Thursday, July 28, 2016

The Archived By: Victoria Schwab

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Hello, fellow book lovers! For this review, I’m going to talk about a book that I read recently and that I really loved, The Archived by Victoria Schwab. Before we get too much further into my review and thoughts, I have some Goodreads stats!


The Archived was published on January 22nd, 2013, and has 321 pages. The average rating on Goodreads is 4.03 stars out of 5!

Okay. So when I found this book, I was just browsing through Half Price Books, searching for something that looked interesting, and something new and different for me. Victoria Schwab definitely did not disappoint!

A little bit of personal history here.. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of fantasy or anything like The Archived. I tend to be drawn towards realistic fiction and to characters and situations I can relate to, even just a little bit. I’ve always loved Sarah Dessen (those reviews will come in the future!), and Miranda Kenneally (also future reviews). There are a few others that I don’t remember right off hand, but when I was in high school, I mostly read realistic fiction, and found that I couldn’t get enough. Every once in awhile, I would read a story about vampires, including the Twilight and House of Night series, and a couple including ghosts, but other than that, I stuck with realistic teen fiction.

Even now as an adult, I find myself drawn to the more realistic fiction versus fantasy or paranormal. However, I decided I needed something different, and The Archived is exactly what I needed.

“Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.”

The Archived is about a Keeper, Mackenzie Bishop, whose job is to keep Histories (dead people) from slipping through the cracks and getting into the real world. The place where the Histories are kept is called the Archive, which is essentially a library of dead people, but their memories are accessible by Librarians, who are trained to read them. Those who were also members of the Archive are kept in a secret wing that is locked down, to keep them from waking up and even leaving the Archive. All other Histories, everyone that has died, are kept on shelves and organized. Those who wake up escape to a place called the Narrows, which is a small area between the Archive and the real world, but unless they have a key, the Histories cannot escape. What Mac is supposed to do is basically track these Histories down, and send them to the Returns room, which basically ships them right back to the Archive, all peaceful and asleep. Mac is struggling after her 10 year old brother, Ben, is killed in a hit and run accident, and her parents decide to move to another town. On top of all of that, more and more Histories are waking up and slipping, and it takes Mac and another keeper in the apartment building, Wesley, to keep most of the Histories in check. Mac’s list is growing longer and longer, and the Histories she has are normally younger and confused, but they are now growing increasingly violent and terrifying. Mac and Wesley are now both struggling to keep the Histories from escaping into the world and find themselves in a real pickle by the end.

Without spoiling the entire book, I can’t say much more.
But what I can say is…
READ. THIS. BOOK.

The beginning was very sad, as Mackenzie talked a lot about Ben and her grandfather that trained her to be a Keeper, then passed away. She shares everything he taught her, and the bond that her and Da had was special and was honestly super cute. I also really loved Wesley and never had a good feeling about Owen… *squint*

The way that this book was written kept me wanting more, wondering what would happen next for Mac and Wesley, and before I had even finished The Archived, I had ordered the sequel, The Unbound. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to get to The Unbound just yet (due to all of the reading for the podcast), but I really hope to in the next couple of weeks.

Personally, I gave The Archived a five star review on Goodreads. I devoured this book and was so engrossed in the story that when it ended, I was actually seriously upset and below is an actual picture of how I looked while waiting for the sequel.


I’m definitely Sheldon when it comes to this series.
Also, I’m super excited because the third book in the series should be out sometime this year, or at least that’s what Goodreads says… Don’t lie to me, Goodreads, please let this be true!!!

Speaking of Goodreads, Victoria Schwab actually added me as a friend!! EEEEEEK! I was at work when I got the notification, and I had to contain myself. I needed a good fangirl shriek, but.. Yeah, I had to hold it until I got home.


I didn’t want to put this book down, and to be honest, I would definitely read it again in the future. I really loved Mackenzie and Wesley, and I really, REALLY loved Roland. It was an adventure, and I can’t wait to see where The Unbound takes me!

Be sure to add me as a friend on Goodreads, and follow the podcast pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Reddit. All of our links, including my personal Goodreads page, is in the About and Contact tabs on this website!

Also, if you’re a fan of short stories, I have a personal blog that I’ve been writing for the past week, you may find it here (link). If you’d like, feel free to follow me there, and post any commentary! I’m excited to hear what you all think!

Until next time, bookworms, happy reading!

~Hayley

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