Archives: 'The Archived'

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Date: August 24, 2014

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Headline

The Archived

Victoria 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 she 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. 

City Calendar:

This is what happened during the week.

This plot has the action I want. This is the type of action I look for! The hand-to-hand. The gashes. The way this book was written was amazing. It is amazing. The mystery keeps you wondering. You are on your toes. You wonder who Owen is. You wonder lots of things.

The different problems in the Archive. You wonder about the characters. You feel for Mac because of Ben’s death. You want to see how she feels.

I love how the past is weaved in. For me, I like Da. He’s an interesting character. I like how Mac and Da are put together.

The only problem with the plot is the romance between Owen and Mac. Why? WHHHYYY? You don’t need it! It’s a problem. And Owen uses Mac in the end. He USES her. Gosh. Mac, get your head in the game. Just because you can kiss a guy doesn’t mean you should. Even if it’s hard to touch people. Goodness.

In the plot, I love how the mystery of the past was weaved in. I know I mentioned this, but, to me, it’s beautiful. You wonder whose blood it is. You wonder who the boy is. You wonder who the girl is. You get fed  these  pieces until things get more complex. And…Wes! Goodness. I love his character, and I felt my eyes widen when he got hurt. Whhhyyyy. I love the dark type. Even if he ends up not being the dark type.

The ending was so abrupt. It just…ends. I felt that the cliffhanger was terrible. It drove me nuts. What happens next? Is Wes okay? What happened to Owen? Where does he go? What happened in the Archives?

And that's what happened this week.

Personal Ads:

Mac. Mac is a fantastic character. I love the kickass characters. She’s awesome. She’s not indestructible. She has her weakness. She can bleed. She can be hit. She can be hurt. I love that. I hate when characters are hit but recover so quickly. Mac actually has to bandage her wounds. And I love her power. Being able to read objects and people? Amazing. She’s stronger than she thinks. She’s curious and expands her knowledge with figuring out things. She is an amazing character. I love Mac’s character. She grows from being childish to be older. She ends up being the character you want to be.

Wes. Wes. You act dark and brooding, but you end up being not that way? I do love his character. He’s nice and funny. He kisses Mac, but I can understand that. Mac is an awesome character. I would kiss her. Wes is such a nice person. I want to know more. He has the air of mystery going for him. The beginning paints him as a certain person. He’s mysterious and dark. He turns into a partner. He turns into a confidant. Wes. I do love his character.

Owen. I don’t really like Owen. He has the mystery, but he’s cruel. Owen is rude and annoying. He flirts with Mac to take control of her. He has twisted delusions of the Archive. Plus he’s old as my grandfather. He’s someone who controls others. He could be a sociopath. God. I hate him. And I hate that Mac fell for him!

Opinions:

This is one of those rare books where I feel like the story lived up to the premise. The premise was amazing, and the book met my standards. There were only a few problems. That’s it. I like the characters. The premise is interesting. I was pulled in by the mystery. The action kept me worrying and wondering. I felt as if there were good plot twists. I never expected anything. I could only guess. And it might not be right.

I have so many ideas on what might happen. There are questions I want answered. I hope this second book ends up amazing. No, I know it will.

And the action! Action in books is sometimes lacking. This book…action… I can drool over this action. I would love watching this action on…a television show or something!

And have you seen the cover? It’s beautiful. The key looks…awkward and something you get off of Shutterstock. But the smoke and the face? Amazing.

This book doesn’t have many problems. I don’t think so at least. For me, there are only a few problems.

The romance. I don’t like the Mac and Owen romance. Owen and Mac? Seriously. Mac, stop that! Don’t kiss him. Owen is controlling you! He doesn’t like you! Don’t kiss him just because you have silence when you touch him. Get together with Wes. Wes is someone I allow you to date. Yes, I give you permission.

The ending. I feel like it ended too quickly. Carmen is thrown into the mix. You don’t doubt her, though. You don’t feel like she was a last minute problem. I feel like Owen should have played a bigger part. He haunts Mac’s dreams. He has to be playing a bigger game. This ending isn’t right. No no. I have to get another book. Luckily, there is another!

Weather:

Sunny with a 20% chance of rain

4/5