'Fairest'

A few years ago, when I was working at our local Borders store, my friend, Heather, strongly suggested that we all read the 'Twilight' series.  "Yeah, yeah," I said. "Someday."  Well, I read them.  And, although I'm not a big vampire fan, I rather enjoyed them, especially 'Eclipse', the third book in the series.  Sure, they were written for young adults.  And, sure, a lot of people have made fun of the series.  But I don't care.  I enjoy reading Young Adult novels, especially the fantasy series.  The Young Adult book world is rapidly expanding to include readers of every age.

And so it goes with 'The Lunar Chronicles', a fantastic series written by Marissa Meyer. As most of you know, I absolutely love all the books and have tirelessly promoted them, even in the thrift shop where I work.  A few people have even asked me to call them if we receive any copies from generous donors.  Sadly, we haven't received any yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It's not often that I get very excited about a series, but I can't say enough about it. This adult loves Young Adult books.  This adult loves Sci-Fi/Fantasy.  

And this adult loves fairy tales.

'The Lunar Chronicles' is an new look at the fairy tales we know and love, only this series carries a moral lesson that is set in a time and place far ahead of ours.  There's evil. There's good.  There's innocence.  There's not-so-innocent. There are age-old characters with whom we've grown up. And there are characters who are totally new.  But this series looks and feels like pure steampunk.  All of the books tie together, and the end result should be quite amazing.  

The first novel is 'Cinder', a wonderful take on the Cinderella legend.  The next is 'Scarlet', which, as most of us know, is Little Red Riding Hood.  The third is 'Cress', a take on Rapunzel. And the villain of the series is Queen Levana, ruler of the Moon; a woman who has come to power in a most devious way, and wants to control the Earth and everyone on it.  These are all powerful, intelligent women, women who can rescue themselves.

As I read these books, I wanted to know more about Queen Levana; how she became so heartless, what her childhood was like, etc.  Meyer has answered my questions in this marvelous novella:

Long before Queen Levana, ruler of the Moon, crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, she lived a very different story--a story full of heartbreak, sorrow, and deviousness. She was the sister to the Queen, and in love with a man who loved another woman.  But with the use of 'glamour' and lies, Levana obtains everything she wants, yet realizes she really has nothing.

This is a great back story and answers quite a few questions about Levana's childhood.  You feel great pity for her, even while she's taking everything she can get in the most malevolent way possible.

Author Marissa Meyer

Although 'Fairest' is a quick read, it was very enjoyable, and it truly helped flesh out the character of the Queen.

Besides, I've been eagerly waiting for the fourth, and last book, in the series, so this was a nice little tidbit to hold me over until the Fall.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the first three chapters of the new book included after the Acknowledgments page.







'Fairest', a novella in the 'Lunar Chronicles' series written by Marissa Meyer, is available at your local library and favorite independent book store.  ISBN 978-1-250-06055-6  Book four in the series, 'Winter', will be published in the Fall of 2015.