Shake and quiver, little tree

Author : Marissa Meyer
Title : Cinder
Published : 05/01/2012
Pages : 400
Genre : Young Adult
Publisher : Puffin

     Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

     This was a book I had been seeing everywhere for a long time. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to giving it a go. But the other day I saw a display with the title see where they started, this was among many others in there neat little piles. The retelling of fairy tales is something that has gone on since they were first put down on paper. Be it updating it to the current time or Disney's endless cycle of making them child-friendly. What peeked my interest with this book was the choice to set it in the future. A broken world filled with cast systems and hardship and plague ravaging the world. In many ways, these mirror the times when the stories were first put down on paper. 

     Meyer brings together all the familiar characters you would expect to find in this story. Their marriage with the world of young adult writing seems to have been done with such easy by the author, Although I'm sure a lot of work went into it. Cinder is written in a way that made me feel she was not as completely helpless as she has been portrayed before. While still trapped under the rule of her stepmother she has a small glimpse of a fiery rebellion. This is a girl who is willing to fight for her place in the world and not rely so much on a stranger coming to her rescue. I suppose these are all elements that we have come to expect in young adult novels. Our heroines need to be able to stand on there own two feet, No such an easy task for Cinder as one is not flesh and blood anymore. But the author does make her an interesting person to spend time with.  The layers that are built up on top of each other give her some more depth than versions that have come before. And what would out cinder be without her princes charming. At first for me he seemed a bit drippy, but as the story developed it become more obvious that while not at ease with his role in life he is starting to grow into it.  

     At its heart, this is still the story of Cinderella, But the authors take on it allows for more development of a story and opening up of the world it takes place in. While there didn't really feel like any big twist took place for me the story did hold my attention.  There were enough drama and tension to stop the plot from becoming to slowed down. In many ways, it took on something much grander than its source material. Rather than being about Cinderella trying to escape her life for something better we end up with power struggles within a political system that is trying to rip the world into pieces. It felt on some levels to be like a mix between blade runner and dune. This future world where the common people are being left to die out as noble house struggle for power. Within this setting Cinder gives us a sort of rags to riches story if not for the fact that this is not the sort of story to have an entirely happy ending. This is in some part down to it leading on to the next book in the series to an open ending is a given. The author did make some changes to the context of certain people Cinder comes into contact with so the story doesn't become completely predictable. I think it must be hard to take a story that pretty much everyone is familiar with and be able to give it a fresh spin. 

     At first, this was a book that I wasn't sure I would enjoy, but it definitely grew on me and by the end, i felt hooked on the story and these people. This isn't the most groundbreaking book but it does give an enjoyable read, and sometimes that all we should ask for.