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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book. The concept is so unique and different. It did get a bit confusing with all the roles and places within this new world, but soon it got interesting again. I really liked Mackenzie Bishop. She was trying to find out a way to see her brother, Ben. Also, I really loved Da. I loved the way he treated Mackenzie.
He truly believed in her. Also, I really loved Wesley. I really liked Roland. I did like Owen, but the ending made me dislike him. I am really surprised by the book. I wasn't expecting to like it so much, but it totally worth the read. Overall, a great read.
He truly believed in her. Also, I really loved Wesley. I really liked Roland. I did like Owen, but the ending made me dislike him. I am really surprised by the book. I wasn't expecting to like it so much, but it totally worth the read. Overall, a great read.
I went into this book not really sure what to expect cause I haven't heard that much about it but I was pleasantly surprised.
The Characters
Mackenzie
This is one of the few female character's I did not ever get frustrated with and I just loved being inside her head. I loved how she described everything, her feelings and family and what she was going trough. She was very relatable for me, because she's a teenager and she has all these teenager feelings and her emotions were very strong.
The fact that she had to deal with the loss of her brother and then her parents acting like nothing was going on and on top of everything dealing with a secret world she couldn't tell anyone about until Wes came along. You could see it was very tough for her and I think if she wasn't so lonely she wouldn't have believed Owen as fast as she did but in the scenes with him you could see that she was alone and so was he so she took a shot even though it didn't really end well for them.
Wes
He was such a good friend/possible love interest in this book because he's a tad bit different and you could see he's much more comfortable with himself than Mac is. Also I loved their relationship how it built up and how he taught her things and visa versa. I knew he was a Keeper because the way he was kind of drawn to her revealed it.
His personality was great and I loved his confidence, the fact that he wore eyeliner with pride and was always cracking jokes and the way he spoke to Mac or to her parents. But I also really enjoyed when he softened up and got a bit sentimental cause that really set Wes for me.
Roland
I loved Roland's "big brother" character in this book. The fact that they showed from the beginning how he was standing up for Mackenzie and looking out for her no matter what mistakes she might've made. They have a very beautiful relationship, in the sense that they have to look out for each other, otherwise both of them will crumble.
He knew what the risks were but he still stood by Mac till the end and even though not everything he did was perfect he was a great friend
Owen
I always knew there was something off about him, basically cause of the obvious fact that he is the only History who doesn't slip. I didn't know if he was the bad guy or not cause the mystery and story was so tangled up it really could've gone both ways. But I liked how the mystery unraveled. The whole little fragments of his sister's stories and the desperation of wanting to bring her back no matter what the costs was painfully beautiful. What he did obviously wasn't right but I do understand him and why he did what he did. In the beginning I truly believed that he was good but as we went along I honestly started questioning everyone.
The World
I really enjoyed the whole Archive world and the explanation about Histories and Reading people and walls, it was very interesting and it had a hint of reality to it cause everyone has their own history, except in this book its explained in a more fantasy kind of way which I really really loved.
I really liked that the mundane world took place in a hotel that was converted into apartments, it kind of reminded me of suit life of zack and cody and all the different rooms and people living there. the mysteries and the little fragments of stories from Regina being hidden was a fantastic aspect and I truly enjoyed it.
I definitely recommend this book because its not too fantasy if you don't like fantasy, it has a nice balance and the characters and the way the story unfolds is just amazing
The Characters
Mackenzie
This is one of the few female character's I did not ever get frustrated with and I just loved being inside her head. I loved how she described everything, her feelings and family and what she was going trough. She was very relatable for me, because she's a teenager and she has all these teenager feelings and her emotions were very strong.
The fact that she had to deal with the loss of her brother and then her parents acting like nothing was going on and on top of everything dealing with a secret world she couldn't tell anyone about until Wes came along. You could see it was very tough for her and I think if she wasn't so lonely she wouldn't have believed Owen as fast as she did but in the scenes with him you could see that she was alone and so was he so she took a shot even though it didn't really end well for them.
Wes
He was such a good friend/possible love interest in this book because he's a tad bit different and you could see he's much more comfortable with himself than Mac is. Also I loved their relationship how it built up and how he taught her things and visa versa. I knew he was a Keeper because the way he was kind of drawn to her revealed it.
His personality was great and I loved his confidence, the fact that he wore eyeliner with pride and was always cracking jokes and the way he spoke to Mac or to her parents. But I also really enjoyed when he softened up and got a bit sentimental cause that really set Wes for me.
Roland
I loved Roland's "big brother" character in this book. The fact that they showed from the beginning how he was standing up for Mackenzie and looking out for her no matter what mistakes she might've made. They have a very beautiful relationship, in the sense that they have to look out for each other, otherwise both of them will crumble.
He knew what the risks were but he still stood by Mac till the end and even though not everything he did was perfect he was a great friend
Owen
I always knew there was something off about him, basically cause of the obvious fact that he is the only History who doesn't slip. I didn't know if he was the bad guy or not cause the mystery and story was so tangled up it really could've gone both ways. But I liked how the mystery unraveled. The whole little fragments of his sister's stories and the desperation of wanting to bring her back no matter what the costs was painfully beautiful. What he did obviously wasn't right but I do understand him and why he did what he did. In the beginning I truly believed that he was good but as we went along I honestly started questioning everyone.
The World
I really enjoyed the whole Archive world and the explanation about Histories and Reading people and walls, it was very interesting and it had a hint of reality to it cause everyone has their own history, except in this book its explained in a more fantasy kind of way which I really really loved.
