Review:: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Title: The Archived 
Author: Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 336

Publication Date: January 22, 2013
Review by: Christy

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 he 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 that 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 hardwon redemption.

Christy's Review:

There is a sort of contract in the book blogging world: publishers provide their books to bloggers, who read them, if they are interested, and then review them.

Disney-Hyperion generally has really good book offerings, so I was very excited to read The Archived when it was made available to me. But I was very, very surprised to find that I hadn't been given the book in it's entirety, rather a segment, an excerpt, maybe the first third of the book. Just enough to get really, really into the story and then *BAM* Oh, sorry, you don't get anymore.

They broke the rules.

I think Disney is trying to create a hype by using this tactic. But all they've done is royally annoy me. I thought about not writing a review at all, but instead I'm going to write a third of a review and leave out all the best bits. I think that's fair. After all, I only received a third of a book, (maybe more, maybe less, I have no idea and no way of knowing, do I?) seems only fair, don't you think?

The Archived, from what I was able to read of it, was a ______________ _________________ story! Completely _________! A fresh _______ ___________ and original _______ _______________. I _________ ___________ __________! I'd highly recommend you ______ ________ ________ this book.

Miss Schwab, I'd love to read the rest of your book. And then I'd love to write a proper review.