Cinder: Lunar Chronicles Book 1

Cinder

Lunar Cronicles Book 1

By Marissa Meyer

Cinder is about a cyborg girl who in many ways is treated just like Cinderella by her step mother Adri and one of her two step sisters. The only friends she has is her youngest steo sister Peony, who has a huge celebrity crush on Prince Kai, and the household android Iko, who has a quirky personaity thanks to a deffective personality chip. Cinders adopted father died shortly after adopting her from the letumoses plague and was left in Adri's ruthless care.

I admire Cinder for overcoming diveristy, being a cyborg in a community where most look down on them and feel they are nothing more than an abomination. Little do they know Cinder is special. She's not like anyone on earth. She is the key to defeating the cruel and evil queen of Luna, Levana, who wishes to overtake all the unions of earth one by one until she rules all. Cinder is the key because she is the Lunar Princess Selene, the one who Levana tried to kill as a toddler, and thought she succeeded, to become Queen.

Book Discussion Questions:

1)What parallels can you draw between the Cindrella fairy tale and Cinder?Is there a Fairy God Mother in CInder ad who do you think it is?
As I state above Cinder is a lot like Cinderella in the aspect that she is treated poorly. As a servant versus a family member. Just like in Cinderella, Cinder's father died when she was young leaving her in the care of her step mother. In both Cinder and Cinderella, they are banned from going to the ball, but attend anyway. Iko played the part of the mice who made Cinderella's dress by leaving Peony's discarded dress in Cinder's work space.  In the epic scene where Cinderella runs out of the castle leaving behind a glass slipper, she is running from her truth, not wanting the prince to see that she isn't who she appears to be. In the story of Cinder, Cinder runs from the ballroom trying to escape not only the truth that she is a cyborg, something she tried to hide always, but escape for her life because Queen Levana wanted to see her dead. Like in Cinderella, Cinder has a "fairy godmother". Doctor Erland plays the part of Ciinder's fairy godmother. He gives Cinder the antidote to the plague her sister is dieing from and goes into the jail after Cinder is arrested and bestows a new cyborg foot and hand upon her. The hand came equiped with everything she needed to break out of jail and flee the commonwealth.

2)What does it mean to be human? Why do you think in Cinder's world cyborgs are thought to be less than human? What about Lunars? What are real-world parallels you can draw between the discrimination against cyborgs and Lunars to race, disability and class?
To be human means to have emotion. To feel. In Cinder's world, cyborgs are thought to be less than human because they have robotic parts to replace those they lost. Because of these repotic parts, like Cinders hand and leg, people in Cinder's world believe they must be more macine than human and therefore have no feelings or thoughts of their own. It's one thing to have an adroid but another to be a cyborg. They view this as an abomination because these people who were turned into cyborgs were meant to die, not to be saved by recieving metal body parts. The dicrimination between cyborgs and Lunars is a lot like real-world discrimination against race, religion sexuality because people don't like what they don't know or understand. They can't understand what it's like to be a cyborg or why anyone woud want to be one so therefore they don't like it. It all cycles back to ignorance. People don't understand dissability. I've experienced this with my own son. He has many medical problems including a feeding tube. When people see the feeding tube they freak out because they don't understand. Because of the tube he is treated differently. When he was smaller he was on oxygen and a gtube feed 24-7 and when we had to take him out people would give us dirty looks and judge the situation. They thought we were horrible parents because our kid was sick and they couldn't understand that this was how he was born and that it was no ones fault. I even had people shy away from us thinking they could catch whatever he must have.

3) Cinder has many cyborg abilities. What cyborg abilities would you like?
I think the ability to tell a lie would be a blessing and a curse but it would come in handy when the kids try to get away with something.

Cinder was exciting and fun to read. I give it 5 out of 5 stars on goodreads.com


   

Torn By Amanda Hocking

True to form, Amanda Hocking hit this one out of the park. A great second book to the Trylle trilogy. Torn gets more involved with Wendy and her life at the palace as well as some history of the Trylle. She finds herself in a love triangle. She arranged to marry her good friend and Markis Tove, still has feelings for Finn and feeling new emotions for Loki. Wendy wants to make the right decision for her kingdom, and that's been decreed as marrying Tove, whom she finds out is secretly gay. She knows he will always defend and protect her and that will be happy but what kind of marriage would that be. Especially with a mother in law from hell who wants her son to overthrow Wendy and take the crown for his family. Tove however is loyal and refuses to do such a thing. Finn doesn't like ge idea of Wendy being with anyone, but since he can't be with her he would rather she be with Tove because of him being gay. Wendy is angry that Finn would push her into a marriage where her husband and her would never be in love, instead of encouraging her to find love. Loki is still fighting for Wendy. He wants her to marry him and leave both kingdoms behind. Let them fight it out themselves. Who cares as long as they are happy. Wendy is torn between love and responsibility. 

Switched By Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking is a great writer. Her stories keep you interested and always wanting to know what happens next. Switched is about a girl who never felt like she belonged. Her mother knew she was a changeling and tried to kill her when she was 6 and she has the scar to prove it. After being raised by her Aunt and older brother she finds out she belongs somewhere else. As it turns out her "mother" was right. She was a changeling. With tracker Finn guiding and protecting her way she makes it home to Forening where she finds out her real father is dead, her mother is the queen and she is a princess. She struggles with trying to be the princess and doing everything properly and her mother the queen never approving. After a second attempt from an apposing clan to kidnap her and loosing the man she loves, she decides she's done. That this isn't the life she wants.

Switched is was an easy read. Once I picked up the book it was hard to set it down. I Deffinately recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction with an edge of paranormal.