Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder isn't your typical teen. In fact, she's not even fully human. She's a cyborg. After a terrible injury as a small child, much of her body was fitted with mechanized parts. Not long after, her adoptive father fell to the plague, leaving her with her adoptive stepmother and two stepsisters.

To earn her keep, Cinder works as a mechanic in the market, doing odd jobs here and there. She's gotten quite the reputation, but she is still shocked to see Prince Kai at her stall one day. It seems he is looking for someone to fix his droid.

There is a scare in the market when one of the vendors comes down with the plague. Cinder manages to stay far enough away, and she makes it home safe. She can't wait to tell her sister about meeting the prince! They run an errand together, to find a part for their hover, and Cinder is devastated when her sister comes down with the plague. Having to call for the emergency transport to take her away, she doesn't think things can get any worse until she gets home. Her stepmother has volunteered for her for the cyborg antidote testing. It's all over. No one survives the plague...

Meeting Dr. Erland is far from pleasant. He treats her like a lab rat, wasting no time injecting her with the latest plague antidote. Cinder may be the most surprised of all to find that she is still alive after. She is miraculously immune. How can this be? After another visit with Dr. Erland, she at least feels that a cure for her sister is possible. Could she be the key to saving everyone?

Returning home shocks her stepmother, but Cinder has bigger problems. She needs to find a way out of here, and quick, or her stepmother may hatch another crazy plan to sell her off for parts...like she did with her bot. Things start to get more complicated as she hatches a plan to escape from New Bejing entirely. Erland has her blood, he doesn't need her to create a cure. Then she runs into Prince Kai again, and he invites her to the ball. The ball she secretly wants to attend, even if she has nothing to wear, even if her stepmother would never really let her go, even if...but why wish for something that will never happen? She decides that will be the night she escapes, and that is the end of it, right?

Meanwhile, the King has contracted the plague, and the Moon Queen is demanding a very rare visit to Earth. She wants to marry the Prince, claiming it's a strategic move for Lunar-Earth politics...but there is something far more sinister lurking beneath her beautiful exterior.

Cinderella is one of the most prolific and far reaching of our fairy tales. Versions of it have shown up in myriad cultures. This one brings in some sci-fi, and jumps on the futuristic trend. It lacked some depth, and at times was a little too cliche Cinderella, but overall was a worthwhile read.

"Kai clered his throat. Stood straighter. 'I assume you are going to the ball?'
'I-I don't know. I mean, no. No, I'm sorry, I'm not going to the ball.'
Kai drew back, confused. 'Oh. Well...but...maybe you would change your mind? Because I am, you know.'
'The prince.'
'Not bragging,' he said quickly. 'Just a fact.'
'I know.' She gulped. The ball. Prince Kai was asking her to the ball. But that was the night she and Iko would be running away, if the car was fixed in time. The night she would escape. Besides, he didn't know who, what, he was asking. If he knew the truth...how mortified would he be if anyone found out?" (Meyer pg. 164, 2012).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) Feb. 2013
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Book 1)

Meyer, Marissa. (2012). Cinder. New York: Feiwel and Friends.