The Archived (The Archived, #1)
Victoria E. Schwab
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hardwon redemption.
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0 0“You're trying to block out every bit of noise. But people are made of noise, Mac. The world is full of noise. And finding quiet isn't about pushing everything out. It's just about pulling yourself in.”
Victoria Schwab's writing is so compelling and fluid! It's impossible not to start one of her books and not be immediately hooked in and want to finish it. I had a bit of a hard time connecting to Mac, even though I sympathized with her and what she was going through, but I felt like she wasn't being fair to her parents and treated them so poorly. And I thought she made a lot of harsh judgments and impulsive mistakes during the book, but I also thought that she really grew during the story and I liked where she ended up. Wesley was my favorite, he's such a sweetheart, funny and caring. I can't wait to see more of him in the next installment.
I liked the idea of the Archive and this whole world, and it is a beautiful concept, but I kept thinking of the Mediator series by Meg Cabot during the entire book - the whole 'hunting Histories' thing, who are echos, or ghosts of people, reminded me a lot of Suze, except Mac doesn't have even a half of her attitude and sarcasm, so I was kind of 'disappointed' because of that and ended up not enjoying the book as much as I know I could have (that's why I ended up giving it 4 stars).
Also, this didn't have as many unexpected plot twists like Schwab's other books - I could see the final reveal coming by a long way. I even guessed who was the 'traitor' in the Archive. Still, it was fast paced and it had me hooked and not wanting to put it down. I'm hoping the next novel will be even better and I can't wait to see what Victoria Schwab will do for the next one, since this one was kind of conclusive.
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