Trust & Obey

Hey everyone! Today we’re going to look at Cress, the third book in “The Lunar Chronicles.” If you haven’t read the reviews for books one and two, I highly recommend going back and reading them!

This book first takes place on a satellite orbiting Earth. Aboard the satellite we find Cress, an intelligent 16 year old shell (a lunar without the lunar gift) who is being held hostage by the Lunar Queen Levena. The Queen is using Cress and her tech knowledge to be a cyber spy.

Marissa Meyer does an excellent job developing Cress’ character through this story because we are able to catch a glimpse of what it’s like being a Lunar shell. Due to Cress’ misfortunes, the author exposes her scars through her inability to cope with reality. We see her retreating into herself, building day dreams to help her take control her anxiety. I really like how Meyer forces the reader to empathize with Cress by showing glimpses of her past, which are depressing, to say the least.

Personally, Meyer went a little off the fairytale track with this book because she portrays Cress as a tech-savvy, socially awkward teenager who is obsessed with stalking the Earthen fugitive Carswell Thorne. Cress absorbs any relatively good information about him, and discards the rest. In no time at all, Cress has the notion that she knows more about Carswell Thorne than any of the Earthens. If he would just look at her, it would be love at first sight. But things don’t always turn out the way we expect.

Despite the author lightly deviating from the format of the first two books I think Cress is my favorite so far. There was never a dull moment in the life of the Lunar shell. She has her fair share of almost getting caught, along with a few near death experiences. Despite a few awkward moments with Thorne and Cress, it’s truly a cherishable book.

Have you been enjoying these reviews? Let us know in the comments if you have a similar series you’d like to be reviewed!