received from NetGalley for review

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

publisher: Feiwel and Friends

available January 3, 2012

400 pages

Received this from NetGalley for a review. 
FANTABULOUS!  Is that even a word?  It's the only word I can think of to describe Marissa Meyer's debut novel.

 Cinder is a clever, futuristic retelling of an old fairy tale.  The story takes place in Asia, in a city called New Bejing, sometime after WW IV.  Our heroine, Lihn Cinder is a human-cyborg combination.  She was involved in a devastating accident that left her missing several pieces.  These were replaced with cyborg components by some very specialized surgeons.

 The story is complete with an 'evil stepmother' who cant quite accept a ward who is cyborg.  Cyborgs are considered second class citizens in this world.  Adri, the stepmother, thinks of Cinder as 'less than a person'.  There is also an evil stepsister and yes, a prince.  Prince Kai is a gentle, vulnerable and young prince who is overcoming personal tragedy.  Our group is rounded out with the wicked witch Queen of Luna.  The moon has been colonized and these 'lunar' people are enemies of the Earth. Constantly trying to start a war.  These lunar people have the ability of mind manipulation, a handy gift which prevents the humans from seeing 'the real lunars'.

This is where the story changes from the well know take.  Cinder is a tough as nails heroine.  She is a mechanic in New Bejing.  She repains androids and other electronic equipment.  Her sidekick is an android with a sarcastic personality chip. 

All characters from the original tale are well represented in Ms. Meyer's story.  She has done an incredible job with this story.  I found myself enchanted with this book.  I couldn't put it down! I loved the character of Cinder- no shrinking violet here.  She meets each challenge head on.  I cannot wait for the continuing story.  I won't give away any spoilers, and believe me, there are some incredible twists I've left out.    This book is sure to be a runaway blockbuster!