Dear Bookworms,
With the recent publication of Winter, the popular new series The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer comes to an end. 
I, admittedly, was late in coming to this series due to the fact that I was incredibly pessimistic about any more fractured fairytales. However, after having it recommended to me multiple times by respected readers, I decided to give it a chance was very glad that I did. If you are on the fence about the series as I was, allow me to do you the same service and recommend that you try it out. Here are three reasons why:
- Meyer is extremely clever in her reinterpretation of the classic fairytales. Cinderella isn’t just a lowly servant, Cinder is cyborg who struggles against how her physical modifications cast her into a lower social status. Little Red Riding Hood isn’t just on her way to grandmother’s house, Scarlet is on a mission to rescue her grandmother when nobody will believe that she’s been kidnapped, and Rapunzel isn’t just locked in a tower, Cress is stranded inside of a satellite being forced to use her exceptional hacker skills to assist the regime of the evil queen.
- Each story layers upon the others, building the stakes and creating a cohesive adventure. I am always a bit saddened when the next book in a series drops the characters you’ve just come to know and care about in favor of telling an entirely new story instead. With The Lunar Chronicles, Meyer skillfully weaves each new plotline into the existing ones, creating an ever-widening cast of characters to inform and complicate the overarching story they all share.
- Each character has a distinct personality that rounds them out and differentiates them from the others. Despite pulling together four princess-types and four hero-types into the same story, Meyer gives each character specific attitudes and idiosyncrasies that contribute to their role in the narrative.
Combining all these characters and tales into a greater story of her own rendering, Meyer combines elements of fantasy, science, politics, and technology in a way that is riveting from the very start. The adventure is fast-paced and the stakes just keep getting higher as you go. Pick it up if you haven’t already! As I found, the best part of starting late is no waiting for the next book!
Keep reading!
Live, Love, Learn
Elise and The Write Teacher(s)