Why in the world are cyborgs looked down upon?! They can do so many cool things that humans can't do!

Note to self: T.E. stands for Third Era—which, in the world of The Lunar Chronicles, is the period of time that starts after the Fourth World War. The time that you and I live in now is considered the Second Era, and what we refer to as B.C.E. would be the First Era.

(It was never explained, but I found out what T.E. stands for on Marissa Meyer's website's FAQ page.) ( )

Representation: Asian main character
Trigger warnings: Fire, death of a father and husband, amputation, pandemic, hospitalisation, surgery, blood depiction, near-death experiences, needles, medical experimentation without consent, xenophobia, car crash

Score: Seven points out of ten.
So. This was originally going to be the first book I would read from Marissa Meyer. It's now the third after I read Renegades and then Gilded. I enjoyed both, but I'm not rushing to finish the series, and that also applies to the Cinder series since Meyer, as far as I know, can't write immersive world-building or relatable characters. I can't connect to Cinder, Peony or any other characters. It starts with the main character, Linh Cinder, or Cinder for short, a mechanic who lives in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth and nothing much happens to her until, for some reason, Prince Kai goes to her shop to get his robot fixed (I think they call robots androids) then the action builds further when someone kidnapped her and took her to the hospital for some medical experimentation if I got that right. Cinder then discovers that she is 60% human and 40% machine. This begs the question: is Cinder still a human, or is she still a machine? The author left that question for me to interpret, but I think it's the former. Also, there is a pandemic of a plague called letumosis which is like the modern bubonic plague, but other than the fact that people first saw it in North Africa, I don't know where that came from. The mention of World War IV implies the existence of World War III, but details are vague except that afterwards, there were only six countries left and that kicked off the "Third Era." The book slowed from that point, with nothing much happening except Cinder living uneasily and investigating Queen Levana out of all people, which led up to the end. Long story short, there was an epic scene where Cinder lost her mechanical foot, then she is revealed to be the long-lost princess, and it ends in a cliffhanger. The bonus content was alright, but as I said, I can wait until I'm in the mood to read the following book, Scarlet, but now I'm not feeling like it. ( )

Good first book in the series. A litt,e slow in a few parts but I was enthralled with the character of Cinder. Can't wait to see where it goes next. ( )

Wasn't sure at first, but then really enjoyed this version by the time I was half way through. Definitely will read the next in the series. ( )

FROM AMAZON: This excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s Cinder contains for the first five chapters.
Cinder will be available January 3, 2012.
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.