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.
Anna Sheehan says of
A Long, Long Sleep, her first novel, “I always thought the interesting thing about Sleeping Beauty wasn’t why she was put to sleep, but what she had to come to terms with afterward. Everything would have changed radically—technology and politics as well as social structure. She would have seemed like a foreigner in her own country.” Anna Sheehan lives in rural Oregon.
With well-developed characters, a touch of romance, and a believable future that, for once, is not entirely dystopian, Sheehan's tale should please many readers.
—Publishers Weekly
This is a fun, fast read...It is a fairy tale without a classic happy ending. The book addresses serious issues including what makes a "person," in addition to classic YA subjects such as first love, making it a wonderful title for a book talk, a reading list, or a class discussion.
—VOYA
This debut novel doesn’t shy away from exploring the dangers of powerful conglomerates and the ways technology can be abused, but, ultimately, it’s a bittersweet story of lost love, dreams, and of finding one’s place in the world.
—School Library Journal
Whether comparing Rose's story to other Briar Rose and Sleeping Beauty variants, wondering about her complicated situation or simply enjoying the thrilling suspense, readers will hope that Rose can find some happiness ever after in a complex world.
—BookPage
