Cress by Marissa Meyer (Book Review)

"Her satellite made one full orbit around planet Earth every sixteen hours."

Review: This is the third book of a 4 book series and before I review it, please see my reviews on the first two books, in the Lunar Chronicles, below:

Cinder

Scarlet

I have to admit, this series is getting better and better as I continue to read them! I'm a huge fan of the writer more than I am of the books so I could be a little biased there, but I admire the fact that Marissa Meyer takes the time to communicate personally with her fans (including me!!) whenever we should ask her a question or just want to say how much we love her books! Not many authors would do that and so I feel it necessary to point out just how much she (and most other rising Young Adult writers) cares about her readers.

Firstly, this is a series that intricately weaves several fables together into one large fantasy filled with hope, despair, and a good old fashioned fairy tale as well. It all started with the all too common story of Cinderella (Cinder) but it was definitely not the one you may have seen on television! This version has droids and Lunars (really creepy human looking aliens), which you won't find in those fairy tales today. But it does maintain the same premise of a girl who seemingly has nothing but herself to look after, living with a step-mother who despises her, and two stepsisters. Luckily, only one of them is wicked, the other is actually quite sweet. But I won't spoil it for you in case you haven't read it yet. There's a Prince (Kai) who meets Cinder and invites her to the ball, where she loses her foot instead of her glass slipper! But you can see where the fairy tale and the fantasy meet and mesh together rather well. I give most of the credit to Marissa who's been doing a tremendous job.

Last year was Scarlet, and I don't think I need to go into the story of Little Red Ridinghood with you? But let's just say I'm sure a lot of the teenage girls quickly fell in love with the character of Wolf instantly. Me? Eh, I could take him or leave him. Personally, not until this third book did I find a character I could truly relate to.

Don't get me wrong, I realize Cinder is at the epicenter of this all. If not for her none of these fairy tales could ever have come together, let alone be fighting to rid the world of the truly evil Queen Levana! But by the end of the second book I didn't really like Cinder who hadn't truly found her confidence and I didn't like Scarlet who seemed a bit too over confident. I'm kind of like Goldilocks who didn't find the "just right" character until this book!

Cress (short for Crescent Moon) is someone who I related to from the very first page of the first chapter! The isolationism, the way she created a world for herself in order to keep her mind active and to keep from feeling like she's going crazy. Also, the way she imagines she's in a movie and essentially is talking to her younger self for company. I was almost ashamed to admit it, but that's ME! And I must thank Marissa Meyer for creating this character (almost just for me) so I would know I'm not the only weirdo! A little daydreaming never hurt anyone, especially if it relaxes you and helps you get through really difficult times. Which, for Cress, if not for her daydreaming and pretending, I don't think she could have survived outside of her satellite.

This story unites the characters who are going to essentially save the world. Namely Cinder, Cress, Captain Carswell, Wolf, & Iko who FINALLY gets a body! Oops, was that a spoiler? Sorry! Anyway, we get a brief glimpse into the life of Cinder's stepmother who I will never feel sorry for and of course we see the Prince as well. In fact, a bit of a kidnapping/rescue mission happens there. The wedding of Queen Levana and Prince Kai is scheduled to happen during this book, if you recall? This is assuming you've read the first two...well, things don't exactly go according to the Queen's plan.

The best part, aside from getting to meet and know Cress, is what happens to Scarlet! I don't want to give it all away, but let's just say through her we get to meet the main character of the fourth (and last) Lunar Chronicles book, Winter! Turns out she's the Queens daughter and I'm not quite sure yet if she's got one too many screws loose or if she's doing a really good job of pretending? Hmm...guess I'll have to wait for February 2015 when Winter comes out! So excited!

Summary: In this third book in Marissa Meyer's bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s being forced to work for Queen Levana, and she’s just received orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is splintered. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price than she’d ever expected. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai, especially the cyborg mechanic. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Cress

The Lunar Chronicles, #3

by Marissa Meyer

550 pages

Feiwel and Friends, 2014

Young Adult fiction

Read in 7 days

Rating: ★★★★★

Amazon | BN

To learn more about Marissa Meyer, visit her site here.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (Book Review)

Scarlet
by Marissa Meyer

452 pages
Feiwel and Friends, 2013
Young Adult
Finished in 3 days
Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★

Amazon.com / BN.com

"Scarlet was descending toward the alley behind the Rieux Tavern when her portscreen chimed from the passenger seat, followed by an automated voice: 'Comm received for Mademoiselle Scarlet Benoit from the Toulouse Law Enforcement Department of Missing Persons.'"

