A Long, Long Sleep (UniCorp, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Mar 22, 2011 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, age-ya, 2011, fairytales-and-mythology, sci-fi, dystopia

I read this ARC via NetGalley.

In this sci-fi take on Sleeping Beauty, Rose is the daughter of rich corporate CEOs, and has just been awoken from her stasis tube by a kiss. The "prince" is Bren, who is fairly shocked and freaked out when Rose awakens... especially after she tells him her name. Turns out Rose has been in stasis for 62 years. Her parents and boyfriend are long gone, and since her parents never left a will, their company, UniCorp, has suddenly returned to her ownership.

As Rose tries I read this ARC via NetGalley.

In this sci-fi take on Sleeping Beauty, Rose is the daughter of rich corporate CEOs, and has just been awoken from her stasis tube by a kiss. The "prince" is Bren, who is fairly shocked and freaked out when Rose awakens... especially after she tells him her name. Turns out Rose has been in stasis for 62 years. Her parents and boyfriend are long gone, and since her parents never left a will, their company, UniCorp, has suddenly returned to her ownership.

As Rose tries to understand the world as it is now, after a plague wiped out most of the earth's population only a few years after she was put into stasis, some disturbing facts come to her attention. One - the frequency with which her parents put her into stasis was not normal. Two - she may be 16, but she's actually over 100 years old. And three - someone is trying to kill her.

I blew through this book so fast. Rose was a fascinating character, with her memory gaps from stasis and her relationship with Xavier. She was 6 years old when he was born, but because of her frequent "stassing", by the time they reached adolescence they were the same age. Otto, an alien science experiment, was another interesting character (although the blue skin made me instantly think of "Avatar"). It was a thrilling ride to get to the bottom of this mystery, and the connections to Sleeping Beauty were well done.

Rose's 62-year disappearance made learning about this futuristic world easy. The futuristic slang sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. I hated when the character used "comm" instead of "know" or "comprehend" (I'm guessing that's the origin word), but I loved the use of the word "coit" instead of... a certain four-letter word (origin word is probably "coitus"). Unless you actually count "coit" as a swear, this was a clean read. Rose's attitude for most of the novel is very child-like and innocent. The end was a bit disturbing with the age differences going on, but at least the characters also felt uncomfortable about it, so it wasn't TOO creepy.

...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2011 Shoshanah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is meant to be a YA/dystopian/Sci-Fi retelling of Sleeping Beauty. That point is made clear several times throughout the story (for example calling Rose by Aurora instead of her actual name), but I think it's much better cataloged as a retelling of Rip Van Winkle. Rose is woken from her statis slumber after 60 years to find that the world she knew, along with all her friends and family, is gone. It's a bit of a mystery at first trying to discover why she was asleep for so long and what exac ...more

Like · see review

Aug 11, 2011 Debbie is on Storygraph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tales, young-adult, 2013, book-club, science-fiction

It struck me that there aren't very many Sleeping Beauty re-tellings. The fairy-tale subgenre tends to be peppered with tons of Cinderella, and smaller numbers of Beauty & and the Beasts and Little Red Riding Hoods. Sleeping Beauty tends to be overlooked. Which is fair, because it's a harder story to translate to a non-traditional fairy tale setting. After all, how can you plausibly have a girl asleep for 100 years?

This book tackled that question and surprising, it worked. It helped that Sheehan ...more

Like · see review

Aug 14, 2011 Hannah added it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, myth-fairytale-folklore, scifi

I'm still not quite sure what to think of this book. It's so unlike all the current dystopias out there that it's refreshing, but it's hard to come to that conclusion when it's also so creepy and disturbing--but in a good way, like Sheehan did an excellent job of both world building and literary development. There were a couple loose ends, but all in all, without giving you spoilers, I have to say that this is a really fresh take on fairy tale retellings and YA scifi, and that is sorely, sorely ...more

Like · see review

Apr 01, 2015 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Rosalinda Fitzroy is used to sleeping in suspended animation. She never spends too long in stass. Not long enough to cause any real problem.

When Rose wakes up this time, everything is different.This time she isn't woken by her parents. Instead a strange boy seems to be kissing her.

She is still sixteen-years-old, or at least her body is, but she has been asleep for sixty-two years. Everyone she knew is gone. Everything from Rose's old life is a distant memory, forever erased by the Dark Times tha Rosalinda Fitzroy is used to sleeping in suspended animation. She never spends too long in stass. Not long enough to cause any real problem.

When Rose wakes up this time, everything is different.This time she isn't woken by her parents. Instead a strange boy seems to be kissing her.

She is still sixteen-years-old, or at least her body is, but she has been asleep for sixty-two years. Everyone she knew is gone. Everything from Rose's old life is a distant memory, forever erased by the Dark Times that came while she remained in her forgotten stasis tube. With no friends left and no one to depend on, Rose looks to the boy who woke her for support as she tries to move forward.

When a deadly threat targets Rose, she realizes that her past isn't as distant as she thought. If she wants any hope of a future, Rose will have to confront her past in A Long, Long Sleep (2011) by Anna Sheehan.

A Long, Long Sleep is Sheehan's first novel. It also has a companion sequel called No Life But This.

Sheehan delivers an interesting spin on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale in this science fiction retelling. Instead of focusing on the prince or waking the princess, this novel examines what comes next. Including some things that are not easy to read.

Rose's body is ravaged by her time in stasis. Her recovery is slow and often frustrating or even painful. It is a long, realistic process and one that is not even finished by the end of the novel.

The story of Rose's present and her past unfold simultaneously with interspersed memories and flashbacks to her life before being in stasis for sixty-two years.The world building for this futuristic society is not always solid. Sheehan includes jarring, and often useless, bits of slang along with huge chunks of information (while still having gaps in other areas). However, because of the narrative's tight focus on Rose these problems do make sense in the larger context of the novel.

Early in the story it becomes clear that Rose isn't remembering everything and is not, therefore, passing everything on to readers. This unreliability and suspense lends an eerie quality to the narrative as readers, and Rose herself, wonder what really happened to keep her in stasis for so long.

Although Rose spends much of the narrative understandably adrift, she is a strong heroine. This novel comes to a powerful conclusion as Rose confronts her past and finally is able to make her own choices about her future. A Long, Long Sleep is a unique and sharp retelling as well as a harrowing tale of survival.

Possible Pairings: Sleepless by Cyn Balog, All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry, Cut Me Free by J. R. Johansson, These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas, The Program by Suzanne Young, All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin ...more

Like · see review

Sep 28, 2011 Magda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, sci-fi, to-re-read, fantasy-fairytales

Retelling of fairy tale, check.
Rebuilding after dystopian near-collapse of society, check.
Sense of pure awesomeness, check.
Sequel? check, BUT NOT OUT YET. IS OUTRAGE!

Okay, so it's late and I really liked this book, and will probably re-read it.

I'd be interested to see Miriam's review, too. ...more

1 like · Like · see review