Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

23 reviews

parfait52's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book was a lot of fun! The world-building and characters were compelling, and the plot kept me entertained. It was super predictable, but that's what you get for reading a retelling. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book, as it felt like something important was happening on almost every page. At times, there was so much happening that I would forget about an element, and then it would pop back up in the plot. I look forward to see where all these plot points are going to go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Car accident, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Ableism, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Xenophobia, Medical content, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Classism, Genocide, Colonisation, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Trafficking, War, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

lawbooks600's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Representation: Asian main character 
Score: Seven points out of ten.
So. This was originally going to be the first book I would read from Marissa Meyer. It's now the third after I read Renegades and then Gilded. I enjoyed both, but I'm not rushing to finish the series, and that also applies to the Cinder series since Meyer, as far as I know, can't write immersive world-building or relatable characters. I can't connect to Cinder, Peony or any other characters. It starts with the main character, Linh Cinder, or Cinder for short, a mechanic who lives in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth and nothing much happens to her until, for some reason, Prince Kai goes to her shop to get his robot fixed (I think they call robots androids) then the action builds further when someone kidnapped her and took her to the hospital for some medical experimentation if I got that right. Cinder then discovers that she is 60% human and 40% machine. This begs the question: is Cinder still a human, or is she still a machine? The author left that question for me to interpret, but I think it's the former. Also, there is a pandemic of a plague called letumosis which is like the modern bubonic plague, but other than the fact that people first saw it in North Africa, I don't know where that came from. The mention of World War IV implies the existence of World War III, but details are vague except that afterwards, there were only six countries left and that kicked off the "Third Era." The book slowed from that point, with nothing much happening except Cinder living uneasily and investigating Queen Levana out of all people, which led up to the end. Long story short, there was an epic scene where Cinder lost her mechanical foot, then she is revealed to be the long-lost princess and a cliffhanger. The bonus content was alright, but as I said, I can wait until I'm in the mood to read the following book, Scarlet, but now I'm not feeling like it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Blood

Minor: Car accident, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Xenophobia

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

thumbeleia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical content, Body horror, Gaslighting, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, War, Abandonment, Ableism, Blood, Bullying, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, Colonisation, Deportation, Child abuse, Self harm, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Hate crime, Alcohol, and Infertility

crunchycrystals's review against another edition

adventurous

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Ableism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Child death

trs01's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, Death, and Child death

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I enjoyed it and I’m excited to read the next book Scarlett. It is very predictable and I was able to guess what should’ve been a twist ending but I enjoy those types of books, it take out a lot of anxiety lol. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Genocide, Medical content, Car accident, Confinement, Medical trauma, Murder, and Slavery

Minor: War

Sibling Death

meganpbell's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Cinderella is a cyborg, the prince and his palace are in New Beijing, the wicked stepmother is outdone by a vicious queen from outer space, and a plague adds to all the peril, but the adventure, romance,and heroism are as epic and enchanting as ever in this sci-fi young adult retelling of the classic fairy tale. I look forward to continuing the series, meeting more fairy tale heroines in new forms, and exploring more of Cinder’s universe!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Deportation, War, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Terminal illness, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Xenophobia

junowo's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Always a fun series to read, with lovable characters. I’m particularly endeared by Cinder’s deadpan humor, as well as Kai as an entire character. It’s creative with the Cinderella story, following the same basic beats while bringing its own twists and rethinking the basics.
Ultimately, it’s a YA book that follows expected YA plots. That’s fine, and I think it’s unfair to expect something else from it. Its predictability can make it particularly comfortable to read, also.
I will probably come back to this book many times in my life!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, Car accident, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abandonment and Child death

renyoi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fun and sometimes even innovative YA novel, with surprisingly likable characters and worldbuilding that feels natural, if a bit simplistic at times. The conglomeration of Asian cultures into a single monolith is problematic in some instances, but I do think the author was aware of the differences, even if that wasn’t always the impression in the text. Creative writing and striking characters with clear agency are the strengths of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: War