Wires And Nerve Volume 1

Wires And Nerve Volume 1 by Marissa Meyer, 238 pages

“In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder, Cress, Scarlet, Winter, and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.” Iko might be my favorite character in the series.  Although graphic isn’t usually my preferred format, I really liked this, maybe better than the original books in the series.  Anyone who liked the Lunar Chronicles or likes action filled graphic novels will want to read this.

Fairest

Fairest by Marissa Meyer, 222 pages

This the backstory of Levana from the Lunar Chronicles, and how she became queen.  While we have all come to hate Levana, who has been nothing but evil in the Lunar Chronicles series so far, it's hard not to feel some compassion for the girl who was clearly mistreated as a child, especially by her older sister, and who was clearly better suited to rule.  If she had been brought up slightly differently, it's even possible that she wouldn't have turned into the nasty piece of work she became.  I really liked this early glimpse into Levana's life and anyone who's liked the series so far will want to read this.  Teens that like fairy tale type stories also might enjoy this book, whether they've read the series or not.

Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, 390 pages

Cinder is the first book of the Lunar Chronicles and a cyborg adaptation of the classic Cinderella story. Cinder takes place in a city called New Beijing, a capital city of a war torn Earth. Decades of infighting among themselves and against the Lunars (a race of magical people living on the moon) has left the population decimated and parts of the planet unlivable. But a fragile peace has been reached as negotiations with the Lunars continue. However there is also a lethal disease that seems to be both random in who it infects, and completely incurable.

But Cinder doesn't care about any of that. She just wants to continue working at her repair shop and eventually buy her freedom from her legal guardian/owner. See Cinder is a cyborg and has less rights than a regular human. And while her guardian doesn't own her, they do own her non human parts, parts she cannot live without. So being seen as less human than her two step sisters she has to do all the work around the house and is the main source of income for the family. But that all changes when a prince appears in her shop to get a droid repaired and one of her step sisters contracts the disease.

I really liked this adaptation of Cinderella. It manages to hit all of the key elements like step sisters, a ball, magical transformation, princes etc, but is able to retell it in an interesting way. I would even go as far to say this is a modernization that seems applicable not only to todays times, but until cyborgs are actually common, though moon people might be hard to accept.

Cress

Cress by Marissa Meyer

552 Pages

 

The third book in the Lunar Chronicles series picks up where Scarlet left off.  Cinder Linh is still running from both the Lunar and Earth authorities because Levana, the Queen, knows that she is actually Princess Selene, the rightful heir, and on Earth, she is wanted for attempting to harm Kai, the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth.  Cinder is determined to overthrow Levana, and with the help of Captain Thorne, Scarlet, Wolf, and Iko, she has a plan.  When they receive a signal from Cress, who is a Lunar shell, confined to a satellite by a Lunar thaumaturge, they decide to attempt to rescue her.  Cress, under orders to locate Cinder, has done so, but instead of revealing her location has hidden her from everyone Lunar and Earthen.  When the rescue attempt goes wrong, Cinder has to revise plans quickly and hope that she can still accomplish all of her goals.  These are fun retellings of fairy tales.  Teens that like fantasy will like this new book in the series.