Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release date: January 3, 2012
Pages: 390

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Cinder is a dystopian retelling of Cinderella with a heroine who is part cyborg.  It's set in New Beijing, a futuristic Beijing featuring crazy technology and cyborgs as lesser citizens.  The story does feature similarities to Cinderella but there is much more to the story than a romance with a handsome prince.  At the heart of the story is a race for control of Earth, being headed by Queen Levana of the Lunar race of the moon.  Surprisingly, Cinder plays a huge role in the coming battle and Cinder is just the beginning of a 4 book series centered on this war.

Cinder is a dystopian with hints of steampunk, fantasy, and science fiction.  The age range would probably be around 13 and up though there is not much content that would be unsuitable for younger teens.

My full review!

Themes:

• discrimination
• death
• friendship
• identity
• love
• family 
• war

Extra content:

Knite Writes' review: "It reads fairly young — much younger than I anticipated it would — and has basically no, even vaguely, mature content."

Nosegraze's review: "Marissa Meyer, you are now one of my favourite authors and the Cinder is right up there with my favourite books of all time!"

Marissa Meyer's website

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Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Release date: February 28, 2012
Pages: 487

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Divergent is the first in a young adult dystopian series.  It takes place in a futuristic Chicago where society is divided into five factions.  Each 16-year-old must choose a faction, pass through initiation, and become a full-fledged member of that faction, giving up anything and everything from outside the faction.  Each person only fits into one faction except for a rare group of people called Divergent.  Divergents are special and hated by the government.  Tris, the main character, is a Divergent and in her initiation she sets in motion things that may ultimately lead to war between the factions.

Divergent is dystopian with some science fiction, adventure, and romance.  Ideally it's for teens 13 or older because it does deal heavily with death and violence.

My full review!

Themes:

• identity
• bravery
• family
• society
• love
• friendship
• choices
• values
• bullying

Extra content:

The Book Smugglers' review: "Though entertaining, this book does not provoke, incite, or demand a closer look at society – unlike, say The Giver, or Ship Breaker, or Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking books."

Bitten and Written's review: "I was underwhelmed."

Veronica Roth's Tumblr

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