Sheehan, Anna. A LONG, LONG SLEEP

Sheehan, Anna.  A LONG, LONG SLEEP
Somerville, MA : Candlewick Press, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 0763652601

Rosalinda Fitzroy is awakened by a kiss. Bren, a handsome young man, was exploring the
basement of the apartment building where he lives with his parents, and found her stasis tube
and kissed her.  Biologically, Rose is 16 years old, but she learns that it’s been 62 years since
she went into stasis.  True, stasis protected her from the plague-ridden Dark Times, but she is
heartbroken to learn that everyone she knows is long dead -- particularly her beloved Xavier, a
childhood friend and first love.  Her waking also spurs a media frenzy: She’s the heir to her
father’s billionaire company that owns and operates most of the world of the future.

It’s expected that Rose will eventually take over the company – a task that she isn’t sure she’s
qualified to do.  She’s quiet and withdrawn.  Her guardians enroll her in the best intergalactic
high school but Rose struggles to keep up and fit in.  She picks up her art again and finds some
comfort in that.  She might be able to piece some kind of life together in this strange future,
except –

The media frenzy surrounding Rose’s awakening triggers another stasis sleeper – a dangerous,
virtually unstoppable killing machine called a Plastine who is programmed to assassinate her.
With the help of a few friends, and her own surprising strength, Rose must face reality –
finally – and defeat the Plastine.

This is a fast moving story, with both anticipated and surprising plot twists.  We move between
the present and the past; Rose is a complex girl whose heartbreaking past is eventually
revealed—we are constantly asking why she was in stasis at all…and the reason is really
disturbing.   ( NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)