Parents' Guide to Winter: The Lunar Chronicles, Book 4

Parents need to know that Winter is the finale of Marissa Meyer's bestselling Lunar Chronicles series that features major sci-fi twists on well-known fairy tales. You'll need to read the first three -- Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress -- to keep up. Reading the prequel Fairest, written between Cress and Winter, isn't essential, but it definitely puts the motivations of evil Queen Levana of Luna (the moon) in perspective before readers dig into this Snow White reimagining. All of Luna is at war by the end of this 800-plus-pager. It's a nastier business with scary, genetically enhanced soldiers who partially eat their enemies and enemies who can control minds and make whole waves of oncoming opposition turn on each other with guns and knives. Many, many end up dead. Numerous times friends turn on friends and stab or shoot them because their minds are being controlled. Wounds are serious and almost kill main characters. There's also a near-drowning, bio warfare, and people shot at random in a town square. Each of the stories adds a fairy-tale couple, so expect four passionate-reunion-style kisses and a few other smooches mixed in. All female characters remain strong and at the center of the series. Even Winter, the new female hero here, who at first seems like she's too much weakened by madness, shows that it's caused by her strong resolve not to use her Lunar gift of manipulation against others; she'd rather have reoccurring violent hallucinations than be like her stepmother, Levana.