When I was a junior in high school, my local library had a “blind book” summer event. In order to participate, you had to pick a book that was wrapped in heavy paper that had a few key terms on the front to enforce the cliché of “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I picked one that had the words “cyborg” “Cinderella” “Plague” “future dystopia.” Little did I know it would lead to a three-year long fascination with a great fiction book.
The first book in the series, and the one I happened to pick up that fateful summer day, was called "Cinder." I’m sure we’ve all heard the tale Cinderella, girl is treated like a slave by her stepfamily, goes to a ball and loses her shoe. Well, this book is the traditional tale of Cinderella only it changes one vital thing, “What if Cinderella was a cyborg?” So instead of losing her shoe on the steps of the palace, she loses her whole foot.
I have to admit, when I realized what I picked up this book I was like “oh great, another bad Cinderella interpretation.” But it wasn’t. Not only did it totally reinvent the story to fit the futuristic environment, but it also did it well. The Prince is not just an airhead who falls for Cinderella’s looks, he falls for her brain first. As a matter of fact, the author tries very hard to emphasize that she is not naturally pretty, but that he loves her for being a great mechanic and a decent human being.
The second book in the series, "Scarlet," focuses on Little Red Riding Hood and each book takes the famous fairy tales and revamps it for the futuristic setting. What could they possibly do to this tale? Well, not only is the wolf a “villan” but he’s a soldier from the planet Luna, who has been genetically mutated to literally be part arctic wolf.
Like many second books or second seasons in a series, "Scarlet" is incredibly boring, however is necessary for the plot. If I could, I would have skipped it and I would recommend you skipping it too, only you would be very lost in the next book if you did.
"Cress" is the third book and is the one that focuses the most on its original Grimm story. This is not Rapunzel stuck up in a tower asking when will her life begin, this is Rapunzel, or Cress as she’s called in the series, stuck in a satellite and lost in a desert. The only difference between Meyer’s version and the original tale, is Cress is not pregnant.
After the snoozefest that was "Scarlet," "Cress" picks up the pace, is funny and is perhaps my favorite book in the series. Cress is a lovely reinterpretation of Rapunzel. She’s spunky, a genius and Meyer even manages to work in what could be the after effects of living away from society for so long without completely alienating Cress from the readers. Instead we sympathize with her and can even see a little bit of ourselves in this fangirl.
Meyer, before releasing "Winter," divulged a little from the fairy tales and main plot line by releasing "Fairest." "Fairest" is almost a spin-off novel/prequel to the "Lunar Chronicles." It centers on the villian, Queen Levana, and why she is the way she is. Why she wanted to kill little baby Selene, why she hates Winter, and why she thinks everything she does is the right thing for her plant, Luna.
In my opinion, even though you can skip "Fairest" and not have the plot affected by it at all, don’t. I love sympathizing with villians, I love seeing them humanized and "Fairest" does that perfectly while not allowing us to forget that what Levana is doing is wrong, no matter her motivation.
The finale "Winter" was released on November 10, 2015. This book is based on the tale "Snow White" and uses both the Grimm and Disney inspirations to tell the tale. Winter is Queen Levana’s step daughter and well, I think you can piece together the rest….
I loved "Winter." I thought it tied up the loose ends perfectly, not only did each character get their own chapter wrapping up every plot line. The only issue I had is that I thought the end was a little ambiguous but full of symbolic meaning (I refuse to spoil any of these books). But, that just might be the fact that I am never satisfied with a series until they have a spinoff series telling us what happens after happily ever after, but I digress.
If you are a sucker for re-tellings of fairy tales or are just looking for a decent way to pass the day (even though the books are really big, the font is big and double spaced so it takes a really short time to read them all), the "Lunar Chronicles" is a great series to become obsessed with and remember, never judge a book by its cover!
