Worldwide Wednesday #3: China

Hi again! This is my third Worldwide Wednesday, a series I’ve started doing every Wednesday where I choose a book associated with a certain country.

Last week’s book was focused on Morocco, so check it out for more information on this weekly instalment.

Today we’re travelling over to… China!

I know it’s kind of cheating to feature another book that only really relates to the country because of its setting- maybe next week I’ll choose a book that has a deeper connection to the country! I have chosen ‘Cinder’ by Marissa Meyer as the book to feature in the series this week, as I read it very recently.

Unlike many on the blogosphere, who love this book, I was not impressed by it- and currently I’m failing to see why people love it so much. I thought that the storyline was not very original, in my opinion, and as soon as it became clear that this novel was about a missing princess, I was worried the book would be predictable.

All the way through I hoped that the storyline would become less predictable, and something exciting would happen, but in my opinion it was quite predictable. Not many people share this opinion, however, so it might just be me!

This book is set in Beijing, China, and I thought that the setting of the novel was a really important element, as it really exaggerated the technology-focus of the dystopian world Meyer created. I see China as a place of technology and new advancements- and so I thought the fact that Cinder was half Cyborg made the setting of China integral to the novel.

I wasn’t keen on the characterisation in this novel. I thought Cinder’s character wasn’t very interesting, and I would have liked a bit more depth to her character. However, I did really like the character of Prince Kai, and I thought his sarcastic attitude and human outlook showed his complexity as a character.

Overall I think I had high expectations of this novel because I’m a big fan of fairytale re-tellings! However, there were some things I liked about the book- and I think that the setting of China was a really great choice. I also read a recent article about Marissa Meyer’s aim to write about diverse characters from different places- you can check it out here. This is so admirable, and I really enjoyed learning a bit more about China!

Have you read ‘Cinder’ by Marissa Meyer? Have you read any other books by this author? What’s your favourite book set in China?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Happy reading x