Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles Bk 1. Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780141340135.
(Ages 14+) Highly recommended. Cinder, written by Marissa Meyer, is the first book of the Lunar Chronicles. There are themes presented within the text but one stands out in particular: Romance thriller. I know at the moment we are surrounded by millions of novels about forbidden love and vampires killing one another, but Cinder is worth every minute of the time you spend swooning over the prince and/or killer vampire in other novels.
Cinder is based on the original Cinderella story. You know the one, her ugly step sisters take away Cinderella's pretty dresses and force her to wear rags and become their servant.
Cinder is a gifted mechanic in New Beijing; she is also a cyborg who lives with her step mother and stepsisters. But when her stepsister suddenly falls ill to the deadly plague Cinder is in a race against time to find a cure, but falling in love with Prince Kai was not part of the plan and she is caught between her duty to save her sister and the freedom she has always longed for. Throughout her violent struggles and desires Cinder must uncover the mysteries that surround her past in order to protect the Earth's future.
I thoroughly enjoyed Marissa's writing techniques and her astounding plot that kept you on edge the entire time. I was gripped from the very first sentence and spent every free minute reading it. I encourage many other teenage girls to read Cinder and fall in love with the plot and characters as I did. Happy reading!
Justine Harrison (student)