A Long, Long Sleep, the debut novel by Anna Sheehan, initially appears to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The story revolves around a teenage girl, Rosalinda Fitzroy, who has been asleep for 62 years only to be awoken by a kiss. When Rose wakes up it turns out that not only has she missed the Dark Times, plagues that killed everyone she knew including her parents and first love, but now she is the heir to an interplanetary empire built by her parents. Treated as both a freak and a threat, Rose tries to adapt to the new world she is living in, but she must face her past or she may not have a future after all.

A Long, Long Sleep is a great novel for people who loved Across The Universe by Beth Revis, not only because of its similarities in premise — a girl wakes up in a completely different world from the one she fell asleep in — but also because it has a science fiction edge to it. The book itself is less about world building and more about character development and mystery. There’s even a little romance. A Long, Long Sleep has something for everyone.

As much as I enjoyed the whole book, it was the ending of the novel (which I didn’t see coming) that really hit me with its emotion. At first, Rose seems more like a vehicle for an intriguing plot than an exciting main character, but as the book progressed I found myself really invested in her journey. In fact, despite being set in the future, A Long, Long Sleep is far more about an internal battle than an external one, though there is a deadly threat thrown into the mix. There are also plenty of twists so that even if the reader guesses one or two, there is bound to be a surprise eventually.

Sheehan’s writing is lyrical and strong, the symbolism is beautiful, and the character struggles are raw and emotional. Her teenage voice felt genuine, and many of the issues Rose faced could be applied to contemporary times as well. It is also refreshing to find a young adult novel that wraps up in one book — though there may be companions set in the same universe, Sheehan has said that any future books would also be able to stand alone. Overall, A Long, Long Sleep is a great light science fiction and although Rose may not capture the reader’s heart from page one, by the end of her journey she will have completely stolen it away.