This Lunar Chronicles reading order guide lists all of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles books in order, including the four main novels, Fairest, Stars Above, the Wires and Nerve graphic novels, and Cinder’s Adventure. The series begins with Cinder, so it’s sometimes called the Cinder series, but The Lunar Chronicles is its official name.
I recommend starting with the main novels and following Marissa Meyer’s preferred reading order. It protects the big reveals, gives Queen Levana’s story the right context, and lets the later graphic novels and short stories build on a world you already know.
Jump to:
- Recommended Lunar Chronicles Reading Order
- Lunar Chronicles Books In Publication Order
- Lunar Chronicles Books in Approximate Chronological Order
- Lunar Chronicles Companion Book
- Is There a Lunar Chronicles Movie?
- About The Lunar Chronicles
Recommended Lunar Chronicles Reading Order
Marissa Meyer recommends reading Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest, and Winter before moving into the two Wires and Nerve graphic novels and Stars Above. I agree with that order for a first read.
Cinder’s Adventure: Get Me to the Wedding! was published after Meyer shared that recommendation and takes place after the main series, so finish with it.
- Cinder (2012)
- Scarlet (2013)
- Cress (2014)
- Fairest (2015)
- Winter (2015)
- Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 illustrated by Douglas Holgate (2017)
- Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue illustrated by Stephen Gilpin (2018)
- Stars Above (2016)
- Cinder’s Adventure: Get Me to the Wedding! (2022)
Should You Read Fairest Before Winter?
Yes. Read Fairest after Cress and before Winter. Levana’s backstory adds context to the final novel without revealing the main series twists too early.
Lunar Chronicles Books In Publication Order
This list follows when each novel, story, graphic novel, or ebook first appeared. Every short story is now included in Stars Above, so you don’t need to find the original individual releases.
- Cinder (2012)
- “Glitches” (2012) (Found in Stars Above)
- Scarlet (2013)
- “The Queen’s Army” (2013) (Found in Stars Above)
- “The Little Android” (2014) (Found in Stars Above)
- Cress (2014)
- “Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky” (2014) (Found in Stars Above)
- Fairest (2015)
- Winter (2015)
- Stars Above (2016)
- “The Keeper” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “After Sunshine Passes By” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “The Princess and the Guard” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “The Mechanic” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “Something Old, Something New” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 illustrated by Douglas Holgate (2017)
- Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue illustrated by Stephen Gilpin (2018)
- Cinder’s Adventure: Get Me to the Wedding! (2022)
Lunar Chronicles Books in Approximate Chronological Order
This chronological reading order begins with the earliest events in Levana’s life and moves toward the stories set after Winter. Some prequels cover long stretches of time or overlap scenes from the novels, so the middle of the list is approximate.
I’d save this order for a reread. Starting with Fairest and the prequel stories reveals information that the main novels were written to uncover gradually.
- Fairest
- “The Keeper” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “The Queen’s Army” (2013) (Found in Stars Above)
- “Glitches” (2012) (Found in Stars Above)
- “The Princess and the Guard” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky” (2014) (Found in Stars Above)
- “After Sunshine Passes By” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- “The Little Android” (2014) (Found in Stars Above)
- Cinder
- “The Mechanic” (2016) (Found in Stars Above) (overlaps the opening of Cinder)
- Scarlet
- Cress
- Winter
- Wires and Nerve, Volume 1
- Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue
- “Something Old, Something New” (2016) (Found in Stars Above)
- Cinder’s Adventure: Get Me to the Wedding!
Lunar Chronicles Companion Book
The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book illustrated by Kathryn Gee (2016) brings the characters, clothing, settings, and fairy-tale imagery to the page. It also includes new text and commentary from Marissa Meyer, but it doesn’t add another chapter to the story.
Is There a Lunar Chronicles Movie?
Yes. The Lunar Chronicles is being developed as an animated feature by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Locksmith Animation. The movie is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 3, 2028, with Noëlle Raffaele directing. Christina Steinberg is producing, while Lindsey Ferrentino, Kalen Egan, and Travis Sentell are credited with the screenplay.
The adaptation will bring Marissa Meyer’s science-fiction fairy-tale world to the screen, with Industrial Light & Magic involved in the production. A cast and detailed story synopsis haven’t been announced, so it isn’t yet clear how much of the book series the first movie will cover.
About The Lunar Chronicles
The Lunar Chronicles is a young adult science-fiction series that retells familiar fairy tales in a futuristic world of cyborgs, androids, spaceships, political alliances, and a deadly plague. The four main heroines draw inspiration from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White.
The story begins with Cinder, a gifted cyborg mechanic in New Beijing whose life becomes tied to Prince Kai and the threat posed by Queen Levana of Luna. Scarlet, Cress, and Winter join the story as the conflict expands across Earth and Luna, bringing their own allies, romances, and reasons to fight.
The main novels should be read in order, but the companion stories let you spend more time with the characters before and after the central conflict. Fairest explores Levana’s past, Stars Above fills in character histories and adds an epilogue, and Wires and Nerve continues the story through Iko.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more science fiction authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Science Fiction Books in Order index.