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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
WOW I LOVED THIS A WHOLE LOT???
I've put off starting the Archived books because I didn't love the idea of never getting to read the third book that isn't ever coming out. But I heard enough people swear it was worh it and ended well that I decided I'd give it a chance. and I'M SO GLAD I DID!!!
This has a lot of things I don't generally like in YA (including a low-key love triangle) and yet it just hit all my buttons just right.
ALready can't wait to dive into book 2!
I've put off starting the Archived books because I didn't love the idea of never getting to read the third book that isn't ever coming out. But I heard enough people swear it was worh it and ended well that I decided I'd give it a chance. and I'M SO GLAD I DID!!!
This has a lot of things I don't generally like in YA (including a low-key love triangle) and yet it just hit all my buttons just right.
ALready can't wait to dive into book 2!
This was my first V.E. Schwab book, and I really enjoyed her writing. This particular story is about a girl named Mackenzie who inherits this job from her grandfather as a Keeper. Apparently, when someone dies, a record of them is created in the Archive in the form of a body that looks like what they did before they died. Sometimes these records, or Histories, "wake up" and get lost in the space between the Archive and the Outer (the real world) called the Narrows. So, it's up to the Keepers to get them back to the Archive. But something is going wrong and a lot of the Histories are mysteriously waking up. So, it's up to Mackenzie to figure out what's going on before it's too late.
There are a few triggers. Of course, the story is about people dying, and it opens with Mac's family moving into a renovated hotel to an apartment complex after her brother dies. It also addresses grief and loss.
The plot is fast moving, and the world is built pretty well. There were definite twists and reveals that I enjoyed. I wasn't ever sure just where the author would take the story. The chapters are short and the writing enabled it to keep a fast pace.
I really enjoyed Mac's transformation throughout the book. She goes from an isolated loner to learning how to trust herself and others. Also, her grief transformation is good as well.
There wasn't any profanity, which was a nice change from the other recent YA novels that I've read. I'm not sure if this is normal for her, but it was nice to see.
There are violent components, mentions of blood and several fight scenes in the book since the Histories don't always go back to the Archive willingly.
There is romance in the book, but it's mostly kissing. There is a scene with touching, but touch is a theme in the book. Keepers can see the thoughts and memories of a person they touch unless it is a History which gives off nothing but silence.
I've already picked up the second book in this series, and I'm excited to get back into the world. I highly recommend this book.
There are a few triggers. Of course, the story is about people dying, and it opens with Mac's family moving into a renovated hotel to an apartment complex after her brother dies. It also addresses grief and loss.
The plot is fast moving, and the world is built pretty well. There were definite twists and reveals that I enjoyed. I wasn't ever sure just where the author would take the story. The chapters are short and the writing enabled it to keep a fast pace.
I really enjoyed Mac's transformation throughout the book. She goes from an isolated loner to learning how to trust herself and others. Also, her grief transformation is good as well.
There wasn't any profanity, which was a nice change from the other recent YA novels that I've read. I'm not sure if this is normal for her, but it was nice to see.
There are violent components, mentions of blood and several fight scenes in the book since the Histories don't always go back to the Archive willingly.
There is romance in the book, but it's mostly kissing. There is a scene with touching, but touch is a theme in the book. Keepers can see the thoughts and memories of a person they touch unless it is a History which gives off nothing but silence.
I've already picked up the second book in this series, and I'm excited to get back into the world. I highly recommend this book.
More reviews : Sun/Salt + Letters
I only hear two things about this novel, is either that the book is amazing or that it is slow paced. I will say it is a little bit of both.
The writing is beautiful and the writing alone is what made me go though the first half of the novel, because the story is just boring. The good thing is that after the first half, the story completely comes together. After that, I was hooked, immersed on the story.
When the pacing picks up, also does the story line and I started to realize just how well plotted it actually is. I love the premise, and how creepy it felt at times.
I'm ok with the love interests, I mean, I could see the villain coming for miles, but is understandable. We can see why Mac does what she does and everything.
It is still not the best love plot line I ever saw. I like that all of it happened as a side plot, so if you dislike books with love interests, this one won't bother you too much.
I really like the character, but I gotta say the best part were the parents. Am I the only one who loves when these characters have actual living, breathing parents who actually have a say in their lives? Just yes.
Now to what I didn't like, the first thing was the back and forth. Sometimes is better to show how things happened, and we learn a lot during does, but I think it could be balanced a better. If Mac just told some of the story and then the other part came from the flashbacks, the rhythm of the book could be a little better.
Second thing was the villain, could see it coming, but i still like how things turned out.
