You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Victoria Schwab is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The Near Witch was one of my favorite books of 2011 and it really impressed me. I was pretty sure her sophomore novel couldn’t be better than that one but boy was I wrong. The Archived is one of the best books I have read in 2012 and one of my all-time favorites.
The Archived is one of the most unique books I have ever read. The concept is fabulous and the execution is perfect! I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going to go in the beginning but I honestly didn’t care because it was just so interesting. However, once the story really picked up and things started to come together, I was fascinated. I won’t try and tell you exactly how things work in the Archive because the book does a way better job of explaining it. Just know that it’s an awesome concept and it’s kind of spooky.
That’s another thing about The Archived that I didn’t expect but I should have given the spookiness of The Near Witch. The Archived takes place in two locations: the Coronado, an old hotel turned apartment building, and the Narrows/Archive. Both places are pretty much equally creepy. The Coronado is a building full of secrets. A series of strange deaths happened shortly after the place became apartments and somehow these murders tie in with strange things happening in the Narrows and the Archive. While it’s not a horror story by any means, I was sufficiently creeped out yet equally intrigued.
Mackenzie is one stubborn, strong-willed, hard-headed girl. She did not want to accept help from anyone and she wanted to do everything her own way. She was a little closed off with people but she did grow out of that a little bit throughout the book. She was lonely and she just wanted someone who could relate to her. She found that someone in the very unlikely form of Wesley Ayers. (By the way, Wesley Ayers is my new fictional crush and none of you can have him!) Wesley is the comic relief in this book. He’s the complete opposite of Mac. He’s free-spirited, friendly, and a little goofy. He’s pretty much the definition of a nice guy. I have no complaints regarding Wesley’s character! As for the rest of the characters, it was hard to judge them. The Librarians were very aloof and mysterious, Mackenzie’s parents were heartbroken and lost, and the Histories were kind of creepy yet kind of sad. I look forward to learning more about everyone in the next book.
As for the writing itself, if you’ve read The Near Witch you know what to expect from Victoria Schwab. Her writing is beautiful and creepy and mysterious and just freaking fantastic. Victoria Schwab is one of those authors who could write a phone book and have people fall in love with it. I really can’t put into words how much I love her writing. =)
Overall, The Archived is a stunning sophomore novel from Victoria Schwab. It’s a creeptastic story full of mystery and secrets and I can’t recommend it enough!
The Archived is one of the most unique books I have ever read. The concept is fabulous and the execution is perfect! I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going to go in the beginning but I honestly didn’t care because it was just so interesting. However, once the story really picked up and things started to come together, I was fascinated. I won’t try and tell you exactly how things work in the Archive because the book does a way better job of explaining it. Just know that it’s an awesome concept and it’s kind of spooky.
That’s another thing about The Archived that I didn’t expect but I should have given the spookiness of The Near Witch. The Archived takes place in two locations: the Coronado, an old hotel turned apartment building, and the Narrows/Archive. Both places are pretty much equally creepy. The Coronado is a building full of secrets. A series of strange deaths happened shortly after the place became apartments and somehow these murders tie in with strange things happening in the Narrows and the Archive. While it’s not a horror story by any means, I was sufficiently creeped out yet equally intrigued.
Mackenzie is one stubborn, strong-willed, hard-headed girl. She did not want to accept help from anyone and she wanted to do everything her own way. She was a little closed off with people but she did grow out of that a little bit throughout the book. She was lonely and she just wanted someone who could relate to her. She found that someone in the very unlikely form of Wesley Ayers. (By the way, Wesley Ayers is my new fictional crush and none of you can have him!) Wesley is the comic relief in this book. He’s the complete opposite of Mac. He’s free-spirited, friendly, and a little goofy. He’s pretty much the definition of a nice guy. I have no complaints regarding Wesley’s character! As for the rest of the characters, it was hard to judge them. The Librarians were very aloof and mysterious, Mackenzie’s parents were heartbroken and lost, and the Histories were kind of creepy yet kind of sad. I look forward to learning more about everyone in the next book.
As for the writing itself, if you’ve read The Near Witch you know what to expect from Victoria Schwab. Her writing is beautiful and creepy and mysterious and just freaking fantastic. Victoria Schwab is one of those authors who could write a phone book and have people fall in love with it. I really can’t put into words how much I love her writing. =)
Overall, The Archived is a stunning sophomore novel from Victoria Schwab. It’s a creeptastic story full of mystery and secrets and I can’t recommend it enough!
