Cinder - Adventures and Friends

tl;dr - I loved this book! It was SO good, blending a classic fairytale we've all heard millions of time with a futuristic sci fi story was absolutely fantastic. I couldn't put it down!

Description (from Goodreads) 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.

This book...

I can't lie. When i first read the description I was like...

But then my amazing friend fawkesylibrarian told me I had to read it. I trust her book judgment implicitly, so I picked it up at work. And as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked. I love, love, LOVE the take on such a classic fairytale. The way Cinder is looked down upon by her family because 1) she is adopted and 2) she is part bionic. And how she is shunned by everyone else because of her robotic parts. I read some reviews where people said if they were Cinder they'd own their bionic-ness, and let me just call bull shit here and now. Time for some:

Here in the 21st century, in 2014, we still have people discriminating against others because of their race. We still have people being discriminated against because of the sexual orientation, because of their gender, because of their religion. So no, you would not go about being like

if you were in Cinder's shoes. Because people would hate you. People would refuse to serve you, would refuse to look at you, and would teach your children that you are an unnatural abomination. They would keep their children away from you, like the baker does in the beginning of the book. You'd face opposition and hardship at every turn, because of your awesome robotic limbs. I get it, its awesome to think about. But the treatment towards you would be awful no doubt. And I think Marissa Meyer did a fantastic job portraying that. I think she was very correct in painting the future that way, because we as human beings need to feel dominant over others. And whats the best way to do that? Discriminate, and spread that discrimination and hate, and hope that you can keep those people feeling that way. Its shitty, but I believe it would happen and I'm glad that Meyer had that as an element of the story.

Anyways. I loved the relationship between Kai and Cinder. It felt so real, and so well done. It wasn't love at first sight, it wasn't and then I saw my soulmate, my forever love. It was fantastic. And Peony! She was a doll, so sweet. I adore her. OMG and Iko - SHE IS FABULOUS!