Book Review: The Archived.

Title: The Archived.
Author: Victoria Schwab.
Series: Yes, #1.
Pages: 328.
Source: Library.
Publisher: Hyperion.
Published Date: 1/22/13
Links:
Goodreads.
Barnes and Noble.

Summary:

"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 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 hard-won redemption."

Cover:

When looking at covers, I usually know right away  if I like it or not. I can sometimes change my opinion after reading the story inside, and learning what each of the different elements incorporated on the cover stands for. But even after reading The Archived and looking at the cover for months now, I still don't really know what I think about it. Nothing bad stands out, and nothing good catches my eye.

My Thoughts:

For Mackenzie and her parents this move was supposed to a fresh start; something new to focus on and discover after having lost Mac's little brother.

But Mackenzie isn't just any normal teenage girl, she is quiet, more to herself, and a Keeper. Through the inheritance of her grandfather, Da, Mac has learned the ways and tasks of what it means to be a Keeper; someone who hunts down lost souls, Histories, in the Narrows, and takes them to the Archive.

Everyday Mac checks her list of souls for new names and their ages. She never really knows how these people have died, all Mac knows is that she needs to take them out of the Narrows, and bring them to Archived to have them sorted and organized by the Librarians.

But things in this apartment complex aren't the same, and something isn't right. She meets another Keeper, which is unusual since each Keeper has their own territory where they hunt down Histories. And she also runs into a soul that isn't on her list, and decides to give him a free day. Mac has never run into a soul that wasn't on her list...

Who is this Wesley guy? Is she starting to have feelings for him? And what about the soul that isn't on her Histories list? Does he have anything to with a murder in this apartment building?

While I wasn't too fascinated by the cover of The Archived, Victoria Schwab pulled me in, and had me sitting on the edge of my sit with her story. The beginning of the book is filled with information the reader needs to know about Mac, her family life, and the entire concept behind Histories, Keepers, and the Archive. While I usually find this much information to be a bit dry, Schwab does a great job keeping things interesting.

I couldn't ask for a better cast of characters, Mac isn't shy or ashamed of being a Keeper, she actually really enjoys her job and having it incommon with her grandfather. Wesley is this interesting and very confident Keeper that Mac bumps into and starts to having feelings for.

The Archived also has a lot of smaller characters who create a interesting story. The Librarians that work in the Archived, the Histories that Mac encounters and their struggle to stay within the Narrows. But also, Mac's parents who seem to care a lot about her, but kind of live in their own little world, and have no idea of what she does in her free time.

If I had to decide on one thing that bothered me while reading The Archived, it would have to be the way that Mac's parents seem to almost forget that they had a son and lost him. While Mac is still mourning, and keeping momentous of her little brother, her parents are throwing things away, and pushing him out of their mind.

The ending?....*zips lips*

I can easily say there was not a single dull part in this story, every page adds something new, interesting and important to the story! I loved Schwabs writing, and I'm excited to see what she has planned for her readers in the second book!