Book 22: Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles #1)

I've heard so many good things about this book, and I put off reading it for so long because I thought I'd be disappointed with it, but I was surprised to find I actually really enjoyed this. It shouldn't have been such a surprise; I love fairy tale retellings, and years of loving Sailor Moon pretty much conditioned me to sit up straight and pay attention whenever a missing moon princess is mentioned (even if the identity of said moon princess is inevitably easy to discern). The love story didn't really hook me yet (maybe in the sequels? They just don't seem to know each other well enough, and they both have way bigger things on their minds), but the relationships between Cinder and Peony, Iko, and the doctor were believable enough. I liked the futuristic China setting (especially considering that I'd always heard that the earliest known versions of Cinderella are from China), and I like how Cinder had interests and goals that had nothing to do with the prince and resisted typical, ultra-feminine stereotypes (but I cringed all the way through the ball scene! It made me wish a fairy godmother would make a quick appearance). I look forward to reading the next book in the series! B+