By Marissa Meyer

Published: 2012

AR level: 5.8

AR points: 14.0

I suggest 6th through 12th grade.

I have to say, I love a good retelling. Of course, the Cinderella concept is always popular, and this one, complete with cyborg, is definitely an intriguing and gripping read. Besides, I love futuristic, speculative fiction–especially if it throws in a little romance.

So, if you have a middle or high schooler who enjoys a mix of technology and the fantastical, this will be right up their alley. It’s a multi-book series, so that should keep you reading for a while!

Description from B&N:

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.

With high-stakes action and a smart, resourceful heroine, Cinder is a Cinderella retelling that is at once classic and strikingly original.