Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

$19.99

Hardcover
Publish Date: January 2012
Language: English
Reading Level: 5.8
EAN: 9780312641894

Overview

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series!

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.

Marissa Meyer on Cinder, writing, and leading men
Which of your characters is most like you?
I wish I could say that I’m clever and mechanically-minded like Cinder, but no–I can’t fix anything. I’m much more like Cress, who makes a brief cameo in Cinder and then takes a more starring role in the third book. She’s a romantic and a daydreamer and maybe a little on the na?ve side–things that could be said about me too–although she does find courage when it’s needed most. I think we’d all like to believe we’d have that same inner strength if we ever needed it.
Where do you write?
I have a home office that I’ve decorated with vintage fairy tale treasures that I’ve collected (my favorite is a Cinderella cookie jar from the forties) and NaNoWriMo posters, but sometimes writing there starts to feel too much like work. On those days I’ll write in bed or take my laptop out for coffee or lunch.
If you were stranded on a desert island, which character from Cinder would you want with you?
Cinder, definitely! She has an internet connection in her brain, complete with the ability to send and receive comms (which are similar to e-mails). We’d just have enough time to enjoy some fresh coconut before we were rescued.
The next book in the Lunar Chronicles is called Scarlet, and is about Little Red Riding Hood. What is appealing to you most about this character as you work on the book?
Scarlet is awesome–she’s very independent, a bit temperamental, and has an outspokenness that tends to get her in trouble sometimes. She was raised by her grandmother, an ex-military pilot who now owns a small farm in southern France, who not only taught Scarlet how to fly a spaceship and shoot a gun, but also to have a healthy respect and appreciation for nature. I guess that’s a lot of things that appeal to me about her, but she’s been a really fun character to write! (The two leading men in Scarlet, Wolf and Captain Thorne, aren’t half bad either.)

Details

Pages: 400
Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.25 in
Lexile Score: 790
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus (MG+)
Point Value: 14
ISBN: 0312641893

Awards

2015 Colorado Blue Spruce Award - Winner (Young Adult)
2015 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award - Nominee (Young Adult)
2015 Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee (High School)
2015 Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee (Intermediate/Grades 7-9)
2014 Beehive Awards - Nominee (Young Adult)
2014 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Recommended (Teen)
2014 Iowa Teen Award - Nominee (Young Adult)
2014 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee (Young Adult)
2014 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee (Grades 6-8)
2014 Truman Readers Award - Third Place (Grades 6-8)
2014 Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee (High School)
2014 Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee (Middle School)
2013 Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended (Fourteen and Up)
2013 Indies Choice Book Awards - Honor Book (Young Adult)
2013 Isinglass Teen Read Award - Nominee (Grades 6-8)
2013 South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee (Young Adult)
2013 Tayshas Reading - Commended (Young Adult)
2013 Texas Lone Star Reading List - Commended (Young Adult)