Winter

Winter by Marissa Meyer, 2015 Feiwel & Friends

   The plan to kidnap Emperor Kai succeeded; sort of. After rescuing Cress and going back to the Eastern Commonwealth to stop the wedding between Levana and Kai, Cinder and her remaining friends are hiding in space - thanks to Cress's magic with technology.
     Without Scarlet, Wolf pines and the friends struggle to remain positive. Cinder and Kai are on rocky terms since he was forcibly removed from his empire but their relationship gains traction. Cress and Thorne are dancing around one another as the captain slowly regains his sight. And Iko is still in love with her (somewhat worse for the wear) human body. Levana has immediately declared war on the Earthen Union and used her mutated wolf-soldiers to engage the planet in global war.
     Earth is unprepared for the assault after 126 years of world peace. As the Union scrambles to mount a defense Levana plans world domination. The focus has shifted from Earth to Luna as Cinder makes plans to take back the throne as Princess Selene. Her cousin, Princess Winter, has been tortured by her own Lunar Gift for its lack of use. When the people love and show their deep affection for Winter, Levana sees the girl as a threat. The Queen orders Jacin, a guard who has loved Winter since childhood, to kill the girl. Jacin cannot complete his mission and, with Cress, helps Winter and Scarlet escape to the outer domes of Luna's protected population.
     Scarlet and Winter locate Wolf's childhood home and the rest of their ragtag rebellion. With Cress working from Artemisia, Luna's capital, and Cinder gaining support around the moon's isolated outer domes the friends struggle to maintain contact and lead their rebellion. When Cinder is captured and paraded around Kai and Levana's wedding feast it appears they may be finished, but the ever-resourceful Princess Selene manages to become both the leader and the martyr her revolution needs.
     Cinder's transformation from the cyborg mechanic who helped repair Crown-Prince Kai's android into Princess Selene has been long and arduous, but with new friends and the support of her people the shy young woman has become a leader hoping to make the universe a better place. Cinder doesn't want to be a princess: she wants to end her aunt's tyranny and the social conventions which oppress different classes of person. Meyer's tale incorporates classic fairytales, political wargames, and science fiction to push Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White into the future and prepare their stories for young adult readers.

Cress

Cress by Marissa Meyer, 2014 Feiwel and Friends

     Cinder and Thorne have escaped the Eastern Commonwealth and speed back to the stars rescuing Scarlet and Wolf from Paris's chaos. Wolf makes it his mission to help Cinder control her Lunar gift. But the four, along with Iko piloting Thorne's Rampion, struggle to form a real plan to help save Emperor Kai from Queen Levana's clutches. Cinder suggests they contact the young woman who originally alerted her to the danger Levana poses.
     Cress has been locked in her satellite for nearly seven years. Queen Levana's head Thaumaturge, Sybil, has been her only method of socialization on those seven years and Cress has since given up trying to garner the lunars' positive regard. Cress is the reason Earthens have been unaware of hundreds of Lunar ships above and within Earth's airspace; she is the link between Levana and the information syphoned from Earth's leaders.
     When Cinder and their small crew contact Cress the girl is shocked and surprised. The small crush she'd developed on Thorne while researching became a fascination. The crew agrees to rescue the young woman and she joins their mission. But a wrench is thrown into the works when Sybil returns to the satellite early. Thorne and Cress are sent plummeting to Earth when Sybil returns to the Rampion. A small battle wages on the ship; Wolf is nearly killed, and Scarlet is kidnapped when the Thaumaturge flees. Sybil leaves her pilot and guard Jacin aboard the Rampion.
     Cinder, Wolf, Iko, and Jacin escape to Africa in search of Dr. Erland. The Cinder and Iko seek Thorne and Cress while Dr. Erland tries to rescue Wolf from the brink of death. Through a strange coincidence Thorne and Cress arrive in the small African town as the Eastern Commonwealth sends soldiers to pick up the band. But the locals, with their Lunar ancestry, help the Rampion and its crew again flee, this time back toward New Beijing and to stop the wedding.
     En route to the Commonwealth capital they plan to continue the fight against Levana on her own ground: Erland reminds Cinder that she'll need to convince the Lunars of her claim to the throne, not Earthens. Cinder and Iko, Cress and Wolf, Thorne and the Doctor head into the New Beijing Palace to kidnap Kai to gain his aid and delay the wedding to buy some time. They know any action which antagonizes Levana will result in war.
     Despite self-doubt and concern for their captured friend, the group plans and struggles to remain hopeful in face of the destruction around them and the damage certain to follow any success. Cinder and her newfound friends transition from merely refugees to rebels ready to survive the oncoming war. Readers who enjoyed the first two novels in the Lunar Chronicles will find this installment is more slowly paced and while the violence is more rampant and wide-spread the group is no longer in its midst.

