Here’s a short summary of Cinder:
In a society taking place in the future, New Beijing is home to a populated diverse mass of people - including cyborgs, who are seen as the lowest of the low, hardly human. The main character, Cinder, is a cyborg who lives with her stepfamily, working in a mechanics stall. All her life, a deadly plague has been going around, fatally touching many people in the city, while the royals of New Beijing are eager for a cure. Meanwhile, a group of humans who live on the moon - called Lunars - possess the cure, and the queen of the Lunars is eager to rule Earth in exchange for the life-saving cure. However, when push comes to shove, Cinder is stuck in a royal plot that will not only change her life but redefine her birthright and place in society.
Here's a short review of the novel:
This book is prone and privy to many flaws, both making it oddly relatable and kind of humorous at times. The reason why I put Cinder as a recommendation was because it provided me what a lot of books couldn’t: an engaging setting and characters that I could root for. Cinder is harsh and uncannily strong, not like her fairytale counterpart, Cinderella. The heir of New Beijing is gentle and considerate, even though he is enraptured with the falsities and talk of court. The villain of the story - Queen Levana of the Lunar Colony - is twisted to the reader, even though some of her actions seem and from an outer perspective seem justified. These three characters make the story an intriguing read, even though all of the plot twists and story beats were predictable and easy to see from billions of miles away. I enjoyed this book, despite its cultural flaws, because it provided me what I wanted most at that moment: a light-hearted story, filled to the brim with some angst but mostly good feelings, the feeling like being encased in a light hug.