Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Published by Feiwel and Friends

On Shelves Now

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Charming (as in Prince….hehehe), Captivating, and Cool

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.

So, I finally broke down and read Cinder because I have an ARC of Scarlet, and I needed to know what all the hoopla was about.  I really enjoyed it; however, it had been put on such a high pedestal that I don’t think it could have ever lived up to the hype for me.  I was expecting it to just blow me away, and I ended up just getting another good YA book.  (Now, Scarlet, on the other hand, did blow me away!)

I am kind of new to fairy-tale retellings, only having read a few, so I really enjoyed that part of this story.  I loved how Marissa had taken the classic characters and morphed them into something new and different, yet echoing the sentiments of the originals.  I especially loved what she did with Cinder, making her a cyborg in a world where cyborgs are looked upon as little better than scrap metal.  She was a pariah, yet she didn’t let that hold her down.  Cinder knew exactly what she wanted, and even in the face of adversity, loss, and unimaginable revelations, she kept her focus and her strength.  I found myself cheering for Cinder to succeed and win the guy.  Cinder herself was by far the best part of this book—so unique, and I really loved her personality as it shined through the pages.

Now, I’m not sure I understand the fandom behind Kai.  I remember during our Crush Tourney this past summer that so many people loved him, but I just don’t see it.  Yes, he’s this Prince Charming guy, but other than that, there wasn’t anything striking about him.  He just seemed to be this normal guy in a not so normal situation and place in society.  He seemed weak with the Lunars (although most people are I will admit), and I just wanted him to be more…confident and charismatic.  I’m hoping that in the future books he will grow into his position more, and stop worrying about what the world thinks/wants. 

I really enjoyed the world that Marissa created—futuristic in some ways, but in other ways, the same as ours.  Earth is being ravished by a deadly plague, and as a result, fear and panic are overwhelming.  I could feel the tension and the uncertainty in Marissa’s words, and her world seemed to come alive around me.  I loved the androids and technology that Marissa described, and I look forward to seeing more of it in the future.

I wish that it would have been a little less predictable.  But maybe Marissa wanted us to be able to predict what was going to happen, I don’t know.  However, I like when I am surprised by the ending or a revelation in the book, and unfortunately, I did not get a surprise in this one.  I saw everything coming, and that was without knowing anything about the book in the first place.  Here’s to hoping that the next books will leave more in the shadows.

Overall, this was a great and fun read.  Is it one that I will rush over to my friends and demand they read at once?  Not normally, but having read Scarlet and knowing what is coming, I just might do it anyway. 

Want more Cinder?  It's also available in audiobook format!  Check out a sample here

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered by AG Howard

eARC received by Amulet Books via Netgalley

Release Date:  January 1, 2013

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Sinister, Surreal, and Seductive

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

I’m just going to go ahead and brand this one of the BEST OF 2013, before 2013 even starts!  Splintered is that good!  I’ve never before wanted to jump down a rabbit hole so whole-heartedly!  A.G. Howard morphs Lewis Carroll’s classic into something new and deadly—a place where the macabre and morbid rule the world, where reality and fiction are juxtaposed in a tangle of webs, and where love and betrayal go hand in hand.  So close your eyes and take a leap down the rabbit hole—when you open them again, you will be in a world of wonder and chaos.

“Now, stop thinking like a human  Nethering logic resides in the hazy border between sense and nonsense.”  ARC, location 1891-1892

I was never a huge fan of the original classic, but this re-telling just blew me away.  I love how A.G. took parts of the old story and interwove them to create something new and modern.  Her world was captivating and creepy—and I could just see this playing across the big screen.  Seriously, if I had to choose any book to be a movie, this would be it!  It’s got the madness that would make it part horror and the sexiness that would bring teeny-boppers, twenty-somethings, and older YA readers straight to the movie lines.  A.G. took the setting of Wonderland and turned it into a macabre dance---the flowers have become killers, the white rabbit has become a humanoid/rabbit type skeleton, and the cards are vicious monsters.  Take Caroll’s Wonderland and throw it off kilter—somewhere between psychotic killer and mushroom hallucinations—and then you have A.G.’s world.  Terrifying and beautiful sprinkled with a dash of insanity and a pinch of sex.

I really loved Alyssa—Alice’s great, great, great granddaughter.  She is tasked with going down the rabbit hole to fix Alice’s mistakes.  She’s strong and confident, with a morbid fascination with bugs.  I loved the attention to her clothes—a punk style that fits the strangeness of Wonderland perfectly.  She was always getting new “costumes,” and I really enjoyed seeing her personality show through each of them.  Plus, they added to the setting and the surrealism of the world.  Alyssa is smart and witty, and even those she is vulnerable in some aspects of her life, she doesn’t let that waiver her conviction.  She presses forward, no matter how unnerving or creepy the creatures or her tasks may seem.

And

The

Guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the guys!  The guys in this one are great!  There’s Jeb, Alyssa’s best friend from the mortal realm (who she has a complete crush on), and then there’s Morpheus, her estranged friend from her childhood who is now her guide through Wonderland.  Jeb is your typical best friend with a crush—he is a little shy and doesn’t know how to say what he wants.  That part of him is endearing, but unfortunately, I found him a bit boring.  He was predictable and plain compared to Morpheus. 

I think many readers will like Jeb better than me, but what can I say, I like the macabre Morpheus.  He says it best himself: “Mysterious.  Rebellious.  Troubled.  All those qualities women find irresistible.”  ARC, location 3982-3983  He hit the nail on the head with that one!  Those are the YA guys I tend to fall head of heels for!  A.G. describes Morpheus as similar to The Crow (you know the old 80s movie with the guy in leather and a white-painted face?)—and I loved The Crow!!!  “He’s a contradiction:  taut magic coiled to strike, gentleness at war with severity, a tongue as sharp as a whip’s edge, yet skin so soft he could be swathed in clouds.”  ARC, location 1837-1838  Morpheus is full of charisma and is extremely skilled in seduction.   I found myself wishing that Alyssa would just throw herself on him so they could have a hot and steamy, make you sweat scene.  He is what happens when you make the macabre sexy.  Long dark hair that falls into his face, dark smoky eyes that pierce your soul, black tipped wings that will sweep you off your feet, and the heart that is always too hard to read.  Yum!  I couldn’t get enough of Morpheus, and I am hoping beyond all belief that A.G will write a sequel just so I can have more of him.

This could be a stand-alone novel, but it was also left a little open where a sequel can be written if A.G. Howard decides to in the future.  (Please, Please, Please!) 

Splintered:  Astounding.  Morbid.  Sexy.  Unpredictable.  Enchanting.

I could go on and on, but I won’t!  Instead, I will urge you to buy this book when it comes out in January!  If you’re looking for something different, and are a fan of dark, gothic-like novels, then this will be perfect for you!

I’ll leave you with a final quote I loved:

“He’ll come for you.  He’ll step through your dreams.  Or the looking glass…stay away from the glass, Allie!”  ARC, location 481-482