•Hello! ms.bookworm here! Thank you so much for checking out my blog. I will be posting book reviews/recommendations in hopes that you will find them interesting. Enjoy!
Genre: Sci-fi
Author: Marissa Meyer
For ages 12 and up
Once upon a time, in the future…
Cinder’s life couldn’t possibly get any worse—right? Her stepmother already makes her life miserable, she’s forced to work for her family’s money, the blue plague is becoming more and more of a threat, and she must hide her identity as a cyborg. But then Prince Kai walked into her life and everything changed. Spades and Aces and Stars! Greetings to all you (hopefully) future lunatics! The Lunar Chronicles by the incredibly gifted Marissa Meyer (Heartless, Renegades) is by far one of my all-time favorite books series I have ever read. From the start, it seems to draw you into this creative futuristic world of our beloved Rampion Crew. The story begins when Cinder, your typical messy,sarcastic mechanic, is confronted by the charming Prince Kai, the Commonwealth’s very own local dreamboat, when his android breaks down. Immediately, Kai and Cinder seem to connect through something. There’s just one problem: Cinder is a cyborg, which is frowned upon in the world of the story, and her Stepmother, Adri, and Stepsister, Pearl, would never allow them to be together. When the ongoing threat of letumosis, otherwise known as the deadly plague, suddenly takes her younger stepsister, Peony, and a marriage alliance between Kai and the Lunar Queen Levana, seems to grow stronger by the minute, Kai and Cinder meet on many more occasions, and become closer with every new meeting. When Kai asks Cinder to the annual ball together, Cinder declines, thinking it will be for the best. But what happens when an unexpected threat arrives in the commonwealth? Will Cinder get there in time to help Kai before it’s too late? Marissa Meyer’s adaption of the Classic take of Cinderella is clever and well-thought-out, and is always one of my number one go-to’s to recommend and read. Cinder and Kai’s stories continue, along with introducing new characters, in Scarlet, based around the well-known tale of Little Red Riding Hood, Cress, inspired by Rapunzel, the story of the girl with long, golden locks, and Winter, built off of the beloved fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . You can also find Levana’s story in Fairest, or read about the crew before they met in Stars Above. Cinder’s loyal android friend, Iko, story continues in the graphic novel series Wires & Nerve, and Wires & Nerve: Gone Rogue. Hope you look into it, but until you do, the Rampion Crew will be waiting for you. (Lol, sorry guys, I had to.)
More Info: To discover more of this futuristic universe or discover which TLC character you are, you can visit Marissa Meyer’s site at http://www.universeofmarissameyer.com/. You can also check out her blog here by clicking on https://www.marissameyer.com/blog/. Again, I mention the amazing singer/songwriter who bases her music off of her books, Beth Crowley, as she did a fantastic job on the song Midnight, which she took Cinder as inspiration. You can find that here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nTL0IuK3qc. Another Cinder-based song is by the creative Gio Navas, who made an original song called Cinders, which you can check out here at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nejlQk6cezk
~FUN FACTS~
- In the original tale of Rapunzel, Rapunzel’s mother names her after the plant she has terrible cravings for. The Rapunzel plant’s scientific name is known as the Rampion plant, which is the name of Captain Thorne’s cargo spaceship.
- Another fun fact about Rapunzel is that in Meyer’s adaption of Cress, is that both Rapunzel and Watercress are known as edible plants.
- Meyer demonstrates many clever uses of names throughout the book series. Some examples are Carswell, which means “Lives by the watercress spring”, Selene, the name of the ancient moon goddess, Channary, meaning “Moon-faced girl”, and the capital of Luna, Artemisia, is though to be named after the Greek goddess, Artemis. There are many other meanings to name, if you look closely enough.
- In Rapunzel, Rapunzel’s prince is blinded when he falls into a bushel of thorns, the sharp points scratching at his eyes. In the series, Carswell Thorne is thought to have his surname taken from that.
“Wow, when you research, you really research, don’t you?”
-—Carswell Thorne
I hope you consider looking into this incredible, futuristic book series, feel free to comment, and remember: Captain is King!
Ms Bookworm 