If we could judge authors by the sound of their names, Marissa Meyer would get big points for her similarity to Mercer Mayer, who wrote and illustrated many delightful children’s books, including my favorite ‘What Would You Do With A Kangaroo?’ But I don’t necessarily pick up on author’s names until I’ve read more than one of their books, and when I picked up ‘Cinder’ it was for two reasons: first, it was reportedly a Cinderella retelling involving a cyborg; second, it started as a Nanowrimo project.

I have big hopes for my own National Novel Writing Month tales, so I like to know that others have successfully used it as a kickoff point to finish and publish a book. If you’ve heard buzz about Erin Morgenstern’s ‘The Night Circus’, that’s another Nano book.

I set aside an editing project to spend some R&R time with Cinder, so initially I could only see what I would have phrased differently. By the end of the first chapter, though, I was completely into the story. I recently dropped another book because I wanted to smack all the main characters, so I was delighted by Meyer’s creations. Our protagonist is everything you’d want in a spunky young heroine. She’s hard-working, sensible to the realities of her rotten situation but working for ways out, able to see humor, sticks to her moral compass and generally hits all of the Captain America likable hero points. Because she’s a cyborg, some characters assume Cinder is not capable of emotion, but Meyer paints a compelling picture both of Cinder’s own emotions and her awareness of the emotional state of other characters.

“I can’t believe you’re going,” said Cinder. “What will people think, when you’re still in mourning?” She knew it was a button she shouldn’t push, an unfair comment when she’d heard them both crying through the thin walls, but she was not in a mood to be fair.

She’s also got an entertaining sidekick in Iko, a household robot who is her only friend. And there’s a prince, although he is pretty much as you would expect: he finds Cinder refreshing because she’s not a raving fangirl of his Imperial Hotness. I look forward to seeing him develop a more subtle personality in future books.

Iko craned her head, aiming the round sensor up at the prince, who towered more than three feet above her. The light flared as her scanner recognized him. “Prince Kai,” she said, her metallic voice squeaking. “You are even more handsome in person.”

Cinder’s stomach twisted in embarrassment, even as the prince laughed.

I was a little more than half way through the book when I looked up and realized I had ten minutes to get ready for my kung fu class. Enough time to put myself on the hold list for the sequel, Scarlet.

Meyer’s 30 days of Nanowrimo were quite fruitful, for she’s got a four book series planned. We can expect Book 3, Cress, in 2014, and Book 4, Winter, in 2015. Since I finished Cinder that same night, I’m looking forward to Scarlet, and then I’ll be waiting for the others. I just have one quibble. SPOILER The whole point of Cinderella is that she’s not a princess! And it was pretty obvious to me that Cinder was Princess Selene within a chapter of the first mention of the missing Lunar heir. SPOILER But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Meyer has created some entertaining characters in a interesting setting, and I’m curious to see where they go next. If you’re looking for a quick, fun read, try Cinder.