Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles (The Lunar Chronicles, 1) [2020, PDF/EPUB, ENG]

by Marissa Meyer

(18,554 ratings)
Book cover

The first book in the #1 New York Times- and USA Today-Bestselling Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer like you’ve never seen it before, now with new cover art! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth's survival against villains from outer space.

'An interesting mash up of fairy tales and science fiction . . . a cross between Cinderella, Terminator, and Star Wars.' ―Entertainment Weekly

'Prince Charming among the cyborgs.' ―
The Wall Street Journal

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.

With high-stakes action and a smart, resourceful heroine,
Cinder is a Cinderella retelling that is at once classic and strikingly original.

Don't miss Marissa Meyer's other books and series':

The Lunar Chronicles:

Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Winter
Stars Above
Fairest


The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book

Wires and Nerve: Vol. 1
Wires and Nerve: Vol. 2


Renegades:
Renegades: Book One
Archenemies: Book Two
Supernova: Book Three


Heartless

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Book details


  • Retail price : from $7.99
  • Author : Marissa Meyer
  • Publisher : Square Fish
  • Published : 02-03-2020
  • Language : English
  • Pages : 448
  • ISBN-10 : 1250768888
  • ISBN-13 : 978-1250768889
  • Reader Reviews : 18,554 (4.5)

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  • File Formats : PDF, FB2, DOC, EPUB, TXT
  • Status : available for FREE download
  • Downloads : 3548

About the Author


Marissa Meyer


Marissa Meyer is a fangirl at heart, with a closet full of costumes, a Harry Potter wand on her desk, and a Tuxedo Mask doll hanging from her rear view mirror. Han and Leia are still her OTP. She may or may not be a cyborg.

Marissa is also the NYT bestselling author of a number of books for teens, including The Lunar Chronicles, the Renegades Trilogy, and Heartless.

Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.marissameyer.com or follow her on social media:

Instagram: @marissameyerauthor

Pinterest: @marissameyerauthor

Facebook: @marissameyerauthor

Twitter: @marissa_meyer

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Reader Reviews

J
Oscar
muy buen libro
Reviewed in Mexico on 07-26-2016
todo estuvo muy bien llego antes de lo esperado, solo que llego un poco doblado el libro pero todo lo demas estuvo muy bien.
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J
Rachel
Cinderella + Sci-Fi = LOVE IT
Reviewed in the United States on 09-12-2015
I read this book a while ago and it still has stuck with me as one of my favorite reads. Marissa Meyer creates this world that is somewhere between Star Wars and a modern fairy tale with a twist. I absolutely love Sci-Fi and this mash up was certainly not a disappointment.

Cinderella + Sci-Fi = LOVE IT

Taking place in futuristic Beijing, Cinder has a very unique and different setting from anything I have read before. Many countries throughout the world have formed into new alliances and empires. And the moon also has inhabitants. There is something called the plague. It’s an infectious disease that kills thousands of people. It is sort of the equivalent to cancer except more….vicious in its rapid development. And of course, there is not cure.

The main character is Cinder Linh, or in the book it is properly Linh Cinder. Names are said backwards in Japanese and Chinese cultures; where the last name is said first, and then the first name. Cinder is a cyborg. Which means she is half human and half robot. She is a mechanic, who works for her stepmother and lives in the city fixing robots and other technology in the city. People fear her because she is different. A robot is not considered a being with emotions. Cyborgs are not really considered people because they are half machine. Well, they are, they are just sort of….frowned upon. Cinder is not happy with her life but she tries to make the best of it. She is a very strong character and I found I liked her right away. In most YA books the heroine is an idiot and unrelatable. But Cinder is a character most readers will be able to identify with. She is real and has real feelings. Her actions and decisions also make sense with the story. And with who she is as a person.

Cinder does follow the main themes of Cinderella. But it is not super predicable in how it is portrayed. Cinder does meet Prince Kai, and instead of hiding she is a commoner, like in the real Cinderella story, she hides her cyborg foot and hand from him so he does not know she is half machine. There is a ball but everything is so different from the original story that this retelling is so unique on its own. Although, all the elements of a Cinderella story are there.

Prince Kai has his own issues to deal with. His father is sick with the plague and a Queen wants to make an alliance with him. There is a good amount of politics and manipulation that goes on in his side of the story. Prince Kai is definitely charming. I think he needs to be a bit stronger of a character. He is learning how to run a country and I understand that. He is a bit young and naive like most young apprentice rulers are; I just hope he becomes more confident and strong as the books progress. And I’m sure he will be.

