Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

from goodreads

4 stars

I like quirky things. I think that may be why we bought our house. It is sure quirky. What other house would have a load bearing movie poster of Final Analysis which depicts Richard Gere and Kim Bassinger on the verge of kissing. I assume it is a load bearing poster because it is screwed into the wall. Or perhaps the original owners who put up that poster wanted a bit of heat and romance when going to do laundry. (The poster is in our laundry/furnace room). Whatever the reason it is the quirky things in life that help put a smile on your face and reminds you that life doesn't have to bee super serious all the time. It is okay to be lighthearted and fun, perhaps, dare I say, even whimsical. So I say carry on Richard and Kim, carry on.

from goodreads

Synopsis

Cinder is a futuristic telling of the fairy tale Cinderella. But, instead of a beautiful maiden it is a beautiful cyborg, whose name is Cinder. It takes in the future in a place called New Beijing. There is handsome prince Kai, a plague that has no cure, and crazy space people called Lunars. The Queen of the Lunar people is always threatening a war with Earth and the only way to avoid war, in her opinion, is to marry Prince Kai. Lunars also have a special ability in which they can control people's minds. Cinder is caught in the middle of all this, and despite being a second class citizen (cyborgs are not thought well of) she is willing to risk it all to protect her world and Prince Kai.

Scarlet is loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood. Scarlet's grandmother has disappeared and Scarlet is desperately trying to find her. She meets a man named Wolf and although she doesn't completely trust him, she allows him to help her look for her grandmother. It also picks up Cinder's storyline from where it left of in Cinder.

My Thoughts

What a fun series. It is fairytales meets Star Wars meets our galaxy. It is definitely quirky but it is so fun to read. I love that is is a teen series that isn't yet another dystopian angsty thing. The main characters accept help from others yet are still strong. The banter is witty and doesn't seem full of doom and gloom as you get from Divergent or the Hunger Games.

I love how the author is able to interweave different storylines in a way that makes sense and how she was able to merge them together without if feeling awkward or too predicable. It was nice that different characters didn't just play a cameo appearance other characters storylines but actually served a purpose for being there.

I have the third book in the series, Cress, on hold right now. I am currently the third hold and I am super excited to read it. Despite some cliche's you really start to care about the characters and you want to know if the queen is going to get her comeuppance.

This is a great summer series to read. I think your teens will thoroughly enjoy it. It is nice to read a non-angsty teen story. This series may make even the most sullen teen laugh.