Cinder: 2 Stars

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I read this book only because it was the book my book club chose for the month of November.  If it hadn't been for that, I never would have picked up the book. This is for a very good reason:  This is just not my style. 

The premise of the book is a twist on Cinderella (if that wasn't obvious by the title). Cinder is a cyborg. After a horrific accident when she was 11 that killed her parents, Cinder was turned into a Cyborg to save her life. A wonderful man adopted her, but died almost immediately and Cinder was left with no memory of her past and a step-mother who doesn't like cyborgs. Now as a mechanic, Cinder carries on, keeping to herself.

Then one day the prince shows up to get his android fixed.  Somewhat smitten, Cinder keeps her cyborg secret from the prince. Besides, he has a lot on his mind already. His father, the emperor, has the dreaded plague, the same plague that is killing off the citizens and weakening the economy.  The lunar queen is asking for a peace agreement that involves marrying the prince.  And of course, the ball is coming up.

Suddenly, Cinder's favorite step-sister is stricken with the plague.  Blaming Cinder, her step-mother agrees to let the government use Cinder as a test subject to find a cure.  But something miraculous happens.  Cinder is immune. 

What does this mean?  Will a cure be found in time to save her sister? Will she get to go to the ball with the prince?  What if he finds out she's cyborg?  Will the evil lunar queen marry the prince? 

If you want to know the answers to these questions, you really only need to read the first few chapters.  After three or four chapters, I threw my hands in the air and said "Well, I can tell you what is going to happen in this book."  Not only were all my predictions correct, I think I even have some predictions that will likely be true as well, but revealed in the next book. I hate being able to figure out a book that easily.

Aside from the predictability of this book, I was never a big fan of Cinder. She had an attitude problem that made her almost unbearable. While I understand she had a hard life (she was an outcast and her only parent openly hated her), her attitude was hard to understand at times. She got a bad attitude with the doctor trying to help her and I guess I just didn't understand why she was being a brat at that moment. I found it hard to like her or relate to her when she was a brat almost the entire book. The only time she wasn't a brat, was with the prince.  Then she pulled a 180, which also bothered me.  Her personality was bipolar and hard to understand. 

Like I said at the beginning, this is just not my kind of book. A cyborg, a LUNAR queen, and a love story?  Those are three big reasons I never would have tried this book, knowing full well I probably wouldn't have liked it. I know quite a few people who would probably LOVE this book and the sequels that follow.  I think this book is just a matter of style. 

Rating: PG