Young Adult
Cinder
By Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends, 2012
Orphaned cyborg Cinder lives in future Asia, in New Beijing, at a time when a plague ravages an overcrowded planet and condemns its victims to death. Although she is a gifted mechanic, Cinder’s cyborg status relegates her to being a second-class citizen. Because her adoptive father and sole protector has succumbed to the plague, Cinder lives with her stepmother, Adri, who reviles her; her stepsister, Pearl, who regularly degrades her; and her stepsister Peony, with whom she is friends. Her only other friend is the family’s droid, Iko.
Cinder works in the local marketplace, hiding her bionic hand and foot from everyone, fixing broken machines. In secret, she works on a car that will help her escape from her difficult life. Cinder’s life changes when she meets Prince Kai, who brings her his personal droid to fix. Shortly thereafter, Peony contracts the plague, and Adri blames Cinder. Subsequently, Adri “volunteers” Cinder for experimental vaccine research.
While at the research facility, a clue to Cinder’s mysterious past is revealed, and she is catapulted into the royal world of Prince Kai. Prince Kai is betrothed to the Lunar queen, Levana, and it is for this reason, Cinder tries to avoid Kai at every turn. When she learns of Levana’s plot to destroy earth and everything on it, she embarks on a mission to save earth from the Lunars while simultaneously wrestling with her growing feelings for the prince.
Marissa Meyer was born on February 19, 1984 in Tacoma, Washington. During her childhood she became an aficionado of “Sailor Moon” and was turned onto fan fiction by her best friend. She wrote fan fiction under the pseudonym Alicia Blade, and her novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” was published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007).
Meyer received her Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature from Pacific Lutheran University and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Publishing from Pace University. Upon graduation, she worked as an editor in Seattle before becoming a freelance proofreader and typesetter.
Her first novel Cinder (2012) is the beginning of the Lunar Chronicles, which also includes Scarlet (2013), Cress (2014), and the just-published Fairest: Levana’s Story (2015). Marissa Meyer revealed the origin of her first novel lay in her being a "fairy tale geek”; she spent considerable time tracing the origins of the most common Western children's stories. It is believed that the first version of Cinderella was written in China in the 9th century. For this reason, Marissa Meyer set her futuristic version in New Beijing, in order to "close the circle" and return the story to its origins. The decision to make Cinder a cyborg started from a hilarious thought: what if instead of losing a shoe on the palace steps, Cinderella loses a whole foot!
Today Marissa Meyer lives in Tacoma Washington with her husband, Jessie Taylor, and three cats (Calexandria Josephine, Stormus Enormous, and Blackland Rockwell III). A self-described book junkie, her favorite non-bookish things include Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, re-watching episodes of Firefly, and playing dress-up. She is also big on road-tripping, wine-tasting, hunting for antiques, and color-coordinating her bookshelves. Her home office is decorated with vintage fairy tale “treasures,” including a 1940s Cinderella cookie jar. Her all-time favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Marissa Meyer’s official website, http://www.marissameyer.com/
Interview with Marissa Meyer, http://us.macmillan.com/cinder/marissameyer
Cyborgs/ Extraterrestrial Beings
Crewe, Megan. Earth & Sky. Skyscape, 2014.
Meyer, Marissa. Cress. Feiwel and Friends, 2013.
Meyer, Marissa. Fairest: Levana’s Story. Feiwel and Friends, 2015.
Meyer, Marissa. Scarlet. Feiwel and Friends, 2014.
Waggoner, Susan. Neptune’s Tears. Henry Holt and Company, 2013.
Fairy Tales/Adaptation
Cross, Sarah. Tear You Apart. Egmont Publishing, 2015.
Dokey, Cameron. Before Midnight: a retelling of Cinderella. Simon Pulse, 2008.
Dokey, Cameron. Belle: a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”. Simon Pulse, 2008.
Hawes, Louise. Black Pearls: a faerie strand. Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
Koertge, Ronald. Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses. Candlewick Press, 2012.
Marr, Melissa and Tim Pratts, eds. Rags & Bones. Little, Brown & Company, 2013.
Thomas, Rhiannon. A Wicked Thing. HarperTeen, 2015.
Valentino, Serena. Fairest of All: a tale of the Wicked Queen. Disney Press, 2009.
Social Classes/Futuristic Rebellion
Fama, Elizabeth. Plus One. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2014.
Hagen, Bethany. Landry Park. Dial Books, 2013.
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. Katherine Tegen Books, 2011.
Tayler, Kassy. Ashes of Twilight. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013.
Stepfamilies/Fairy Tales
Barrett, Tracy. The Stepsister’s Tale. Harlequin Teen, 2014.
Dickerson, Melanie. The Captive Maiden. Zondervan, 2013.
Kantor, Melissa. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, where is my Prince? Hyperion, 2005.
Lo, Malinda. Ash. Little, Brown & Company, 2009.
Masson, Sophie. Moonlight & Ashes. Random House Australia, 2012.
Rasheed, Leila. Cinders & Sapphires. Hyperion, 2013.
St. Crow, Lili. Wayfarer: A Tale of Beauty and Madness. Razorbill, 2015.
Activities
Compare and contrast the traditional story of Cinderella with Cinder, a story that is set in the future. How do Cinderella and Cinder differ? How are they alike? What do both stories have in common? What makes them unique? Is society better or worse today than it was in the past?
Design your own Cyber leg, including her unusual foot, for Cinder. How do you think her leg should look? Give reasons for your design.
Cinder is a cyborg and many feel that it makes her less than human. What is the definition of a human? What do you think of Cinder? She has a mechanical leg and part of her heart. Does that make her a robot or a human? What are the strengths of each? What are Cinder’s strengths?
Marissa Meyer has created a playlist of songs that she thinks best sets the mood for her novel, Cinder. Create your own playlist that you think best gives a feel for the book. What titles did you add and why? Before beginning your own playlist, please see the link below for Marissa Meyer’s playlist.
http://www.marissameyer.com/extras/playlist/
Cinder is a mechanic and can fix just about anything. She has a robot that is also a servant. Cinder has to fix her robot often. How would you fix her robot so that she works all of the time? What tasks are robots well suited for? Do some research to discover how robots are helping with housework today and the plans for the robots of the future to help in individual households.
Cinder is inspired by Cinderella. The book cover features Cinder’s cyborg leg and red high heel shoe, a take on Cinderella’s glass slipper. How would you redesign the book jacket for Cinder? Be creative and also write a paragraph explaining why you have chosen to represent the book in the way you did.
Miranda Cashin is a real-life girl with a cyborg leg. She writes a blog titled “The Girl with the Cyborg Leg.” Read her blog and send her an email at: miranda.cashin@gmail.com
https://thegirlwiththecyborgleg.wordpress.com/she-sounds-cool-id-like-to-contact-her-3/
2015-2016 California Young Reader Medal Resource Guide Cinder - page