Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
At first, I didn't want to pick this one up. I never really liked Cinderella and the premise didn't really appeal to me. I know, how stupid was I? Because this one is freaking EPIC!
Cinder is about a 17 (?) year old Cyborg named Cinder. She works a mechanic in New Beijing to support here stepmother. One day prince Kai comes in and wants her to fix his android. In the mean time, there is also a plague terrorizing the world. Combined with the Lunars that are constant threat, Cinder is a book full of awesomeness.
Marissa Meyer is an awesome writer. The characters she created were so real and lovely. I especially loved Cinder. She was brave, caring and had a mind of her own. Also Iko, her android, was amazing. She is malfunctioning, which makes her so unique. I liked Kai too, but wished we saw a little bit more from him. But there are going to be 3 more books in this series, so I'm sure we'll see plenty of him.
The story is so unique and well thought out. However, I could predict the major twists. I didn't mind though, because they were well executed. I can't wait for the other books in this series. Scarlet, the sequel, will involve Little Red Riding Hood!
What can I say? I loved everything about this book. From the characters to the setting and the writing style. So naturally, I'm going to give Cinder 5 stars!
5 out of 5 stars!
Rules Are Different Outside The Society
Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by the Society to his sure death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of a rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices every thing to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again. Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's point of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever.
Even though I hadn't heard to many great things about Crossed, I still decided to pick it up and decide for myself. I did enjoy Matched, so why would Crossed be any different? And besides, with such a pretty cover that matches Matched? I just wanted to have it. Unfortunately, Crossed was a huge dissapointment.
Ky is send to the Outer Provinces to fight the Enemy. From there he escapes to the canyons. Cassia, who is determined to find Ky, gets relocated to the Border Provinces. From there on out, she tries to find Ky.
While I liked Ally Condie's writing style in Matched, I couldn't appreciate it in Crossed, because it didn't match the story. That is one of my major complaints. Cassia and Ky are in the Outer Provinces, a rough wasteland, and they are at war. But Ally Condie still maintained the poetical style of Matched, while it should have been rougher.
I also couldn't connect with Cassia and Ky at all. They have so much bigger things to think about, but all they could think about is each other. Cassia didn't really think so much of her parents. Sometimes a little about Bram, but not much. This seemed a little unrealistic to me. Especially Cassia annoyed me a lot.
The characters introduced in Crossed were okay. I liked Eli, but the others didn't do much for me. And even though you get inside Ky's head in Crossed and we don't see too much of Xander, this book totally made me team Xander.
Then there is the Enemy. Who is the Enemy? By the end of this book I still had no idea. Maybe this was explained in Matched and I just forget, but I can't remember. Hopefully Ally Condie will explain this in Reached.
If you ask me, this book could have been 250 pages shorter. If you read Matched and you are determined to finish the trilogy, like me, then I would give Crossed a try. Otherwise I wouldn't be bothered.
2 out of 5 stars.
