Stars Above: A Lunar Chronicles Collection

Most violence occurs when Wolf is trained to be a fighter. There are constant fistfights among the genetically engineered soldiers and one death by a neck snapping. Wolf and Cinder undergo modification surgeries with talk of needles and enhancements. Many tears when Wolf is stolen from his family for the army and when a man falls ill with a fatal contagious disease and is taken away from his wife and daughters suddenly. Mind control forces people to do horrible things against their will. Cress cuts herself because the queen wills it, and there's talk of a woman forced into sex for years who gets pregnant and eventually kills herself. A man is hit by a crane and nearly drowns in a vat of oil. A robot suffers pain in the wrong droid body. Winter suffers hallucinations where blood drips from walls. Talk of when Cress was taken from her parents, when Winter's father was shot and killed, and when Cinder was so badly burned in a fire that she almost died.

Talk of adults "making love" with no details at all. Some kissing, and Cinder and Kai stay overnight together talking until they fall asleep.

Talk of champagne poured for teens in two different stories. Scarlet's father drinks heavily and passes out.

Parents need to know that Stars Above is a collection of nine short stories from Marissa Meyer's bestselling Lunar Chronicles series that features major sci-fi twists on well-known fairy tales. Readers will need to have read Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter to keep up. Most stories seem like scenes that were cut or pared down from those four books; one takes an exact scene and changes the perspective; one is a stand-alone story of a jealous robot; and one imagines the life of the characters after the story Winter. Expect the same level of violence, minus big battle scenes. Genetically engineered soldiers fight, with one neck snapped; Wolf and Cinder undergo modification surgeries; and a man falls ill with a fatal contagious disease and is taken away from his wife and daughters suddenly. Mind control forces people to do horrible things against their will: Cress cuts herself because the queen wills it, and there's talk of a woman forced into sex for years who gets pregnant and eventually kills herself. Sexual content includes a mention that adults "made love," and main (older teen) characters kiss and fall asleep together talking. Champagne is poured for these teen characters in two different stories. Most stories showcase the strength and resolve of the main female characters as they endure moments of isolation, manipulation, and fear.