Not ganna lie, I am a “judge a book by the cover” person. Which can be a good and bad thing. This is one of those stories where the plot has great potential and you can see that before you read it. The cover art is also just lovely and really captures the eye. I was like “What is this?!?!?!?!” Combining the summery and the cover and you got a trap for a reader. Which can be scary because most of the time it does not meet up to the expectations of the reader at all. But this book surpassed my expectations. I had put off reading it because I was afraid it would suck. But it turns out to now be one of my absolute favorite stories I have ever read.

SO, WE HAVE A WINNER!

If you are a Sailor Moon fan this book is also for you! There are some loose similarities between Sailor Moon and Cinder and after googling, it I did in fact find Meyer was in love with the Sailor Moon series. Marissa Meyer even says she was inspired by her when writing Cinder! Cinder is also rumored to become a movie SO I am really excited and keeping my fingers crossed!

If you like the combination of drama, romance, secrets, and adventure, you have to read Cinder! It is one of my favorite retellings! Actually, it is because of this book I even LIKE retellings! It’s the first one I have read that I actually have been interested in! this book proves retellings can be good and fun to read! Go to the store and get this book!

Marissa Meyer Answering Questions on Her Books
Marissa Meyer on Cinder, writing, and leading men….

Which of your characters is most like you?

I wish I could say that I'm clever and mechanically-minded like Cinder, but no--I can't fix anything. I'm much more like Cress, who makes a brief cameo in Cinder and then takes a more starring role in the third book. She's a romantic and a daydreamer and maybe a little on the naïve side--things that could be said about me too--although she does find courage when it's needed most. I think we'd all like to believe we'd have that same inner strength if we ever needed it.

Where do you write?

I have a home office that I've decorated with vintage fairy tale treasures that I've collected (my favorite is a Cinderella cookie jar from the forties) and NaNoWriMo posters, but sometimes writing there starts to feel too much like work. On those days I'll write in bed or take my laptop out for coffee or lunch.

If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from Cinder would you want with you?

Cinder, definitely! She has an internet connection in her brain, complete with the ability to send and receive comms (which are similar to e-mails). We'd just have enough time to enjoy some fresh coconut before we were rescued.

The next book in the Lunar Chronicles is called Scarlet, and is about Little Red Riding Hood. What is appealing to you most about this character as you work on the book?

Scarlet is awesome--she's very independent, a bit temperamental, and has an outspokenness that tends to get her in trouble sometimes. She was raised by her grandmother, an ex-military pilot who now owns a small farm in southern France, who not only taught Scarlet how to fly a spaceship and shoot a gun, but also to have a healthy respect and appreciation for nature. I guess that's a lot of things that appeal to me about her, but she's been a really fun character to write! (The two leading men in Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Thorne, aren't half bad either.)
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J
ryan
Clean, YA, dystopian/scifi Cinderella retelling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12-16-2021
Cinder is a clean, YA, dystopian science fiction Cinderella retelling.

I was sceptical about this one at first, but got myself a copy thanks to the recommendations on the Writing Excuses podcasts. I'm glad I did.

A cyborg cinderella, a chinese prince, malicious magic wielders from the moon and a plague scouring the human world. A great set up for some tension.

Favourites:
- Twists: Marissa Meyer does a good job with red herrings. I definitely thought I knew where the plot was going to go (even without the bigger plot line, since we know it's a cinderella retelling) but she managed throw some great surprises at me that made me turn those pages even faster.
- Worldbuilding: this was some dystopian worldbuilding done well and with lots of room to go wider. I'm expecting to see more of this post WW4 world, and possibly the moon where the Lunars live.
- Romantic tension: although I'm not a fan of insta-love, and the romance did spark up a tad quickly at first, I did enjoy the tension as the story built on and their relationship becomes more and more complicated.

What I missed:
- Depth: I would have liked just a bit more depth to mainly Cinder herself. She sometimes felt a bit bland, even though I appreciated her sarcasm and snark. Saying that, I remind myself this is YA, not adult, and I'm not sure how much more depth we can expect in such a story.

Sexual content: none
Coarse language: none
Violence and gore: mild
Content warnings: child labour, worldwide pandemic

Conclusion
I had a fun time reading, and found myself looking forward to book two more than I would have expected. If you like clean YA retellings with some cool twists, a bit of complicated romance and lots of action and tension, put Cinder on your list.
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