I love reading YA but unfortunately sometimes it seems like it's the same recycled storylines and characters over and over again. This is particularly true of the science fiction and fantasy genres. So when I find a young adult novel in those genres with an original premise and good writing, it makes me very excited. The Archived is one of those books.
The story centers on Mackenzie Bishop, a teenager who is struggling with finding her place after the death of her younger brother in a hit and run accident. Her family moves into an old hotel that has been converted into apartments. Mackenzie is a Keeper, which makes her responsible for making sure the dead stay asleep. In her secret world, once you die, you go to sleep in the Archive, where you are cataloged and shelved by Librarians and are known as a History. Histories are meant to sleep forever, but when they start waking up, Mackenzie must find out what is going on before everything crumbles around her. And she must struggle with the insidious thought that maybe she could have her brother back.
I loved the characters, especially the complexity of Mackenzie. Watching her struggle to find her place in a family still not over a tragedy and balancing her responsibilities as a Keeper with an attempt to appear normal to those who can't know about it was compelling and intense. The romantic aspect was well done and not overly dramatic as YA tends to be. It was pretty heart breaking to see her struggle to deal with her brother's death and the idea that he might be one of the ones who comes back to life. The world building done by Schwab was so interesting and original that it kept me compelled from the very beginning of the story. This is definitely one my list of favorite young adult science fiction and one I'd recommend to any teen or adult interested in that genre.
The story centers on Mackenzie Bishop, a teenager who is struggling with finding her place after the death of her younger brother in a hit and run accident. Her family moves into an old hotel that has been converted into apartments. Mackenzie is a Keeper, which makes her responsible for making sure the dead stay asleep. In her secret world, once you die, you go to sleep in the Archive, where you are cataloged and shelved by Librarians and are known as a History. Histories are meant to sleep forever, but when they start waking up, Mackenzie must find out what is going on before everything crumbles around her. And she must struggle with the insidious thought that maybe she could have her brother back.
I loved the characters, especially the complexity of Mackenzie. Watching her struggle to find her place in a family still not over a tragedy and balancing her responsibilities as a Keeper with an attempt to appear normal to those who can't know about it was compelling and intense. The romantic aspect was well done and not overly dramatic as YA tends to be. It was pretty heart breaking to see her struggle to deal with her brother's death and the idea that he might be one of the ones who comes back to life. The world building done by Schwab was so interesting and original that it kept me compelled from the very beginning of the story. This is definitely one my list of favorite young adult science fiction and one I'd recommend to any teen or adult interested in that genre.
For full review, see my blog, The Branching Bookshelf
4-stars. The concept of the Archive is intriguing, and the characters seem genuine and likeable. The plot is quite intricate and an interesting mystery, but felt somewhat rushed towards the end and felt a bit flat. The world of the Archive and the Narrows is very interesting, and has clear rules and boundaries. Overall, an enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
4-stars. The concept of the Archive is intriguing, and the characters seem genuine and likeable. The plot is quite intricate and an interesting mystery, but felt somewhat rushed towards the end and felt a bit flat. The world of the Archive and the Narrows is very interesting, and has clear rules and boundaries. Overall, an enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
This book probably isn't bad, but I couldn't get into it. And with almost three dozen books on my to read list, no sense in lingering.
This book started out really strong and interesting and then somewhere around the time Owen came into the picture, it faltered. Not bad all around, but certainly didn't live up to what it had started.
Reading this in a mini reading-slump but Victoria Schwab does it AGAIN with fantastic ideas come to life. The world and the characters are complex, entertaining and lovable despite and because-of their darkness.
I was confused on how old the characters were meant to be. They read as 19 to 22 year olds but I’m pretty sure they were meant to be 15 to 17.
I adored the Librarians. I want an enemies to lovers fanfic of Roland and Patrick.
I absolutely recommend this. Wish I hadn’t read it when I was so slumpy
I was confused on how old the characters were meant to be. They read as 19 to 22 year olds but I’m pretty sure they were meant to be 15 to 17.
I adored the Librarians. I want an enemies to lovers fanfic of Roland and Patrick.
