Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I really, really liked this book!

It is a retelling of "Cinderella" and there is a prince, a stepmother, some step-sisters, a ball, and even a missing, um, foot. Yes, this is where it differs greatly from the fairy tale. Because in Marissa Meyer's world, Cinderella is "Cinder" and she's a cyborg. No one really trusts or accepts cyborgs in post-modern China, now called The Eastern Commonwealth. But the prince, Kai, who lives in New Beijing (well, the whole story takes place in New Beijing), has been told that Cinder is the best robot mechanic in the city, and he seems to like her. But he doesn't know she's a cyborg.

New Beijing is a city in difficulties--there is a mysterious plague that kills people of all ages, the Lunar Queen knows more than she should about state secrets and she is attempting to intimidate Prince Kai into a dangerous state marriage. Cinder, however, is just a cypher in all of this. Or is she?

Here's what my teenage/almost adult daughter has to say about this YA book: "As I am getting older I have begun to notice that many of the fantasy books that are marketed today are very similar to each other. More than once I have started a new critically acclaimed YA book and have stopped after a couple of chapters, because the book's plot is basically the same as every other YA fantasy book. I expected this one to be the same, and I was very glad to be proven wrong. As I sped through the book I felt the familiar grip of an exciting new adventure. I liked it so much that I read the book multiple times throughout the next couple of weeks. This is a fantastic retelling of a beloved fairytale that I would recommend to YA 12 and up."

Yeah, we like the book lots. Can't wait for the rest of the series!

Bad language: nope
Sex: nope