Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:

The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.
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The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….
The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called The Princess
The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century...

Review:

I’m not a big novella/short story within the story reader (aka: the “.5” or “3.5” books). I guess a weird part of me feels like it’s cheating. Like if it was meant to be in the book, I’d have already ready it. All else is too late. I do occasionally read them, particularly when they come out in book format, as compared to eBook format. That being said, I had a lot of fun with this book, more fun than I was expecting.

I did not like all the stories. There were a few that truly felt unnecessary. They did not help me better understand a character, plot device, or point in the story –and this again felt like cheating. Why are your writing this now? Also, enough time has passed for me to have a good perspective about what is key for certain characters. Also, these were the stories that bored me. The one about Winter just felt like all the dragged out pieces of Winter that I didn’t like reading the first time. She is still my least favorite of the characters, I guess.

I loved getting to know more about Wolf. His story made me feel even more bad for what happens to him in the series. I also found the whole history of Cinder getting to earth and the help she received from Scarlet’s grandmother rather interesting too. It was fun getting snip bits of the childhood version of Scarlet. I also loved the story about Cress. I felt so bad for her when she realized where she was truly going. These stories all helped me to better get the characters I know and love. As a fan of the whole series, I loved this.

I found “The Little Android” to be such a unique story. I loved it. I could tell the author had a lot of fun with that one. And I guess that’s my favorite thing about this book: the amount of fun the author had in creating it. Because when they have fun, I have fun. The humor, the character development, and the fairytale type plot arcs were all still there. And I guess, really, most of these stories felt like little gifts for the fans. The wedding story at the very end felt like what I expect Jane Austen fans would feel if Austen were to give a few chapters more to each of her endings. It was purely for the fans, and I loved every corny moment of it. I give this a 9/10.