I picked up the first book of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, Cinder, after one of my coworkers recommended it by telling me how much her 12-year-old loved the book. I was craving a fast-paced book that would be the right amount of complex to be interesting but still simple enough to follow in audiobook form. Also I figured – if it’s good enough for the 12-year-old, it’s good enough for me!
The Lunar Chronicle books absolutely fulfilled my requirements, and after enjoying Cinder I went on to spend many enjoyable hours listening to these books while going on walks, doing dishes, cooking dinner, etc. Each book builds on the last while introducing a character based on a classic fairy tale heroine, but the story is set in a futuristic science fiction version of Earth and its former Lunar colony, now an independent (and antagonistic) country.
Cinder
The first book in the Lunar Chronicles follows Cinder, who is a cyborg working as a mechanic in New Beijing. Because of laws restricting cyborg rights, Cinder is forced to turn over all the money she makes to her stepmother while also following all of her orders. If it’s not obvious, the fairy tale being referenced here is Cinderella. Additional embellishments to flesh out the sci-fi setting: there is an extremely deadly and communicable pandemic sweeping the Earth, and Earth has been on the brink of war with Luna have been on the brink of war for several generations. One day the handsome Prince Kai steps up to her mechanic shop to get an android repaired, and hijinks ensue.
I thought that this book was fast-paced and fun, and the references to different plot points of the fairy tale were clever without getting overly cute.
Scarlet
Book number two introduces Scarlet, who meets a mysterious prize fighter named Wolf while making deliveries from her grandmother’s farm. If you guessed that the fairy tale here is Little Red Riding Hood, you would be correct. After Scarlet’s grandmother is kidnapped, she and Wolf make their way to Paris trying to find her. Meanwhile, Cinder has broken out of jail after getting arrested at Prince Kai’s ball. She’s looking for answers about her mysterious past, and it seems like Scarlet’s grandmother may hold some answers about where Cinder came from, how she came to be a cyborg, and why she doesn’t have any memories prior to her cyborg surgeries.
Again, this was a perfect book to listen to while working. I was particularly impressed with Rebecca Soler, the narrator’s, performance as the number of characters expands throughout the series. It has the perfect amount of conflict, humor, and romance to both keep me on the edge of my seat and even have the occasional chuckle.
Cress
Cress, the third book in the series, introduces the evil Lunar queens unwilling master of spies. She’s been held captive in a satellite since she was a small child, using her expert hacking skills to gather intelligence from the Earth’s leaders and mask ships full of Lunar soldiers being secretly shipped to Earth. She’s not even allowed to have sharp objects with her, so she’s been unable to cut her long hair the whole time she’s been captive. Ding ding ding, we have Rapunzel here, folks. She’s gone a bit rogue as a spy, though, as she’s lately been using her skills to make sure that Cinder and her crew (including the handsome Captain Thorne) stay hidden from both Earth and Lunar authorities.
Again, a very fun addition to this series. I enjoyed getting to see more of Captain Thorne, since he has been one of the main sources of comic relief throughout the series – and in this book, we got to see him have some moments of drama as well.
Winter
In the fourth and final book of the series, we finally actually get to Luna and meet Winter, the Lunar princess and stepdaughter of the evil Queen Levana. Winter loves animals and is beloved by the Lunar people, and Queen Levana is insanely jealous of her stepdaughter’s popularity as well as her stunning good looks. Yes indeed, Snow White has entered the playing field. When Cinder’s crew comes to Luna to finally overthrow Queen Levana and lead the Lunar people to freedom, Winter must find the strength to stand against her stepmother and help lead her people (and her new friends) to victory.
Winter pulls the threads of the story together beautifully to give all of our gals a nice happily ever after – and if you consider that a spoiler, you haven’t been paying attention to the fairy tale source material! There’s plenty of conflict and even some moments of downright despair on the way there though, keeping me on my toes throughout the book.
I really enjoyed these books – there aren’t a ton of surprises, especially since the broad strokes of many of the plots are pulled from various fairy tales. That said, the sci-fi element adds a lot of interest, and Meyers has created a cast of interesting, charming characters. I came to The Lunar Chronicles as a suggestion for a YA series, and I think I would have loved these books when I was 10-12 years old. There were definitely some scary moments though, and also real life-or-death stakes at play throughout. So, parents might want to check out content warnings.
