Wires and Nerve

Meyer, M., Holgate, D. & Gilpin, S. (2019). Wires and nerve. New York: Feiwel And Friends.

Summary:

Following the events of Winter, Cinder has been queen for almost a year. The wolf-hybrid soldiers Queen Leavana created are loose on Earth. Iko, an android and Cinder’s best friend, volunteers herself to hunt down the wolf-hybrids. But an Alpha has established himself within the few hybrids Iko has not caught. And he wants revenge on the Queen of Luna.  Can Iko help protect her dearest friend and save the world once again?

Reaction:

Meyer does an excellent job at catching readers’ that may have missed the first few novels in The Lunar Chronicles. The first few pages before the book begins serves as a short reminder to the events in Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter. As the book continues, Meyer makes sure to reiterate the important characters. In chapter two, she reminds the reader of who Cinder is and so on with all of the main characters. This helps the reader avoid flipping back and forth.

Wires and Nerve takes place almost a year after the events of Winter but before the events in the short story Something Old, Something New found in the anthology Stars Above. Iko desperately wants to help Cinder and figures out the best way to do that is to track down the wolf-hybrids on Earth herself. Since she is an android, she is less likely to actually die. Iko is a major character throughout the series. She has been like a sister to Cinder since they lived with Linh Adri, mentioned briefly in this graphic novel. But while all of the other, human, characters found their soulmates through their adventures in saving the world, Iko is still just Iko. So by continuing the story, Meyer is allowing Iko the potential to have a happily ever after.

The images in the novel are in shades of blue. This is most likely intentional. The primary reason this color was chosen was to represent what Iko can see. Though she has a unique fashion sense, it’s possible that her system pops up to tell her colors. Or it could be to represent the environment of Luna.

Though told in a different format from its predecessors, none of the characters lose their edge. Thorne is still full of himself and putting his foot in his mouth. Cress is still innocent and intelligent with all things technological. Scarlet and Wolf are still adorable together and ready to kick butt whenever they need too, though their appearance in the book was short.    

Meyer is setting up a version of Romeo and Juliet, a detour from the more classic fairy tales of the series prior. But a new format calls for a new type of tale. Iko is an android. Androids and cyborgs are generally frowned upon in this society. This is evident in Iko’s experience trying to repair her stomach area with the shopkeeper, and her treatment by Liam Kinney, one of the royal guard. He refuses to believe there is any value in caring for a machine the way his queen does. But his reaction at a shared kiss with Iko hints that he possibly has feelings for her. And Iko deserves love as much as the rest of them.  

Another interesting spin to this novel is the apparent discrimination against certain citizens. Iko wishes to keep her body. She wants to be human. She is also utterly frustrated that no one recognizes her efforts in helping Cinder and the rest. Androids are created in the likeness of all of the other characters, but not Iko. And Cinder has also had to deal with discrimination because of the fact that she is a cyborg. And Lunars are discriminated against as well due to their power of manipulation. Considering how diverse the cast of characters is, it is an interesting way to tackle discrimination.

Connections:

Activities:

• Choose one of the nine heroes. Create a silhouette of their head and do a character analysis based on information in the images and the dialogue.
• Iko summarizes the events of the first four Lunar Chronicle books - Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, and Winter - within the first few pages before the book begins. Summarize your own favorite book, movie, or television series in graphic novel format.
• On page 98, the saleslady states that “...this line of escorts is purely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental. It says so on the disclaimer.” A lesson on copyright and permission for likeness can be done here.
• Each book in the Lunar Chronicles series is a fairy tale retelling - Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. In Star Above, a short story version of The Little Mermaid is also present. An argument could be made that Iko’s story will be a retelling of Romeo & Juliet if the romantic tension at the end isn’t a hint. Do a fairy tale retelling of your own in graphic format. Do not use any of the examples already given.
• The soldiers Queen Levana created are half-human and half-wolf. What other animals could she have used to create her army?
• Discrimination is still happening, even sometime in the far future. The cast of characters is diverse. What sort of discrimination is happening in the story? How is it shown?
• Use this novel in a graphic novel book tasting.
• Create an advertisement for the bioelectrical security device. Teachers may have to use Winter to better explain the use of the device.

Want to Get the Full Story? The Lunar Chronicle Series

Meyer, M. (2012). Cinder. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

Meyer, M. (2013). Scarlet. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

Meyer, M. (2014). Cress. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

Meyer, M. (2015). Fairest : Levana's story. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

Meyer, M. (2015). Winter. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

Meyer, M. (2016). Stars above : a Lunar Chronicles collection. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

Sequel to Wires and Nerve

Meyer, M. & Gilpin, S. (2018). Gone rogue. New York: Feiwel and Friends.