Lunar Chronicles reading order: Cinder (2012)

Four novels plus a prequel novel. Meyer has given a recommended order more than once. Publication of the four is Cinder through Winter. She inserts Fairest after Cress. Chronological charts put Fairest first. That path hands you Levana before Cinder earns her.

The novels

Contested order, labeled:

• Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest, Winter. Meyer’s FAQ. This house’s first recommendation.
• Cinder through Winter, Fairest after. Allowed if you want the four first and the prequel as aftercare.
• Fairest first because it is earlier. Meyer’s blog preferred publication/as-written. This house does not start there.

Shorts and extras

Stars Above is the short-story collection. Meyer’s later FAQ puts it after the novels (and after the Wires and Nerve graphic volumes if you want those). Use the collection rather than chasing every early digital short.

Wires and Nerve (two graphic volumes) continues Iko. Optional. Not Cinder 2, and not an on-ramp.

Heartless is Meyer’s Wonderland book. It is not Lunar Chronicles 6.

House rule: Cinder through Winter with Fairest after Cress. Stars Above if you want the extras in one object.

Common mistakes

• Starting with Fairest because a chronology chart put it first.
• Starting with Winter because it is the Snow White book.
• Treating Stars Above as novel 5.
• Mixing in Heartless as a prequel.

What to read next

1. Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) — If you want another YA closed-system run with prequels that should stay prequels.
2. Grishaverse (Leigh Bardugo) — If you want another YA shelf with a second door that looks like book one.
3. The Selection (Kiera Cass) — If you want another finished YA courtship ladder with extras that look like novels.
4. Legend (Marie Lu) — If you want another finished Republic trilogy, then a later fourth.
5. Stop after Winter. The four-plus-Fairest visit is complete.

FAQ

What is the Lunar Chronicles reading order?
Start with Cinder (2012), then Scarlet, Cress, Fairest, Winter — Meyer’s recommended order. Do not start with Fairest because a chronology chart put it first.

Do I need Fairest?
Meyer puts it in the recommended novel line after Cress. You can finish Winter without it. You will understand Levana less.

Stars Above first?
No. Collection after the novels.

Graphic novels required?
No.

Sources

• Marissa Meyer, FAQ — author’s recommended order: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest, Winter, then Wires & Nerve, then Stars Above. Opened 2026-09-13.
• Marissa Meyer, The Lunar Chronicles — author series hub. Opened 2026-09-13.