Booktalks Quick and Simple

	Meyer, Marissa. CINDER New York : Feiwel and Friends, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0312641893 (4 booktalks)
Click on the book to read Amazon reviews	Booktalk #1 Cinder is a gifted mechanic. Have a repair that needs done? Cinder is your girl. Well, Cinder is actually a cyborg. In New Beijing post-World War IV, Earth is a very different place. Cyborgs are treated poorly. And Cinder is no different. She works all day in her booth in town but all her wages go to her step-mother. No one else in the family works but they sure know how to spend her money. Her step-mother has no use for Cinder other than her paycheck. One of her step-sisters is good to her and that makes it tolerable. While Cinder is not allowed to go to the Prince's ball until her chores are finished, she dreams of the handsome Prince. Little does her step-mother know but Cinder has met him. But when the plague stikes Cinder's step-sister, she is sold to the doctor who is researching a vaccine. Cinder knows that none of the cyborgs who have been experimented on have survived. Booktalk #2 Cinder is an updated Cinderella story with a sci-fi twist. In the future, Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She works in a small stall in the crowded streets of New Beijing. Her reputation has spread as far as the palace, because even Prince Kai (you knew there would be a handsome prince) seeks her out to repair a broken android before the ball. A nice twist on the fairy tale is that Cinder has a mechanical foot that doesn’t quite fit, because her stepmother - of course there’s a stepmother! - her stepmother won’t replace the one Cinder got when she was a kid. Along with her stepmother, she lives with two stepsisters (of course) -- one, Peony, she actually has a sisterly relationship with- the other, Pearl, not so much. Earth’s governments are urging Prince Kai to marry the Lunar Queen Levana to establish an alliance between the Earth and the Moon. Some believe that the Lunar people have developed a cure for the mysterious, deadly plague that is sweeping through New Beijing. Prince Kai’s father is stricken, as is Peony (the nice stepsister) is infected. As revenge, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her for plague research...which unlocks secrets about Cinder, the Lunar people that have been buried for years. Cinder is the first book in a four part Lunar Chronicles. (New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Book Award, 2014) Booktalk #3 Cinder is a sixteen-year-old cyborg; human, but she’s been reconfigured with some mechanical parts. It’s a hard life. Cyborgs are considered second class citizens in society and Cinder is also mistreated at home. She lives with her nasty step-mother and step-sisters. Taking her name into account, I bet you’re sensing a familiar story here. And you’re right. This is a science fiction mash-up of the classic Cinderella tale, but it’s unique; set in futuristic China with some exciting added action. Of course, like the original, there’s romance with an uber-charming prince. But this isn’t a flat retelling. The connection between Cinder and Prince Kai is more than love at first sight and it’s fun watching it develop. The characters aren’t stereotypes. Cinder’s a good mix: feisty, mechanical and tough. There are no mice or fairy godmothers to help out. Cinder’s a take charge gal determined to solve her own problems, although she does get a bit of help from a droid and the prince. Anyone could use help since the problems facing Cinder, and all of New Beijing for that matter, are monumental. There’s a deadly plague, and the threat of an invasion from a civilization hell bent on taking over Earth. This is a fresh look at a timeless tale. There’s only one drawback; it’s part of a trilogy so you’ll need to keep reading for the final resolution. Patricia McClune, Conestoga Valley High School (Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award nominee, 2014) Booktalk #4 Sixteen year old Cinder is living a hard life; her kind and protective step-father is dead, her step-mother abhors her, one of her step-sisters can’t stand her, her beloved younger step-sister has the plague, AND the Lunar Queen is looking to invade Cinder’s New Beijing hometown and take over the planet with crazy lunar mind control! As if that weren’t enough, Cinder is a cyborg – the lowest of the low in this futuristic tale. But Cinder is also a smart, resourceful, self-taught mechanic, who finds herself at the center of a complicated adventure involving a handsome Prince, a mysterious past, and some handy metal body parts. This fairy tale mash-up is the first in the Lunar Chronicles series and does not disappoint! (Book Talk Author: Tana Lucero, Colorado Blue Spruce Award, 2015) Booktalk #5 Is there a charming prince, princess, or soul mate out there for every one? Fairy tales say yes, but sometimes in real life things are not so simple. And in science fiction, a fairy tale can become even more complex. In this futuristic dystopian re-telling of the Cinderella story the princess, Cinder, is a human robot hybrid. And unlike the traditional story Cinder is super smart and independent, overflowing with girl power! The prince whose name is Kai, does not impress her at first. Cinder knows that in the city of Beijing, keeping her family safe from the plague is all she has time for. But when the prince’s android repair turns into discovering a secret that will change Cinder’s world forever, she becomes drawn in to the possibility of being able to save more than her own family, but all the people of Beijing. And she also becomes more drawn to Kai as more than a friend, and the more they explore their attraction the more forces of the world around them pull them apart. At the heart of the conflict in both Beijing and their relationship is evil queen Levana, ruler of a race called the Lunars. If Cinder and Kai can figure out how to defeat Levana they will not only save Cinder’s family and their future, but they will save all of Beijing from being taken over by the Lunars. (Kathleen Dunbar, Teacher-Librarian, Cleveland High School Library, Washington Evergreen Award, 2015)
	SUBJECTS: Cyborgs -- Fiction. Stepfamilies -- Fiction. Social classes -- Fiction. Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction. Science fiction.

