Ashley's January Book: Cinder

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Year Published: 2012

Synopsis: 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. 

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

Why?: I love me a fairy-tale retelling, and I especially love how people can adapt Cinderella. Plus, a cyborg heroine, an intergalactic conflict, and a dystopian setting? Sign me up! Amazon has been recommending this book for about a month, even though it was just published on like January 3rd, and I've been eagerly awaiting its release.

Expectations: I have so many expectations for this book. I expect a good, different retelling of the Cinderella tale. This is Meyer's debut novel, but the fact that she already has 3 lined up for publishing makes me think this will be a fantastic opening to a great series.

Judging a book by its cover: The cover has what looks like a human leg with machine parts instead of bones, so I assume this is Cinder's leg and that the shoe will be important in this retelling just as it is in the original.

--Ashley