Scarlet

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, 2013 Feiwel & Friends

     Scarlet Benoit is worried when her grandmother goes missing: it isn't like Madame Michelle Benoit to just vanish - especially without her ID chip or a bag. Scarlet has contacted the local authorities but they are hesitant to search for someone who doesn't want to be found.
     Counter to her personal problems, Scarlet is stunned when a young cyborg girl is imprisoned in New Beijing for attempting to assassinate the Lunar Queen Levana. The girl is barely sixteen and already a felon - and Scarlet has a hard time agreeing with the citizens of Rieux when they're happy to hand Linh Cinder over for certain execution
. When Scarlet's outburst begins a brawl at the local tavern a shy street fighter stands up for her. When the young man dogs her steps Scarlet discovers Wolf isn't exactly safe, but he is certainly fascinating.
     Meanwhile Cinder escapes from prison with a little help from the Emperor's personal doctor, Dr. Erland, and an American deserter calling himself Captain. Carswell Thorne believes he's Earth's gift to women and enjoys trying to catch Cinder's eye, but when the young woman finally reveals her somewhat relationship with the new emperor Thorne limits his participation to helping her escape New Beijing and tagging along for an adventure.
     Off-planet Thorne is little more than an annoyance while Cinder tries to come to terms with her true identity and the bio-electric gift that comes with it. The only clue to how Cinder became the adopted daughter of an Asian inventor is Michelle Benoit. Between avoiding the agencies searching the globe for her and managing her lunar gift Cinder aims for France and the Benoit farm.
     Scarlet and Wolf, in turn, head to Paris to search for Scarlet's grandmother at the den of a wolf-like gang. Arriving late, Scarlet discovers the man she believed she could trust has been a leader among the ranks of the very gang holding Madame Benoit hostage.
     Cinder and Scarlet's paths meet and converge when Levana forces Kai, Emperor of New Beijing, to either marry the Lunar Queen or face global warfare. Can the two young women come to terms with their changing circumstances long enough to save Earth from the Lunar Invasion?
     Scarlet takes elements from the story of Little Red Riding Hood and incorporates the into futuristic world where cyborgs are an accepted part of life and humans have lived on the moon long enough to evolve into a separate race. This is a teen novel with some mature elements including animalistic violence.

Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, 2012 Feiwel & Friends

     In the distant future, after World War IV, Linh Cinder is a young woman-cyborg working as a mechanic in New Beijing when Crown Prince Kai brings her an android which will not function. He hopes to retrieve information from the metal servant before the mysterious Blue Fever spreads across his country.
     Cinder is surprised at the urgency with which Kai makes his request, but works to complete the task. In the meantime she returns home to her guardian and the woman's two teen daughters. The younger, Linh Peony, is a friend to Cinder while the older, Linh Pansy, follows their mother's example and treats her with as much disdain as a human can show to a cyborg. Life is not pleasant living with her 'stepmother', yet Cinder has no where to go.
     When Peony contracts the Blue Fever and is taken to quarantine the blame is foisted upon Cinder and she is volunteered by her stepmother to participate in the government's vaccine trials. The doctor leading the project is fascinated by the young woman and her genetics. With his technology Cinder discovers something about her past, beyond the nebulous memories of her time with the Linh family, that turns not just her personal world, but the balance between Earth and the Lunar civilization on the Moon.
     Cinder is a completely new tale nurtured out of the story of the little Cinder Girl. With political intrigue, personal discovery, and a touch of romance the story is full-bodied and fascinating. Readers of all ages will enjoy it, though younger readers may require guidance through the text.