What really surprised me were the revelations about the Library. I new something was wrong, it just felt off, but I never saw that coming.
Sun/Salt + Letters
I only hear two things about this novel, is either that the book is amazing or that it is slow paced. I will say it is a little bit of both.
The writing is beautiful and the writing alone is what made me go though the first half of the novel, because the story is just boring. The good thing is that after the first half, the story completely comes together. After that, I was hooked, immersed on the story.
When the pacing picks up, also does the story line and I started to realize just how well plotted it actually is. I love the premise, and how creepy it felt at times.
I'm ok with the love interests, I mean, I could see the villain coming for miles, but is understandable. We can see why Mac does what she does and everything.
It is still not the best love plot line I ever saw. I like that all of it happened as a side plot, so if you dislike books with love interests, this one won't bother you too much.
I really like the character, but I gotta say the best part were the parents. Am I the only one who loves when these characters have actual living, breathing parents who actually have a say in their lives? Just yes.
Now to what I didn't like, the first thing was the back and forth. Sometimes is better to show how things happened, and we learn a lot during does, but I think it could be balanced a better. If Mac just told some of the story and then the other part came from the flashbacks, the rhythm of the book could be a little better.
Second thing was the villain, could see it coming, but i still like how things turned out.
What really surprised me were the revelations about the Library. I new something was wrong, it just felt off, but I never saw that coming.
Sun/Salt + Letters
I have no words to describe the brilliance that is this book. I need a few days to process before I can even attempt it.
Update- There are some books that when you finish them you just sit in silence and savor the experience you just had. The Archived is one of those books. Because it is one of those books I'm having a very hard time writing a review for it. I finished this book a week ago and I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. The Archived is fascinating, just a little creepy, intriguing, heart breaking and has just the right amount of swoon. I can't really do this book justice, I just need you to read it. Trust me on this one. I can already tell it is going to be one of my favorite books of 2013.
Update- There are some books that when you finish them you just sit in silence and savor the experience you just had. The Archived is one of those books. Because it is one of those books I'm having a very hard time writing a review for it. I finished this book a week ago and I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. The Archived is fascinating, just a little creepy, intriguing, heart breaking and has just the right amount of swoon. I can't really do this book justice, I just need you to read it. Trust me on this one. I can already tell it is going to be one of my favorite books of 2013.
The Archived is one of those books you recommend to everyone you know and every friend you have.
It has an entirely new idea and a breathtaking adventure to take you on. The action in it doesn't stop and you're kept on the edge of your seat through it all but that doesn't lessen the emotional side of the book.
Victoria Schwab managed to bring the characters to life by making them more human than fictional. They were all beautifully flawed (except for Wes maybe because I found him perfect through and through) and were all a combination of good and bad. Even Mackenzie, the main character, had her moments of weakness and they only added to the beauty of her character.
I'm not going to give any of the events or the characters' secrets away, to make sure you get the full experience of the book, but I can tell you that it'll be much more than you'll expect it to be.
If I could, I'd honestly quote the entire book. Every single conversation Mac had with her grandfather and every great line she thought, but since I can't, you'll have to find those quotes yourself when you read the book.
Five shining stars.
fast-paced
I'm a sucker for books featuring librarians and library settings. Sometimes it's successful, sometimes not so much. Luckily, The Archived is one of those examples where it works well. Schwab imagines the afterlife as a library (the Archive), where copies of dead people (Histories) are stored, sleeping in drawers, tended by Librarians capable of reading the Histories' memories. The Archive is connected to the world of the living (the Outer) by a shadowy limbo made out of corridors, called the Narrows. It is the job of Keepers, like protagonist Mackenzie, to patrol the Narrows and return Histories that have woken up back to the Archive where they belong.
I really enjoyed this book. It starts as a slow burn, and it was fun to build on my knowledge of the Archive as the book progressed. Although the pace felt slow in the first half, I was happy that I stuck with this one because the second half takes off and was difficult to put down. Recently I've read a few so-so books, and it felt so good to get wrapped up in Mackenzie's story and to find myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading the book. It even made me want to start writing again.
Hopefully the sequel lives up to this one.
I really enjoyed this book. It starts as a slow burn, and it was fun to build on my knowledge of the Archive as the book progressed. Although the pace felt slow in the first half, I was happy that I stuck with this one because the second half takes off and was difficult to put down. Recently I've read a few so-so books, and it felt so good to get wrapped up in Mackenzie's story and to find myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading the book. It even made me want to start writing again.
Hopefully the sequel lives up to this one.