Sleeping Jenny

by Aubrie Dionne

As the daughter of multimillionaires, Jennifer has everything she's ever needed, except time. Diagnosed with a form of incurable cancer, she has six months to live, and her dreams of working for National Geographic to save African elephants and polar bears are shattered. Her only hope is an experimental cryogenic freezing program, which will keep her in stasis until doctors can find a cure. The cure comes three hundred years too late, and she wakes to a futuristic world where animals are all but forgotten.

Descendants of her brother adopt her, and she's thrown back into high school. Exara, the class beauty, calls Jenny the Neanderthal girl, and she becomes more of a sideshow than a member of the senior class. Only Exara's gorgeous boyfriend, Maxim, sympathizes with her. Her developing feelings for Maxim are only the beginning of her problems. There aren't any more animals to save, so Jenny involves herself with a rebel group called the Timesurfers, explorers searching the galaxy for another planet to inhabit to clone long-dead animal species. She must choose between her blossoming feelings for Maxim and her lifelong dream."

196 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2014

About the author

Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation-favorite character was Data by far-, and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "A concert flutist" when she grew up. When she made that happen, she decided one career was not enough and embarked as a fantasy, sci fi author. Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.

Now for the professional bio:

Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She recently signed her YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, which will release in October 2012. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras. She's a big Star Trek TNG fan, as well as Star Wars and Serenity.

Reviews

[Christine Rains · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the teenage daughter of multimillionaires, Jennifer goes to the best school, has the best clothes, and an awesome car. The only thing she doesn't have is her health. Not even her parents can buy a cure for cancer. Yet they can put her in a cryogenic freeze until there is a cure. Jenny is woken three hundred years later, healthy, rich, and lonely. Her brother's descendants adopt her, but she doesn't feel connected to this world. No parks, good food, or animals. When she discovers a rebel group called the Timesurfers, she might have another chance at the life she once wanted on another planet. That chance comes at a hefty price, though.

This unique book both surprised and fascinated me. It's YA science-fiction with suspense and romance in the mix. It's a beautifully written story that crosses genres and feels almost like a futuristic fairy tale. Except Jenny isn't a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. She takes risks and makes her own choices.

The YA voice is powerful and Jenny is easy to sympathize with. She has all those problems teenager girls have, but ones so much larger weighing upon her. Maxim is a wonderful guy that is difficult not to fall for, and Pell is such a cutie. The characterization is fantastic, even with the family's household robot.

I was mesmerized by the author's vision of the future and where the human race might be going. Massive cities with no green spaces or animals. Even more so, I liked the Timesurfers and their mission. There were peeks into so much more going on in the world that made it such an incredible setting.

I highly recommend this novel along with Aubrie Dionne's other works. She has never failed to wow me.

[Empath Warrior · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book! I was locked in and could not put the book down. The author did an astounding job of making me feel the emotions of the characters.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenny's dreams lie a future away in Aubrie Dionne's Sleeping Jenny. I felt for Jenny's plight. Being cryogenically frozen until there is a cure for her type of cancer and not knowing what year or century you'd wake up in or if you'd wake up at all is a terrifying prospect for anyone. I loved how Dionne balanced Jenny's fears and hopes. Jenny felt real in her futuristic world. I enjoyed the world-building on how the planet became what it was. The story was fast paced and action packed. And when I got to the end, all I wanted to do was read the next book, which unfortunately isn't available yet. I love Aubrie Dionne's work, and Sleeping Jenny is perhaps my new favorite of her books.

By the way, I also love how the story ties in with Dionne's other series Paradise Reclaimed (Young Adult Science Fiction Romance) and A New Dawn (Science Fiction Romance).

[Camden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description of the book is crap and does not do it justice. That or I read it too quick. In fairness i sped read this book in an hour and a half. Very little romance which I was thankful for, and very little about future high school. A nice change in sci fi than the fantasy I usually read, and I definitely enjoyed it. Would recommend.

[Tfalcone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable, but I still want to know what happens next.