Reading is Fundamental

I love to read. Book stores and the library have always been my favorite places to hang out, even as a teenager. But lately reading has taken a back seat to being a stay at home mom raising a thirteen year old and a nine month old. Yeah! So at the start of this school year I made a decision to take some time and read more books. I even go the family into cutting down some of our television viewing and spend more family quite time. The timing of this could not have been better since my oldest daughter had to read some books for a school competition. One of the books on the list just so happened to be a book that we both had been eyeing for some time. Drum roll please...

Cinder, written by Marissa Meyer, is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles series. There have been many different books/stories to come out with interesting twists on classic fairy tales but this one is different. Cinder, a spin on Cinderella, is a cyborg and the story is set in the future in New Beijing. When you first read it you will draw upon the obvious connections to the classic story. Girl has an evil step-mother with two step-sisters, girl is a servant to her step-mother, girl feels trapped in her current status. But once you get past all of that the author manages to throw in some unique punches that bring the story to life.

Scarlet is the second book in the series and is a twist on guess which classic story? If you guessed Red Riding Hood then you are right. That might have been a hard connection to make. In the second book you will learn about Scarlet, her grandmother and Wolf and the interesting web that they weave together with Cinder. I just finished this book and was very shocked and pleased at how Meyer reworked this story. With this book you begin to get past the back stories of these characters and begin to see what the heart and soul of the series is really about.

I haven't even cracked open the cover of the third book, Cress, which is supposed to be a twist on Rapunzel. From what I have read thus far I know that this book will be a delight to read and I can't wait to get into it and tell you about it. The final book is called Winter and is supposed to be a twist on the Snow White story. The fourth book doesn't come out until next year so we will have to wait and see how EVERYTHING comes together until then.

If you love science-fiction with a dash of fairy tale then these books are a must read! I must say that as a kid I was never a big fan of these fairy tales. I was a tomboy playing outside, climbing trees and making mud pies. I had no time for such damsel in distress woes. Even when I became a mother I didn't really read these stories to my daughters. I may sound like a feminist but I didn't want to put into my daughters head the idea that they needed to be rescued by some tall, dark and handsome man. That's what I LOVE about this series, these stories take old traditions, throw them on the ground and shatter them. Cinder and Scarlet are main characters that take charge of their lives and make things happen for themselves. THEY are the ones choosing the path of their destiny, not someone else.

Woo! I got a little passionate there towards the end. Check out Cinder and tell me what you think!