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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

 
Release Date: January 22nd, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Format: ARC
 
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.

Is it weird that a small part of me wants to pass on so I can stay in The Archive forever? Yeah, I guess that is pretty weird. I suppose I will just be happy to live in it through multiple re-reads. This book is amazing. It pulled me and didn't let go. The whole of The Archive, with it's Histories, Librarians, and Keepers, is such a wonderful world and so well built. Everytime Mackenzie stepped into the Narrows I could picture it in my mind and felt like I was right there with her. And in my mind The Archive is the biggest, most gorgeous library that has ever existed.

You kind of feel like the story is taking places in two different worlds, even though they exist in the same time. Of course, it's when things meant to stay in The Archive try and crossover into our world, that things get interesting. Being a Keeper means that Mackenzie is responsible for sending Histories back to The Archive when they have escaped. Something that becomes more frequent and increasingly difficult as the story goes on. In the beginning it pretty much seems like Mackenzie can't be beat and there is nothing that she can't handle, but as things get more out of control, we start to see that even she isn't infallible.

Interspersed throughout the story are memories of her and her Da, who was the Keeper that passed the key and power on to her. I really liked these scenes, because it gave us more insight into why Mackenzie wanted to do this so badly and why it remains so important to her. It also gives us a little background into The Archive and some of the people who oversee it. Roland, one of the Librarians, is magnificent and most definitely one of my favorite characters here. He's in charge and does what he can to keep Mackenzie in check, but when push comes to shove he isn't afraid to break a few rules if necessary.

There is even a little bit of romance thrown in, which I loved, but even if it hadn't been there this book would have been superb. This book has such an imaginative storyline and promises awesome things for the rest of the series. I, for one, cannot wait until book two! Of course, re-reading book one a time or two won't hurt :0)

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