The Archived

The Archived is a young adult paranormal book written by Victoria Schwab.

Synopsis
The dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead, called 'Histories', rest in 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 tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper is dangerous and a constant reminder of those she lost, Da and her little brother. Mac wonders about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. Yet someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Characters
Mackenzie Bishop

Wesley Ayers

Roland

Ben Bishop

Patrick

Owen Chris Clarke

Plot
When the Archive is suddenly compromised, sixteen-year-old Mackenzie Bishop must use her skills as a Keeper to identify the traitor and prevent violent Histories from escaping into our world.

Quotes
“Ignorance may be bliss, but only if it outweighs curiosity. Curiosity is a gateway drug to sympathy.”

“You know,” he says, “for someone who doesn’t like touching people, you keep finding ways to put your hands on me.”

“We make a good team, Mackenzie Bishop.”

“The Archive makes us monsters. And then it breaks the ones who get too strong, and buries the ones who know too much.”

“Lying is easy. But it's lonely."

“It takes at least three assassination attempts to scare me off. And even then, if there are baked goods involved, I might come back.”

Trivia

 * In the first draft of The Archived, the Histories who woke up weren’t children or teens, but were elderly people. One of the characters was a little old lady, who according to Schwab, is one of the creepiest characters she has ever written.
 * In an early version of the book, the Bishop family had a cat.
 * In the first draft of The Archived, Ben was a a minor character, and was only mentioned briefly.
 * There are multiple 'nods' to Doctor Who within the book.
 * The book was originally titled All Things Between.