A Long, Long Sleep

by Anna Sheehan

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

A Long, Long Sleep is a sci-fi fairytale retelling that shocked me with how much I could not put this book down.

I really love reading books that have the main character waking up from cryogenic sleep years and years after they were put in the sleep because it really fascinates me with how they integrate back into society, how technology has changed and what on earth is going on. It's the main reason I really enjoyed Across the Universe. So when I read the synopsis for a sleeping beauty fairytale retelling set in the future where 'sleeping beauty' is woken up from a cryogenic sleep over 60 years too late, I was definitely reading this!

The beginning actually starts off a lot slower than I wanted. 16 year old Rosalinda has been woken up 62 years after she was put into her stasis pod and is dismayed to find that everyone she loved has now gone. She tries to integrate back into society but finds she is completely overwhelmed and confused by everything. How could this possibly happen? Her parents died before they could wake her up and no one found her?

She tries to make friends but she knows she's never been that good at making new friends, she's having trouble learning the new slang, and a boy that can't talk fascinates her. However not everything is as it seems and she's being hunted by something that wants her killed. Who could possibly want her dead? A Long, Long Sleep is more about Rosalinda trying to integrate into society and adjust to her new surroundings and the new people in her life. But she can't let go of her old life, her parents and her first love, she can't help but mourn him.

I nearly put this book down at 30% because a lot of the story was about Rosalinda and her new life and I got bored. It was all Rosalinda at school, her therapy sessions, painting art. Not a lot was going on story wise. But I managed to push through and found the action started to happen and things picked up really fast. Rosalinda keeps getting attacked, no one can protect her, people keep getting hurt, Rosalinda keeps getting her feelings confused.

I sped through this book in the last 50% because I couldn't put it down. I felt like the story picked up fast and I started to really like Rosalinda, I started to like the other characters and all I wanted for her was a happy ending. It had me reading late into the night until I finished it because I really just wanted to know what happened.

Rosalinda really grows throughout the book as well. At the beginning she's a meek, timid girl. But we get to see her grow and change and become more confident with herself and her decisions. I really loved this, I really loved that there was character growth. And even though this is a love story this story definitely does not focus on the love. There is no romance. It's not about Rosalinda meeting a boy and trying to win his affections, this story is definitely not that kind of story. And I really loved that.

In the end I really enjoyed this story and it broke my heart. This is a love story but you don't realise that until the end, but it's such a sweet story. I really felt for Rosalinda, I was really rooting for her. The twist had me in agony though. I couldn't sleep straight away after I read this because I was feeling too many emotions. And I think that is an incredibly good thing.

I think if you're after a love story with a Sci-Fi setting and you're happy to work your way into the story slowly, then you will really enjoy this book.

Have you read this book? What were your feelings on it?

Always,
Jordon

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift