Stars Above: Backstories and an epilogue for the LUNAR CHRONICLES

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

Readers who didn’t get enough of Marissa Meyer’s LUNAR CHRONICLES will be pleased to find Stars Above (2016), a collection of nine stories that give fans more backstory on their favorite characters as well as a romantic epilogue.

Some of these stories can stand alone, giving you a taste of what to expect in the LUNAR CHRONICLES series, but it’d be most meaningful and enjoyable to read Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter first.

The stories are:

“The Keeper” – Explains (1) how Michelle Benoit, Scarlet’s grandmother, went to the moon and ended up returning to Earth with Cinder and (2) why Scarlet lives with her grandmother instead of her parents.

“Glitches” – With the plague as a backdrop, this story gives us a feel for what life was like for Cinder in her stepmother’s house.

“The Queen’s Army” – This is Wolfe’s backstory, which we never got much of in the novels. He is chosen for Queen Levana’s army, given a surgery, and trained. We see the conditions in the queen’s army and begin to understand how Wolfe turned out the way he did.

“Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky” – Thorne’s backstory begins with a bad math grade in middle school and explains a lot about how his personality and skills developed.

“After Sunshine Passes By” – Cress’s backstory shows us how she became the queen’s best hacker who lived alone in a satellite orbiting Earth.

“The Princess and the Guard” – This sweet story shows the relationship between Winter and Jacin and explains why Jacin decided to be a guard instead of a doctor.

“The Little Android” – Cinder and a robot are the protagonists of this touching retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.”

“The Mechanic” – Obviously this one’s about Cinder. It’s Kai’s perspective of the first time he met Cinder in the market. It’s really cute.

“Something Old, Something New” – In this romantic story, which is an epilogue to the entire series, we witness the wedding of two of our heroes and see another couple get engaged.

These stories aren’t essential reading, but several of them provide important backstory for readers who really love these characters. And, of course, if you’re wondering what happened to these couples after Winter, you’ll want to read that last story. Again, I’ll recommend Macmillan Audio’s version read by Rebecca Soler.