Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Reviewed by Aimee

Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Rating Explanation:

Language:  There are a few instances of mild swearing. (hell, damn)

Violence:  Letumosis is the plague of this people.  People infected are taken away to die.  Cyborgs are used as guinea pigs in antidote testing, both willingly and unwillingly.  Queen Levana is rumored to have killed her family members.  She also made a young girl mutilate her face.  Cinder is taken away against her will for antidote testing.  She is treated roughly and injected.  Her blood is taken and her brain is invaded.  Cinder uses a knife to dig out an ID chip.  There is blood.  Someone uses mind control to force someone else to almost kill herself.  There is a struggle between Cinder and other people.  She is captured, treated roughly, chased and imprisoned.  A guard is shot in the shoulder with a gun.

Sexual Content:  Someone asks, “Do you think she’s seen him in the nude?”  There is a kiss.

Adult Themes:  Social classes, segregation and discrimination are parts of this book.

Synopsis

Cinder is a cyborg and a second class citizen.   Her world is one in which humans and androids live together, crowding the streets of New Beijing.  Cinder lives with her step-mother and step-sisters, constantly reminded of their contempt for her.  She is treated with disdain and cruelty.  Escape comes in the form of fixing things.  Cinder is a very gifted mechanic.  One market day, Prince Kai brings Cinder a droid to fix and her world completely changes.  Caught up in the middle of a deadly plague, and inter-galactic struggle about to turn to war, Cinder finds herself hurting and doubting and becoming something she never imagined.

A cyborg Cinderella?  Sign me up!  Any doubts I had for the first quarter of the book quickly melted away as I became more and more engrossed in this story.  This was a captivating story full of political intrigue, science fiction and a blooming romance.  Cinder is smart, witty, loyal and compassionate.  I just loved her.  The ending is abrupt and brutally leaves you hanging, wanting more.  I’m really hoping that the next book in this series delves a bit deeper into the how and whys that left me wondering and wishing I understood better.  Overall a fun read.  This is a YA book (ages 15-25) and content wise, fits very nicely into this category.