Sunday, August 18, 2013

Review: A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan



Title: A Long, Long Sleep
Author:
Anna Sheehan
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Acquired Via: Personal Collection
Release Date: August 9, 2011

It should have been a short suspended-animation sleep. But this time Rose wakes up to find her past is long gone-- and her future full of peril.

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose--hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire--is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes--or be left without any future at all.


My Review

Christina at A Reader of Fictions said that she told me ages ago to read A Long, Long Sleep but, sadly, my memory is shite, and I forgot that I needed to read it. Thankfully, the book was on my TBR in my Kindle and in my Audible library because I lack self control. After finishing my Grave Mercy reread, I needed an audiobook, and A Long, Long Sleep never looked so good.

Rose Fitzroy woke in a time not her own. She had been placed in stasis and was forgotten for sixty-two years. Along with facing the overwhelming loss of everyone and everything that she used to know and love, Rose is forced to adjust to her new life as a multi-planet and multi-billion dollar corporation. The real truth behind her situation is layered in such a way that all of it is not revealed until the last pages. Who really is Rose Fitzroy? Why was she forgotten for so long?

I did not think that I would like Rose at first. She was so weak and accepting of being pushed around in her new world. Hell, she didn't even want to tell her foster mother that someone had tried to kill her because she didn't want to be a bother! HOWEVER, as I got to know Rose and her situation better, my heart went out to her and was broken. There are other characters in the book, but Rose is so completely at the forefront that hey merely shine lights on facets of her life. Xavier is the boy who was left behind and had loved her his whole life (and she him). Bren woke Rose out of stasis and showed her nothing but kindness, taking her under his wing at school. Otto... Well, Otto was a bit of a surprise in all things and proved to be my favorite supporting character.

As for the world-building, it's quite easy to believe there is a giant corporation that owns almost everything *cough* Amazon *cough* and it makes since that it would be the pioneer of colonizing moons and planets in our solar system. The history of the company and what happened while Rose slept was fascinating and realistic. The Dark Days were terrible and the pace in which the information was given merged perfectly with Rose's changing life.

A Long, Long Sleep is an excellent example of what YA novels have to offer readers, and I recommend it to lovers of science fiction and/or fairy tales of any age. Fans of Cinder will adore A Long, Long Sleep, and I have already been pushing it into people's hands. If you've read this far down into the review, do yourself a favor and read A Long, Long Sleep.

- 5/5 Stars -

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond



1 comment:

  1. I've never heard of this one but it sounds great. I'm going to assume this is a Sleeping Beauty retelling and if that is the case then I'm definitely all for it! Great review, I will definitely be adding this to the ole TBR.

    ReplyDelete

You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!