A Long, Long Sleep

A Long, Long Sleep
Anna Sheehan
342 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Source: library
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Sixteen-year-old Rose has been asleep in her stasis tube, long forgotten until sixty-two years later when her tube is found by Bren, who awakens her and starts her on the difficult journey of discovering herself, why she was in the tube for so long, and what happened on her planet for all those years she slept - a lot has changed since the Dark Times have come and gone.

In case you couldn't already tell, A Long, Long Sleep is a Sleeping Beauty fairy tale retelling, but Anna Sheehan takes it one step farther.  Instead of simply retelling the story of Sleeping Beauty in a post-apocaltypic future, she also shows what happens to Sleeping Beauty, or in this case Rose, after she wakes up.  Sheehan explores the issue of what happens with the prince that wakes you up isn't exactly your prince.  I thought the whole retelling was very well done and was full of imagination.  It certainly kept me turning the pages whenever I had a chance!

The character of Rose is special and I really loved her.  She's so innocent and passive, but she doesn't come across as ignorant or stupid.  Far from it.  In fact, Rose has some real talent and not just in the arts for which she's won awards, but also when it comes to escaping the killer drone who is sent after her.  As the novel goes on, her innocence and passiveness fade away, allowing the real Rose to shine through, the Rose whose parents abused all those years ago.  Her personal journey throughout the novel kept me reading just as much, if not more, than the journey she must face when a killer drone repeatedly comes after her.  A Long, Long Sleep is filled with growth and action.  I daresay, it's got a little something for everyone.

Five stars!  I absolutely adored every aspect of this novel.  I highly recommend it to YA fans, particularly those who love fairy tale retellings, post-apocalypses, and romances.  Loved it!  I will be looking for more from this author in the future.