In the future, Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She works in a small stall in the crowded streets of New Beijing. Her reputation has spread as far as the palace, because even Prince Kai (you knew there would be a handsome prince) seeks her out to repair a broken android before the ball. A nice twist on the fairy tale is that Cinder has a mechanical foot that doesn’t quite fit, because her stepmother - of course there’s a stepmother! - her stepmother won’t replace the one Cinder got when she was a kid.

Along with her stepmother, she lives with two stepsisters (of course) -- one, Peony, she actually has a sisterly relationship with- the other, Pearl, not so much.

Earth’s governments are urging Prince Kai to marry the Lunar Queen Levana to establish an alliance between the Earth and the Moon. Some believe that the Lunar people have developed a cure for the mysterious, deadly plague that is sweeping through New Beijing. Prince Kai’s father is stricken, as is Peony (the nice stepsister) is infected. As revenge, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her for plague research...which unlocks secrets about Cinder, the Lunar people that have been buried for years.

Cinder is the first book in a four part Lunar Chronicles. (New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Book Award, 2014)

Cinder is a sixteen-year-old cyborg; human, but she’s been reconfigured with some mechanical parts. It’s a hard life. Cyborgs are considered second class citizens in society and Cinder is also mistreated at home. She lives with her nasty step-mother and step-sisters. Taking her name into account, I bet you’re sensing a familiar story here. And you’re right. This is a science fiction mash-up of the classic Cinderella tale, but it’s unique; set in futuristic China with some exciting added action. Of course, like the original, there’s romance with an uber-charming prince. But this isn’t a flat retelling. The connection between Cinder and Prince Kai is more than love at first sight and it’s fun watching it develop. The characters aren’t stereotypes. Cinder’s a good mix: feisty, mechanical and tough. There are no mice or fairy godmothers to help out. Cinder’s a take charge gal determined to solve her own problems, although she does get a bit of help from a droid and the prince. Anyone could use help since the problems facing Cinder, and all of New Beijing for that matter, are monumental. There’s a deadly plague, and the threat of an invasion from a civilization hell bent on taking over Earth. This is a fresh look at a timeless tale. There’s only one drawback; it’s part of a trilogy so you’ll need to keep reading for the final resolution. Patricia McClune, Conestoga Valley High School (Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award nominee, 2014)

Sixteen year old Cinder is living a hard life; her kind and protective step-father is dead, her step-mother abhors her, one of her step-sisters can’t stand her, her beloved younger step-sister has the plague, AND the Lunar Queen is looking to invade Cinder’s New Beijing hometown and take over the planet with crazy lunar mind control! As if that weren’t enough, Cinder is a cyborg – the lowest of the low in this futuristic tale. But Cinder is also a smart, resourceful, self-taught mechanic, who finds herself at the center of a complicated adventure involving a handsome Prince, a mysterious past, and some handy metal body parts. This fairy tale mash-up is the first in the Lunar Chronicles series and does not disappoint! (Book Talk Author: Tana Lucero, Colorado Blue Spruce Award, 2015)

Booktalk #5

Is there a charming prince, princess, or soul mate out there for every one? Fairy tales say yes, but sometimes in real life things are not so simple. And in science fiction, a fairy tale can become even more complex. In this futuristic dystopian re-telling of the Cinderella story the princess, Cinder, is a human robot hybrid. And unlike the traditional story Cinder is super smart and independent, overflowing with girl power! The prince whose name is Kai, does not impress her at first. Cinder knows that in the city of Beijing, keeping her family safe from the plague is all she has time for. But when the prince’s android repair turns into discovering a secret that will change Cinder’s world forever, she becomes drawn in to the possibility of being able to save more than her own family, but all the people of Beijing. And she also becomes more drawn to Kai as more than a friend, and the more they explore their attraction the more forces of the world around them pull them apart. At the heart of the conflict in both Beijing and their relationship is evil queen Levana, ruler of a race called the Lunars. If Cinder and Kai can figure out how to defeat Levana they will not only save Cinder’s family and their future, but they will save all of Beijing from being taken over by the Lunars. (Kathleen Dunbar, Teacher-Librarian, Cleveland High School Library, Washington Evergreen Award, 2015)