I absolutely recommend this. Wish I hadn’t read it when I was so slumpy
You know what, once I started getting into it, I quite liked it. The world was very confusing at first but once I wrapped my mind around it, it was easier and made everything make sense. But, at the same time, because this idea of a world is so alternative, it allows for questions to remain unanswered. Which is fine I guess, not everything in the world needs to be fleshed out, just the convenient bits that fit in the plot. I definitely will be reading the next book in the series. I was worried my girl Victoria would let me down and she was just a one hit wonder with Vicious, but boy am I glad to be wrong for once. Thoroughly enjoyed it and read it quickly as a result.
Absolutely loved this book! I think that Victoria Schwab created a wonderful story which captivates the imagination. I felt like this story was real even with all the fantasy/paranormal in it. I look forward to reading the next book!!!
3.5
TW:
I don't know how to feel about this book. It was okay? Didn't grip me that much, but it made me feel things at times. Mostly sadness, because it deals with death, obviously. Also annoyance when people were kissing, but that's a personal taste.
Overall, eh, it was okay. Not one of my favourites by far, but it's not a bad book.
TW:
Spoiler
death, mild violenceI don't know how to feel about this book. It was okay? Didn't grip me that much, but it made me feel things at times. Mostly sadness, because it deals with death, obviously. Also annoyance when people were kissing, but that's a personal taste.
Overall, eh, it was okay. Not one of my favourites by far, but it's not a bad book.
ya literature? You mean the best genre of all time?
This was so fun! The world was simple enough to understand without giving me a headache trying to decipher what was going on, and Mackenzie is our classic ya protagonist and I appreciate that she is literally just a (teenage) girl! she has been forced to deal with far too much! (I do hope one of these books covers that it was pretty fucked up of her grandpa to be like hey you middle schooler I’m setting you on a path of ghost hunting before you can even drive) Seriously I can’t even blame her for not catching on to suspicious activity because how is she making it through the day!! Like I do believe she should have clocked Owen earlier— there’s a suspiciously lucid history directly tied to these murders your investigating wandering the literal haunted halls you hunt ghosts in, and then starts like love bombing you? AND he’s blond? red flags up the wazoo Mackenzie. But then again, I can’t believe shes having any thoughts at all with her level of sleep deprivation, let alone complex ones.
But the best part of these books is by FAR Wesley. Oh my god??? Manic pixie dream goth and I mean that in a purely positive way. What a fucking weirdo. I love him. Top tier banter w him and Mackenzie. On that note, I don’t understand why she doesn’t just TELL him everything. Like cmon now. She’s like omg I don’t want to put him in dangerrr, like noble sentiment but he’s already a ghost hunter, I’m not sure if letting him know more about the ghost world would hurt him as much as give him an important heads up. but anyways yeah bring back quirky men in 2024 I’m done with the brooding emotionally abusive men of the modern literature era! they are icky!
This was so fun! The world was simple enough to understand without giving me a headache trying to decipher what was going on, and Mackenzie is our classic ya protagonist and I appreciate that she is literally just a (teenage) girl! she has been forced to deal with far too much! (I do hope one of these books covers that it was pretty fucked up of her grandpa to be like hey you middle schooler I’m setting you on a path of ghost hunting before you can even drive) Seriously I can’t even blame her for not catching on to suspicious activity because how is she making it through the day!! Like I do believe she should have clocked Owen earlier— there’s a suspiciously lucid history directly tied to these murders your investigating wandering the literal haunted halls you hunt ghosts in, and then starts like love bombing you? AND he’s blond? red flags up the wazoo Mackenzie. But then again, I can’t believe shes having any thoughts at all with her level of sleep deprivation, let alone complex ones.
But the best part of these books is by FAR Wesley. Oh my god??? Manic pixie dream goth and I mean that in a purely positive way. What a fucking weirdo. I love him. Top tier banter w him and Mackenzie. On that note, I don’t understand why she doesn’t just TELL him everything. Like cmon now. She’s like omg I don’t want to put him in dangerrr, like noble sentiment but he’s already a ghost hunter, I’m not sure if letting him know more about the ghost world would hurt him as much as give him an important heads up. but anyways yeah bring back quirky men in 2024 I’m done with the brooding emotionally abusive men of the modern literature era! they are icky!