Step-Sisters (only one is evil, and the other is 14 and adorable) and she was adopted. She lives in a giant city, in the slums, and is a cyborg.
In this book, the way cyborgs are treated is similar to how Trans-People are treated in the contemporary United States. You have to be one or the other, either Human or Android - not a mix of both. And society acts like you had a choice in the matter when in reality most people had to get bionic body parts added on after an accident. Because cyborgs are treated as second-class citizens most of them either keep to themselves and their cyborg communities or they will, like our heroine, wear gloves and boots to cover their less fleshy bits.
A perk of being a cyborg and second-class citizen in this particular society is that you get the chance to serve your country and help save the lives of the people who kinda hate you by donating your living body to science to help the royal scientists find a cure for Letumosis, the incredibly fatal disease that has been sweeping the nation and the world for years. The parallels between Covid-19 and Letumosis were kind of astonishing in terms of how it was treated by the public and governments around the world especially considering the book was published in 2012. This again tells me Marissa did her research into how pandemics are dealt with. Where did this Letumosis come from you ask?
The Lunars were Earthen people who settled on the moon and had been there for so long that they evolved separately and now have the ability to use magic. The way they explain it is that the Lunars can manipulate bio-electric energy and can effectively mind-control others. So that's weird. But anyway, they essentially did what the Pilgrims did to the Native Americans with smallpox and the Conquistadors did with influenza but this time it's Letumosis.
Ok, Ceraya that's great but you told us that there was a sprinkle of romance, also how does this pertain to Cinderella? Oh my gosh don't yell at me I was getting there but I'm bad at transitions so I had you guys interrupt me to change the subject artificially. Thanks, guys! Well, Cinder is not allowed to go to the ball because her stepmother hates her because she's a cyborg and blames her for the death of her husband so she gives her a bunch of chores to do and says if you finish in time you can go to the ball knowing good and well she was not going to finish of course. However, she does end up going to the ball as a personal guest of Prince Kai, the hottest boy in school so to speak, and fully embarrasses her stepmother and sister lol.
Speaking of Prince Kai, our resident Prince Charming, the last thing he said to Cinder was "You're even more painful to look at than she is." So I suggest you all read the book and discover how their meet-cute at the beginning of the book turned into that after 36 chapters. It's riveting, honestly. I'm definitely gonna read the rest of the series. The ending of the first book did not like a cliffhanger, but as if there would definitely be a sequel (which there is). Keep an eye out for the Scarlet bonus read soon! Byyyeee!
-Your one and only,
Ceraya 💖
Yup. You did it. Made me wanna read something I never heard. Good job.