Cinder

Between the high-stakes worldbuilding, Earth on the brink of war with Luna while battling a global pandemic, and Marissa Meyer’s fresh sci-fi take on magic, the story drew me in and wouldn’t let me go.

I’m not ashamed to say I devoured this in one sitting. I was fascinated by the lunar people’s ability to use their “gifts” to manipulate bioelectricity, casting glamours and bewitching their victim’s minds. It added yet another layer of tension to the story.

The seamless fusion of dystopia, sci-fi, and elements from classic fairytales creates a powerhouse narrative that centers around Cinder, a cyborg mechanic… show more.

This book has such an interesting protagonist and a captivating world. Just like in the Cinderella fairy-tale, there’s a dashing prince, horrible step-sisters, and a royal ball.

But in this retelling, everything is set in a near-future Asian society. Oh, and did I mention Cinder, the main character, is a cyborg and has a pet robot? I devoured the whole series!

This book had me at “Cinderella is a robot.” Oh yeah. I grew up on Asimov and the Three Laws of Robotics. Dr. Susan Calvin was an early heroine. Princess Leia wasn’t just a princess; she was a general in the rebel alliance. At my core, I want to flip the pervasive Cinderella story on its head and regain feminine agency.

This book fits right into my core values of autonomy and individualization while catering to my ‘out there’ imagination. Yes, there’s a rich prince. Yes, he and Cinder are attracted. But she saves herself and him, as well as… show more.

This was one of the first books that introduced me to retellings incorporating multiple fairy tales, and I knew right there that this was a genre I both wanted to read widely and write in.

I was beyond fascinated by the world Meyer created, especially the juxtaposition of fairy tales and a futuristic society.

Cinder herself was a breath of fresh air—a mechanic who was much more than she appeared, and I connected with her in a hungry way, in a way that made me realize that I could be fiercely independent and still want others in my life (even… show more.

In a sci-fi twist on the classic fairy tale, Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in a future world ravaged by plague. She is thrown into the middle of political intrigues when handsome Prince Kaito brings her an android to repair, one that holds secrets that could alter the dynamics between the Earth and the lunar colonists forever. Cinder’s best friend is a small robot named Iko who is short on stature but long on personality and bears a huge crush on Prince Kaito. The two of them work together to dodge political enemies, the plague, and worst of all, Cinder’s… show more.

I’ll admit, when my friends kept telling me I had to read this book about a cyborg Cinderella, I was skeptical, as that isn’t my typical reading. But Marissa Meyer weaves such a rich world and such a loveable couple with Kai and Cinder that I couldn’t help but get sucked in. Each book in this series is a different fairytale retelling, but they’re so unique you almost wouldn’t know it. Even my spouse liked this series, and he’s not a very big reader, so that’s saying something. I especially loved the world building in this series—space, a reimagined Earth,… show more.

There are many reasons why Cinder is my number one favorite when it comes to retellings like these. The world building is beautiful. A futuristic world with a powerful race of people capable of casting any image they want, cyborgs, and characters with personalities so unforgettable that I couldn't wait to finish the rest of the volumes in the series. Cinder herself was the perfect Cinderella, including when she lost her cyborg foot trying to stop a sharp-witted prince before an evil queen could blackmail him into marrying her. Plus, Iko alone makes the perfect sidekick to help cross the… show more.

Published back in 2012, Cinder, the first book in The Lunar Chronicles, is beloved by hundreds of thousands of readers. I may be cheating a bit by including it in this fantasy list—this cyborg Cinderella probably fits better into sci-fi—but there are elements to these books that are more magical than scientific, and they are fairytale retellings, after all.

The four (main) books in The Lunar Chronicles include reimaginings of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White in a futuristic world of cyborgs, moon-dwellers, and empires. And I would hand them to anyone. The adventure and romance… show more.