A Long, Long Sleep

by Anna Sheehan, Angela Dawe (Read by)

Overview

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 dead, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469282152
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	01/22/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

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.

Angela Dawe is an actor and improviser working with the Annoyance Theater and Second City in Chicago. Originally from Lansing, Michigan, Angela's career has encompassed stage, television, and film work, in addition to award-winning audiobook narrations, which include young adult, suspense, romance, and historical fiction titles.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

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

Editorial Reviews

In this intriguing first novel, Rose Fitzroy, biologically 16 years old, comes out of stasis to discover that her billionaire parents and the world she knew are long dead. Having survived the plague-ridden Dark Times, the Earth is doing quite well, with Rose's father's former company in charge of much of it. This puts Rose—the sickly, shy, and self-hating daughter of overbearing parents—in the unusual position of "waking up to discover she's the sole surviving heiress to an interplanetary empire." Before taking on any responsibilities, Rose simply wants to survive high school, make a few friends, and work on her art. Her plans are swiftly interrupted, though, when a strange, virtually unstoppable creature called a Plastine attempts to assassinate her. Aided by handsome Bren and blue-skinned alien hybrid Otto, schoolmates she develops crushes on, Rose must defeat the assassin, learn to live as an independent adult, and discover why her parents essentially abandoned her in stasis. 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. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

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

From the Publisher

Gr 9 Up—Rosalinda Samantha Fitzroy is a girl out of time in Anna Sheehan's futuristic retelling (Candlewick, 2011) of Sleeping Beauty. Sixty-two years ago, she was a carefree 16-year-old. Everything changed when her ultra-wealthy parents, owners of an interplanetary company named Unicorp, put her in her stasis tube and abandoned her. Now she's awake and everyone she knows is dead. Struggling to adjust and deal with all the press attention and the fact that she is the heir to her parents' interplanetary empire, she makes friends with Bren, the boy who woke her up with a kiss, and an alien named Otto. When a Plastine—a plasticized corpse mercenary—is sent to assassinate her by someone within Unicorp, things take a dangerous turn. Forced to dig up her painful past and some dark family secrets, Rosalinda worries that her past really isn't ancient history. Who can she trust? Will she ever be able to adjust to the future? Narrator Angela Dawe does a good job of voicing Rosalinda's emotions. Although the flashbacks are a little confusing to follow, the other transitions are done well. While the characters' voices sound similar, their personalities and language styles are all unique. An engaging listen.—Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT

School Library Journal - Audio