I go to the bookstore a lot. I’m constantly trying to find new worlds to get lost in, new authors to support. I remember seeing the cover for Marissa Meyer’s Cinder in Barnes and Noble over four years ago. I don’t know what initially made me pick up the book. I remember it being in a kind of obscure place in the bookshelves. I don’t even think that it was the spine that necessarily drew me in. It could have been the font. More likely, however, it was the cover that was strangely simplistic.
Most people are drawn to the bright red shoe that’s plastered on the dust jacket but for me it was something else entirely. Sure, maybe I was initially drawn to that shoe but when I flipped over the book in order to look at the cover I gears underneath the skin of the leg instead of bones. I thought, what did that mean? So I maybe read the first part of the synopsis and bought it mostly because of the cover. I took it home and didn’t touch it until maybe a week or two later. Honestly, it probably could have been a month.
When I first read this book I was in high school. I remember reading it on a school night and staying up until maybe one or two in the morning. The moment I closed the book I went online to find the next one only to discover that it wouldn’t be published until a whole year later. I was distraught. How was I supposed to wait that long to find out what had happened to my favorite characters? I did it though. One of the best feelings for me is that feeling of closure of finishing something whether it is a project or reading a book series. The Lunar Chronicles is a special series to me. Even four years later after all of these books were released and reading the ending left me very bittersweet. The Lunar Chronicles is fun, engaging, and entirely unique. I think that right there is what made me fall in love with it – I had never read anything like it before or since then.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is a book series that introduces an unusual mash up of ideas – futuristic fairytales. This series consists of four books: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter. Each book focuses on its own fairytale, and the way Marissa Meyer weaves them together in an epic space adventure that will keep readers turning the pages.
Since these are fairytale retellings it’s a bit obvious that each book would focus on its own fairytale. For example, Cinder, is a retelling of the fairytale Cinderella. Book two, Scarlet, structures its plot around the Red Riding Hood fairytale. The third, Cress, is a retelling of Rapunzel, but instead of being trapped in a tower, she’s trapped in a satellite orbiting earth. Finally Winter, the fourth and final book in the series, is based off of Snow White. Meyer deftly weaves in parts of the original fairytales while creating an entirely new story.
The first book focuses on Cinder. She’s a cyborg living in New Beijing as a mechanic trying to make ends meet. If you don’t know what a cyborg is, here’s the rundown: you know those science fiction movies where there’s people that have metal limbs instead of flesh? That’s what Cinder is; she’s got one metal foot and one metal hand. Along with Cinder’s struggle to fit in with her family and the community she lives in there’s the added struggle of the letumosis plague and the fact that there are people living on the moon whose queen is not so subtly trying to take over planet earth. Mostly though, she’s just trying to make her way through a really unpleasant living situation with her stepfamily. While her character isn’t the stereotypical strong female lead that many people have come to associate with dystopian/science fiction she is smart. Cinder uses her brain to think her way out of some very tricky situations and it is always fun to see how they unfold.
But it’s not just Cinder’s character that makes the series such a pleasure to read. There’s a whole cast of characters and as the series progresses a new main character is introduced in each new book. As with Cinder, the titles are based off of each of the main character’s names. While it’s no secret who the main characters will be, the really fun part of this reading experience is piecing together the puzzle that Meyer has created in these stories. While some of the elements are predictable (namely the fairytale elements) it’s expected. The actual plot of the series goes above and beyond earth – literally. The last two books Cress and Winter take are set in space on a satellite and then, finally, on the moon. They’re very cinematic, which is great because the audience is automatically wider than just what the publishers think age group that it is geared towards. This is a young adult series that has something for everyone. I have recommended these books to everyone I meet, my friends, and my family. Even my dad has read these and loved them.
The voice Meyer creates in this series is original and hilarious. If you’re a fan of Star Wars or the Avengers, this is definitely a great series to watch out for.
