Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

In my effort to read outside my comfort zone, and in celebration of going to Disneyworld, last week I read Cinder by Marissa Meyer for my “being lazy by the pool” read, and I was pleasantly surprised!

 

Cinder is a science-fiction take on Cinderella. So in other words, Cinder is a cyborg mechanic (duh). She meets Prince Kai when he needs his personal android fixed, and together they do their best to fight against Queen Levana, the cruel ruler of the Lunar Colony on the moon. There's a lot more complexity than what I just explained of course, and similar to the popular dystopian books these days, this book deals with themes of injustice, discrimination, loyalties, and so forth. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical about this type of remake, but when I continuously heard the title from kids, at conferences, and on-line, I figured I should jump on the bandwagon, and I'm happy to have read it.

Why you might like this book: Even though we all know futuristic books are so not my forte, and despite the fact I had to figure out the difference between a cyborg and an android (still a little fuzzy on that one), I really liked this take on a traditional fairytale. Growing up, I loved twists on old stories, like Ella Enchanted and Just Ella. I think Marissa Meyer did a nice job of leaving some of the traditional elements- the shoe, the ball, the wicked stepmother, etc- and still transporting me into a whole new world where I had no idea what might happen next. 

Why you might not like this book: Although I guess this is also in step with the original Cinderella story, I thought that the relationship between Cinder and Prince Kai progressed a little too quickly. Cinder’s certainly an awesome person –er, cyborg- but all of the sudden Prince Kai met her and started telling her his deepest fears and I thought that was a little much.

Similar Titles I’ve Read: Just Ella, Ella Enchanted, and Wicked

I would recommend this book to: All of the reviews on the cover of Cinder recommend this book to people who love fairy tales as well as Star Wars; in other words, everybody should like this book (right?)!

And of course, since this is Young Adult Lit, Cinder is a part of the Lunar Chronicles Series. Each story in the series focuses on a different fairytale protagonist. The first three- Cinder, Scarlet (Red Riding Hood), and Cress (Rapunzel)- are already out, but the final book Winter (Snow White) won’t be out until November 2015. Lots of time to read the first three books before then!

Audio Review: Amped by Daniel H. Wilson

Let me start off by announcing that the genre of science fiction is NOT my forte. I put science fiction in the same category as I put things like Family Guy, knitting, baked potato chips, and the Kia Soul hamster commercials: all very popular at some time or another, but not particularly interesting to me.

Sometimes I feel guilty about this. Anytime a student comes to me talking about a science fiction novel, especially a well known one like Hitchhiker’s Guide, 2001, or Ender’s Game, I embarrassingly hang my head and admit that no, I have never read it and no, I haven’t seen the movie either, and no, I don’t even have an copy on the bookshelves in my classroom. But hey, I have lots of Meg Cabot and John Green!

Amped, by Daniel H. Wilson, is the first audiobook I ever listened to and probably one of the first true science fiction books I’ve read in a long time (not including 1984, which I feel is very different from technology robot space fiction).

And that’s pretty much what Amped is. Human robots and technology. “Amps” are a nickname for neurological implants that are inserted into people’s brains to fix problems like down syndrome, deafness, blindness, and birth defects. They also increase a human’s processing speed, which means that “amps” can be faster and smarter than normal humans.

This fact, that human can become almost superhuman, upsets parents of “normal children” and an ethical dilemma of who is truly human and who is not erupts onto the national stage. The Supreme Court decides that amps, no longer being regular humans, therefore do not have the same rights as other citizens do . And this is where the trouble begins for our main character Owen.

Owen has an implant to control his epilepsy… or so he thinks. When the Supreme Court ruling passes, Owen discovers his implant possesses powers he never imagined. But will he use his powers for good or for evil? To help his people or destroy them?

Why you might like this book: There’s a cool political element that you see in this book with the government and the lack of support they are giving to implants, even though oftentimes the government itself gave these people the amps in the first place. Even though I probably won’t read another science fiction book for a while, I liked the realistic element of this story. The audio reader for the book did a great job too.

Why you might not like this book: Lots of vulgar language and lots of violence.

Similar Titles I’ve Read: None. Absolutely none.

I would recommend this book to: Fans of science fiction of course, but also those interested in ethical dilemmas associated with the human brain and medical advancements.

This book, although admittedly not in my comfort zone, still made me think about technology and the potential for neurological implants to become a reality. It’s a whole ethics question: does the use of medical advancements make us less human? Or does it allow us to truly reach our potential as humans?

Deep stuff! Happy Friday, everyone!