25 Reads: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

You know you get into a book when…

You’re sitting at the back of the bus, finishing the book, and yelling profanities when you realize that the book ends in a FRELLING CLIFFHANGER.

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CINDER

by Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends, 2012
YA science fiction
Rated: / 5 cookies

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.

Gifly Thoughts

You know, I love fairy tale retellings, so I was definitely going to read this book at some point, and frankly, I’m glad I finally did. It mixes a well-known fairy tale story with a science fiction world hundreds of years after the catastrophe that was the fourth World War. It has a badass cyborg mechanic, a bunch of lunatic Lunars (har har), and a prince who is actually likable, and not just for his super-handsome looks.

Cinder also has one of the most predictable plot twists ever. The story going to endgame was still an enjoyable ride, though, and even when I knew how it was going to pan out with the plague and the missing princess, I couldn’t stop reading. Yet somehow, just somehow, the book still manages to end in a cliffhanger. I mean, come on, I spent most of the book going: “Yes, this is totally like Cinderella, right? She eventually ends the story, right? SHE GETS THE GUY, RIGHT?” So I was just waiting for it, waiting for it, and then BOOM. End of story.

Well done, Marissa Meyer. You have perfectly played with my feelings. I’m not sure if I find this unforgivable or amazing. Shame on me for not reading the book jacket summary of Scarlet and thinking that it was a continuation of a world and not the story itself, because I want Cress and Winter, like, NOW.

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4 out of 5 cookies!

Of Cracked Shells

On another note, I loved the Commonwealth and the fact that Cinder took place in New Beijing and that it was an East-meets-West type of fusion place. I thought about making sweetbreads like the ones in Chang Sacha’s bakery, but I always bake things, so I figure I can do another type of food that was found in New Beijing!

Funnily enough, when I looked for Cinder-inspired foods, Marissa Meyer’s blog was at the top of the list when it came to suggestions. So I took to the snack variety of tea-boiled eggs!

Which was kind of fitting, considering I made this on Chinese New Year, though admittedly, I didn’t partake until the day after. I also didn’t have star anise and cinnamon sticks and didn’t feel like going back out to the store to get some, so I made do with a downright simple version of these babies: soy sauce, water, and a lemon-infused black tea.

The marbling looks so pretty though! I might have let it simmer and steep for longer, but I was pretty exhausted and didn’t want to wait three hours for the eggs to simmer in with the tea-soy mixture, so I let it simmer for an hour and let it steep for another hour before putting the whole thing into the fridge and heading to bed.

Verdict: I probably should have added more soy sauce, because it tasted like a regular hard-boiled egg with the nice aroma of the lemon-black tea. It looked great, though! The marbling was soooo pretty.