I really liked that the mundane world took place in a hotel that was converted into apartments, it kind of reminded me of suit life of zack and cody and all the different rooms and people living there. the mysteries and the little fragments of stories from Regina being hidden was a fantastic aspect and I truly enjoyed it.
I definitely recommend this book because its not too fantasy if you don't like fantasy, it has a nice balance and the characters and the way the story unfolds is just amazing
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
In this story the dead are called Histories and their bodies rest in a place called The Archive. Each body has a story to tell, and only the archive librarians can read them. Recruited by her grandfather, Mackenzie Bishop has been been working for The Archive for just four years. The Archive is a secret place that not many people know about so Mac has kept it a secret from the rest of her family just as her grandfather did. After her grandfather dies, Mac becomes a Keeper. When Mac discovers someone is deliberately altering Histories and erasing essential chapters she sets out to find out who is doing it and why.
The Archived is kind of like Warehouse 13 with dead bodies. The bodies are copies of dead people that contain the history of those people. Or picture a library with stacks of morgue type drawers containing these bodies instead of books. Sometimes these bodies wake up and escape and it's the Keeper's job to return them to the archive. The younger the body, or the more recent the history, the more restless they are and the more prone to waking up they are. The older the history the deeper asleep they are. Most of the time the older histories do not wake up. I liked that the older histories were asleep and kind of forgotten; a lot like real history is to a lot of people. How many times do we really think about things that happened a long time ago? Mostly we think about more recent events.
I thought this was a pretty original idea. I liked the character Mac and I also liked Wesley, even if I could have done without the guyliner. Yes, he wears guyliner. The biggest weakness of the book to me is that there is no real reason given for why the archive exists, other than it's the Keeper's job to protect the histories. It's kept a secret from everyone but the people who work in it or for it, so who really uses it and why are all of those histories stored there? It just kind of seems to exist for no reason. Despite that I enjoyed reading this so I am planning on reading the next book. Maybe the reason the archive exists will be explained in it.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
In this story the dead are called Histories and their bodies rest in a place called The Archive. Each body has a story to tell, and only the archive librarians can read them. Recruited by her grandfather, Mackenzie Bishop has been been working for The Archive for just four years. The Archive is a secret place that not many people know about so Mac has kept it a secret from the rest of her family just as her grandfather did. After her grandfather dies, Mac becomes a Keeper. When Mac discovers someone is deliberately altering Histories and erasing essential chapters she sets out to find out who is doing it and why.
The Archived is kind of like Warehouse 13 with dead bodies. The bodies are copies of dead people that contain the history of those people. Or picture a library with stacks of morgue type drawers containing these bodies instead of books. Sometimes these bodies wake up and escape and it's the Keeper's job to return them to the archive. The younger the body, or the more recent the history, the more restless they are and the more prone to waking up they are. The older the history the deeper asleep they are. Most of the time the older histories do not wake up. I liked that the older histories were asleep and kind of forgotten; a lot like real history is to a lot of people. How many times do we really think about things that happened a long time ago? Mostly we think about more recent events.
I thought this was a pretty original idea. I liked the character Mac and I also liked Wesley, even if I could have done without the guyliner. Yes, he wears guyliner. The biggest weakness of the book to me is that there is no real reason given for why the archive exists, other than it's the Keeper's job to protect the histories. It's kept a secret from everyone but the people who work in it or for it, so who really uses it and why are all of those histories stored there? It just kind of seems to exist for no reason. Despite that I enjoyed reading this so I am planning on reading the next book. Maybe the reason the archive exists will be explained in it.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
4.5
very enjoyable. I can't wait to read more about Mac and Wesley~
very enjoyable. I can't wait to read more about Mac and Wesley~
"we are nothing but recorded moments"
this was so so good, i loved it so much. even-though i did predict most twits, it didn't make them less satisfying or amazing. the main character's thoughts were so interesting and sometimes — most times — i couldn't stop reading unless i had to. I honestly don't think there was anything i didn't like about this book.
and most importantly, wesley ayers. that's it.
This was not the best book I've ever read, and I wasn't sure if I was going to give it a 5/5 stars. However, in the end, I decided to do so for the following reasons:
- It was very well written. This is my second read from Ms Victoria Schwab (the first being - A Darker Shade of Magic) and again, I was impressed.
- The concept and story was just so intriguing. There were multiple elements underway, and it kept me interested and guessing throughout the whole novel.
The only thing I didn't love was the main character. I found her kind of one-dimensional and boring at times. But overall, that wasn't enough to bump it down to 4/5 stars for me.
Overall, I felt this book had just enough of all the things I love - world building, adventure, a stretch on an alternate reality, and a little romance.
I look forward to reading the next installment, and I would definitely recommend. :)
- It was very well written. This is my second read from Ms Victoria Schwab (the first being - A Darker Shade of Magic) and again, I was impressed.
- The concept and story was just so intriguing. There were multiple elements underway, and it kept me interested and guessing throughout the whole novel.
The only thing I didn't love was the main character. I found her kind of one-dimensional and boring at times. But overall, that wasn't enough to bump it down to 4/5 stars for me.
Overall, I felt this book had just enough of all the things I love - world building, adventure, a stretch on an alternate reality, and a little romance.
I look forward to reading the next installment, and I would definitely recommend. :)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
I first found this book by chance in my highschool library, my friend needed new reading materials and I had a habit of finding amazing books so I found this one. SHE LOVED IT and couldnt wait to get finished so that I could read it. From the first few chapters , I was hooked. This book has so many twists and yet is still easy to follow. Would recomend to all my friends and anyone who loves a good story.
Amazing and original story. I loved the beginning and end of Mackenzie's story but got a bit lost in the middle. The twists were superb though!