A Long, Long Sleep

Author: Anna Sheehan

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Series: n/a

Genre: YA, Sci-fi

Rating:  4/5 

Recommendation: Ages 15+

From Goodreads:

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 love for this book knows no bounds, it is one of the best things I’ve read in a very long time. Don’t be fooled however, it is neither as romantic or quite as action packed as the description would have you believe.I have a lot of feelings.

The Good:

• This book evolved slowly. Its story is almost fragile and it all hangs on the ability of the main character, Rosalinda ‘Rose’ Fitzroy, to grow up; and the reader’s willingness to endure her fear, insecurity and self-delusion while doing so. CHARACTER GROWTH!
• I savored this book, it’s all about Rose and her past and her future, and how both of those things aren’t anything like what she imagined them to be.
• Diversity!! Characters of a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities! Who are main characters! I’m sorry but that been rare in the books I’ve been reading recently and I LOVE it.
• Otto, I can be his best friend? I loved their friendship, even if it was unconventional and had to be told in such a way.

The Less Good:

• I did not love the ‘danger’ that was used in the book. I understood the need for it as a plot device and the reason behind it ended up being interesting, but I think more could have been done with the political/corporate intrigue angle. I didn’t need that sort of sci-fi big bad for this to work, the story was all about people and emotion for me.
• I have mixed feeling about the ending, I liked it but I didn’t feel as connected with it as i did with the book up until the last two pages. I felt it could’ve ended with the talk she has about where she will be living and left out the sort of summary of ‘what happens now’.

Overall: In the end this book is about family, and love, and pain, and the lies we tell ourselves to make it all ok. If you can stick with Rose through her ‘I’m stupid and dull and will do whatever you tell me’ stage you will discover that there is reason, and motivation, and secrets that will make it all worthwhile and turn the story on its head.   Love to this book.

If you’re a fan of YA Sci-Fi I also recommend Delirium by Lauren Oliver (it’s also a dystopian society). If you love character driven dramas I recommend Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.