Once upon a time, there was a podcast episode all about Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, if you hadn't figured that out yet, and it fits in nicely with our monthly book club challenge theme on Goodreads (soon to be Facebook because Goodreads is the literal worst for anything other than keeping a tally of books you've read and reading book summaries), Shaken Not Stirred: Read a new take on an old story.
We love this book. I mean, what's not to love? Cinderella story, handsome prince, totally awesome best friend, evil queen, missing princess, cyborgs, androids, a plague... it's got everything!
Wait... a plague? Yes. It's oddly relevant to our current times in that there is a plague and quarantines, but it's considerably worse in this series than it is in real life. Not that it's not bad in real life... but... oh you get what I'm saying.
To put to use one of the good things about Goodreads, here's the summary of Cinder:
Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder's brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.
But it doesn't take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
Don't you just want to read it?! Yes, yes you do.
As a special guest on our episode, we invited Bethanie of Prince Kai Fan Pod to join us for Would You Rather. If you need an even more in depth discussion of Cinder, be sure to check out this podcast.
AND NOW FINALLY. A recording picture. If you listen to the episode, there's a bit right at the beginning where I was distracting Claire by making awful faces. And here's a shot of that!
And we all lived happily ever after,
Amanda