Cinder - Marissa Meyer - 5 stars

A friend of mine had picked this book for me for the Pick 5 challenge that we decided to embark on this year. Had she not picked it for me I am not sure when I would have gotten around to reading it. I have already owned the book for over a year, however I am really glad that she did pick this book for me because I loved the story.

This book is a futuristic retelling of Cinderella, one of my all time favorite fairy tales. In this future we have cyborgs and androids living among the humans. There is currently a plague that is sweeping through the earth and killing much of the population. Cinder, who is cyborg, lives with her stepmother and stepsisters. She seems to have a very mysterious past that is slowly revealed to her. When she finds herself mixed up with the Prince things begin to go a little haywire.

I really loved the plot of this story with the twist of a futuristic tale. The story is really well told and I fond that it was very engaging. I found myself not wanting to put it down. I also love the imagery that is used. It really made me feel as though I was experiencing everything Cinder was. There were some really great twists in the story, and the ending makes me crave more of this story. I also love that the story was not focused solely on the love interest, Prince Kai. There was so much more to the story than the romance.

I absolutely loved the characters in this story. Both protagonists and antagonists alike. I found them so well developed and I really connected to Cinder easily. She was so believable even though she was a cyborg. I felt like I could friend her easily. I also really liked the android, Iko. I thought she was a nice addition to the story. Another of my favorite characters was of course the Prince and I liked how the author depicted him in some of those stickier situations throughout the story. The author did well in making us love those lovable characters as well as making us hate those who were of the devious nature. So much so that I wanted to throw the book at times.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves futuristic fairy tales or those who just love retellings as a whole. Don't put it off because the book is amazing. I look forward to the rest of this series and hope to get to them soon.