I've had it up to my eyeballs and beyond with teen paranormal/fantasy stories, so I was skeptical when this book was recommended to me. I'm glad I caved in and bought it. The world-building is small and contained but absolutely spectacular. The main character, Mackenzie, is a sixteen-year-old who acts, thinks, and sounds like a sixteen-year-old, which is a rarity in young adult fiction.This is a book that should be read without being spoiled, so I'll leave out plot specifics. The overarching theme of the book is how the bonds of love transcend both life and death, against the backdrop of one of the most unique and original settings I've come across. Mackenzie's relationship with her grandfather is particularly poignant and serves as a cornerstone for the twists and turns the plot takes. The story starts out a little bit slowly, but picks up quickly. By about the halfway point I found myself completely engrossed. It's well worth hanging in there to discover the secrets of Mackenzie's world along with her. A very interesting idea.I liked Mackenzie for the most part. She was a kick-ass character. But, at the same time, she had just lost her brother and she felt like he was being erased from her life. Her parents refused to talk to about him and she just thought that she was forgetting him. I understand that she wants to get away from emotions and other things , but, I really didn't like the way another thing was dealt with. I couldn't believe she wasn't more suspicious! I saw something coming and I can't believe she didn't either. But I do respect the fact that she just wanted to escape for a few minutes. I liked the idea that everyone leaves a history behind and those Histories are just a compilation of that. Everyone has their own opinion of what happens when you die and of all of the books that I've read, this one has to be one of my favourites. The idea that everyone has a history and becomes a History is fascinating to me. I love history and that is probably why I love this idea.I also enjoyed the fact that we got to see the training sessions between Mackenize and Da (although it took me a while to figure out who Da was). It put new information into perspective and in some parts, it almost changed the meaning of the text. Now, the plot was ok. I totally saw something coming (and, as expressed above, I was totally mad that Mackenzie didn't seem it coming). However, I didn't see the other part coming (although, I should have). There were some emotional scenes and some actions scenes. But, there were also some nice, light, flirty scenes as well. I thought that Schwab did a great job with balancing the really heavy emotional aspects with the fun, flirty scenes and the action ones.A great, quick read for those ghost lovers. Or even if you're looking for something to read, "The Archived" would definitely be a book to look at.
What do You think about The Archived (2013)?
i liked it but did not love it parts were really slow but still a good book
—Jenny
I enjoyed this book and will continue with the series.
—sad
Every book lover NEEDS to read this book.
—annkiri