Review: This is the second book in a planned 4 book series created by Marissa Meyer. I've reviewed her first book already and you can find my review here. I enjoyed the stark similarities between Cinder and the fairy tale we all know of Cinderella. The genius it took to come up with this cyborg, human, alien-mind-control story all taking place in Asia is great. I became hooked with Cinder instantly and couldn't wait for the next book. My first question for Marissa Meyer is, WHY only one a year?! That's just too long to wait (in my opinion) but there are always other books to read in the meantime. 

So, now onto Scarlet, the story of, as you can imagine, Little Red Riding Hood with the grandmother and the Wolf playing a role in this story as well. Her grandmother is missing and Scarlet will stop at nothing to find her. Even if that means abandoning her father to ultimately be killed and sacrificing her own life to save her. Happening parallel to her search for her grandmother is the continuing story of Cinder who, at the end of the first book, discovered who she truly is, Princess Selene who has become a sort of legend among the Lunar people. They all believe their current Queen Levana was successful in having her killed when she was just a baby. Well, she survived (barely) and in order to live she had to be given cyborg parts. I won't bore you with retelling her story (you'll have to read the book if you haven't already) but this book picks up with her using her mind-controlling abilities to escape the prison she was being held in until Queen Levana took her. During her escape she befriends Captain Thorne (who isn't REALLY a Captain) in order to use his stolen ship and find the one person she knows might have the truth of what happened to her as a child. For starters, how the HELL she ended up with her wicked step-mother in the first place?!

Who happens to be her only lead? Yep, you guessed it, Scarlet's grandmother. So at some point in this very gripping tale, the two young ladies end up together. Cinder still pining over Kai, the newly appointed ruler of the Commonwealth realm and Scarlet, who has just become the "mate" of Wolf, a dude who was genetically mutated by Queen Levana to turn into an actual wolf!

The next book in this series is Cress, expecting some time in 2014 (hopefully early February??) and will ultimately be about Cinder mastering her mind-controlling abilities, and then crashing the impending wedding between Kai and Levana. Yuck! I'm not sure how the story of Captain Thorne, Scarlet and Wolf will further develop beyond that of their helping Cinder reach her true potential and purpose in life which is to become the Queen of the Lunars?

I'll leave with one last thought in mind, I hope in the next book Cinders only and best friend, Iko, is able to get a body? It would be nice, cause I love her personality.

Summary: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

To learn more about Marissa Meyer visit her website.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Book Review)

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)
by Marissa Meyer

387 pages

Macmillan Publishers, January 2012

young adult/romance/science fiction/dystopian
Read in 4 days

Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★1/2

Amazon.com | BN.com

My Review: Very few people don’t know the story of Cinderella. If you’re like me, you’ve seen several movie versions of the movie growing up as well. Not only that, but being a fairytale, it’s easy to see aspects of this story in other, more modern tales. The classic (and oft times tragic) story of girl who likes boy but due to some societal or financial reason she does not feel worthy of his affection. Similar to that of Romeo & Juliet, only not as tragic because in Cinderella it’s one of those “and they lived happily ever after” kind of endings. This book is the story of Cinderella but told in the future and in Beijing, China. I think that location would never have entered my mind for a Cinderella remake but I must say, for the larger story she’s looking to tell in the continuation of this series, it works.

If you like the fairytale and are not open for huge change from that idea this book will not interest you. Otherwise, read on, because there is something for everyone in this story. Cinder is a cyborg (meaning certain parts of her anatomy and internal organs are robotic) and as such is looked down upon by some people, including, of course, her wicked step-mother Adri, and her two step-sisters. I was happy to see that one of the step-sisters actually befriends Cinder and they get along rather well until tragedy hits. I’ll try not to give any spoilers but let’s just say there is SO much more to this story that some stupid ball and fairy godmother. There are no pumpkins (unless you count the orange car she finds in the junkyard) or midnight bells to listen for. There is a greater danger in this story than losing ones slipper too. Try losing ones mechanical foot!

One criticism I had with the book was the humor. I found it VERY dry, but I suspect that is because the culture where it takes place is different from what I’m used to here. If that is the case then I get two thumbs up to the writer for being so thorough in her research on this book that she was able to perfectly capture the way the Chinese communicate to each other in dialogue.

Summary: 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.

To learn more about Marissa Meyer please visit her site.