Familiar with the Cinderella story? How about Cinderella + androids + cyborgs + a deadly plague + moon people?

The world has been ravished by war and plague so that there are only a few ruling powers left and they have changed from our time. Plus, there are people known as Lunars who live on the moon and have evolved in such a way that they can use the bioelectricity around them; in effect, “magically” manipulating those around them.

But what about our Cinderella character? Linh Cinder is a cyborg (though few know it) and the only full-service mechanic (and a gifted one at that) at New Beijing’s weekly market. Of course, her talent and personality matter nothing to those who consider cyborgs to be second-class citizens. Her stepmother, Adri, looks down on her as well as one of her stepsisters, Pearl. But Cinder can count on two friends: Peony, her younger stepsister and Iko, her android with a personality all her own.

Life becomes interesting when Prince Kaito disguises himself to go to market and seek out Linh Cinder, the best mechanic in the Eastern Commonwealth. Cinder is surprised to encounter the prince and to learn that he is kind and cheerful with a sense of humor. He leaves his broken android with her, making light of it even though it is important that he retrieve information from it.

Then Peony, the good stepsister, falls ill with letumosis, the plague. Cinder’s world falls apart after that.

Prince Kai’s android, the plague, and Cinder are all connected and when Cinder puts some of the pieces together, she must get to the ball to warn Kai before he makes a dangerous decision.

Wow. Cinder is an amazing retelling of Cinderella with an originality all of its own. I absolutely fell in love with it despite my confusion about androids and cyborgs in the beginning. There were a lot of things going on in Cinder and at times they seemed completely unrelated, but everything was connected in some way. I did figure out some things about Cinder about eleven percent through the book, but that did not spoil my enjoyment. The story was beautifully crafted and the characters were complex. Cinder closes with what I think is more of an open ending than a cliffhanger and I have a feeling that the second book will pick right up where this one left off.

Recommended for young adult readers who are at least fourteen and older. This is a clean read.