Character Dynamic in Cinder by Marissa Meyer
https://www.amazon.com/Cinder-Marissa-Meyer/dp/1250007208
I recently read Cinder by Marissa Meyer. The story is loosely based on the story of Cinderella, but instead it is set in the futuristic city of New Beijing. The main character, named Cinder is a cyborg, which means she is not fully human. These differences include a missing a foot, imbedded chips along her spinal cord and a little panel over her eyes which allows her to control her emotions, recognise and read stats on other people. Because she is a cyborg, she is abused by her step-family and considered a second-class citizen by society. Her only friend is an android named Iko and her youngest step-sister Peony. Her work as a fabulous mechanic leads her to repair the android of Prince Kai, and therefore sets off a series of events in which she becomes entangled with the politics of the Lunar and Earthen people. At the same time, there is also a disease being spread around called Letumosis, a highly contagious disease that is killing off most of the population of New Beijing, including Prince Kai’s father. After Cinder’s step-sister Peony contracts Leumosis, she is sent off to a cyborg-testing cite that is trying to find a cure for the deadly disease. Here she discovers more about her past, why she is a cyborg and more.
Throughout the story, Prince Kai is struggling to decide whether or not he should marry Queen Levana, a Lunar. The Lunar people are former Earthens who colonized the moon, living there under a giant bubble. They have some unique powers that those who live on Earth do not possess, and Queen Levana is known to be the most powerful Lunar at tricking others with her powers. The Lunars have the ability to control bioelectricity and manipulate it, which in turn allows them to control the minds of others, along with their feelings. The book describes these powers as they affect the Earthen counterparts, “She fixed her eyes on the prince, and her image seemed to shudder before him like a mirage. Whispers filled his head. Respect and admiration, compassion and concern” (Meyer 148). Here Queen Levana’s head theurmertage is trying to seduce Prince Kai into thinking that they respect him. Because Queen Levana is very good at this skill, the people of New Beijing think that she is trying to use her powers to coerce Prince Kai into marrying her. This will give her power over the Lunars, to whom she is queen, and the large majority of Earthens, whom of which live in New Beijing.
Besides the amazing detail written about the powers of the Lunars, the connection between Cinder and Prince Kai is really well thought out and displayed throughout the novel. It begins very awkwardly as Kai is bringing his android to Cinder to fix. The Android, Nainsi supposedly houses important information that cannot be lost, but Prince Kai tries to hide that. “‘She contains top-secret information. It’s a matter of national security that I retrieve it...before anyone else does.’[...] ‘I’m just joking. Nainsi was my first android. It’s sentimental.’ [...] An orange light flickered in the corner of Cinder’s vision.[...] It meant that someone was lying.”, is a scene that both displays Cinder’s ability to tell if people are lying and Kai’s nervousness around telling her the truth of his android (Meyer 5). While Prince Kai is trying to hide his identity from other shopkeepers and workers, Cinder is trying to hide the fact that she is a cyborg. Cinder really needs the money from this interaction to purchase a new foot, since her family won’t pay for anything unless it is vital to her survival, such as food. If Kai finds out that she is a cyborg, Cinder believes that he will surely not want to trust her with his special android.
After this initial interaction, Prince Kai and Cinder slowly become more trusting of each other, but Cinder is still more reserved. Their interactions are based off of Kai’s android Nainsi, and Cinder focuses on trying to not let their conversations get too personal. Prince Kai even asks Cinder to the ball that he is hosting, but Cinder refuses, not wanting him to find out about her true self. Instead, Prince Kai agrees to accompany Queen Levana, whom is trying to seduce him into marrying her. Finally at the end of the ball, Cinder ends up revealing her true self to Prince Kai, but at a cost. The book leaves on a cliffhanger, but thankfully the book is part of a series and therefore you can discover the rest of the story, while finding out more details about the Lunar and Earthen connection if you read the rest of the Lunar Chronicles series.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a book for anyone who enjoys dystopian novels, adventure, and fiction with fantasy. The storyline is easy to follow, but still complicated enough to not be bored. The book also maintains a good level of character building and plot building throughout the book. I would highly recommend reading this book, as it is a fun and exciting book.
-Amalia Bollero
I really enjoyed reading your blog post and would definetely consider reading it. You did a thorough job of walking your reader through the plot, making them want to learn more. I also think that it's cool that the book ends at a cliffhanger. I also like how you pulled quotes from your book and I enjoyed reading them. You have done a solid job on your review.
ReplyDeleteI've actually read this book some time ago but I forgot about most of the plot. After I read this blog I'll make sure to read it again as soon as possible! One thing I want to point out is that I was excited when you first started talking about how Cinder was related to the original Cinderalla. But maybe you could expand on that idea by making comparisions with this story to the original to provide better insight for the story.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the thorough plot descriptions you wrote about Cinder. I like how the book references Cinderella but has generated a fresh plot nonetheless. I would definitely read this book, and the cliffhanger would probably get me hooked to the series. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was a great refresher to me, as someone who has previously read Cinder. I admire the concise way in which you presented and summarized the plot, and you made great connections with the book and with the original Cinderella story. I think anyone who has not read Cinder would be encouraged to check it out after reading this blog post. Great job!
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ReplyDeleteI removed the previous one because it was too short.
ReplyDeleteI. like the many before me, have read this book. Your review is a great summary of the book and the events that occur, without giving away too much. It has captivated some of the best moments in the book. I like the way you describe interactions between characters and their internal struggles. It is very well written and really makes anyone who reads your review want to check it out. Good work soldier.
I have read this book as well, and I think your blog post was an excellent explanation of it. I really liked the way you touched on all aspects of the story in your first paragraph. I never finished reading the series, and after reading your blog I think I will consider doing so.
ReplyDeleteI read this book too! I remember really liking the series and i think you did it justice. I liked how you described the world in which Cinder lives and what kinds of things have happened since now in a detailed yet concise way. I think the quote you used displays Cinder and Kai's relationship well. I would suggest going deeper into the way that it is based off of cinderella. I think this is a really interesting part of the book, and has a lot of potential for analysis. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this review. I have never read this book before but it provided enough information and detail to interest me in reading it in the future. Your excerpts from the text were well used and helped to support your points. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI have read Cinder, but did not realize that it was based off of Cinderella. Your summary of the book was accurate and does a good job of following Cinder and Kai's relationship and your quote does a good job of showing us. I will have to finish the series sometime!
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