Book Review: A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Gosh, I know I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t posted any book reviews, but anyway, here’s a new one I’ve recently finished.

Title: A Long Long Sleep
Author: Anna Sheehan
Publisher: Orion
Published on: August 11, 2011
Source: own copy

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 Thoughts:

At first, A Long Long Sleep could not hold my attention for more than 5 minutes. I would often stop and do some other stuffs. Then, I got to the interesting parts where things were actually happening and making sense.

Drat, I cried a lot. For most of the second half. Rose was such a misunderstood character. I admit I did misunderstand her at first. Then came the time when I knew more about her. I put two and two together and what was left to be a puzzle in the beginning finally made sense to me. I actually like how the story was weaved. Everything was in a tangle of mess and confusion, and you won't know you were hidden from the truth until you know he answers by the last 100 pages of the novel. Very sneaky. Very good. :)

A Long Long Sleep may or may not be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Nevertheless, it has it's own story. But, the pattern it drew up from Sleeping Beauty is very interesting. The analogy used by Anna Sheehan is very smart! It was not a love story, but it's a story of freedom and kind of a coming of age, as Rose learned and relearned things about her existence, the gaps in her mind, and the briar rose thorned cage she's been trapped within for, well, a hundred years.

It's sad. It's confusing. It's tragic. In a very well told story, Anna Sheehan brings another story out of an old story. It's a bit scifi, however still interesting. As you've passed the irritating scenes and attitude of Rose, as I hope you'll do, you'll find a very touching story.