The Archived

A teen tasked with guarding the dead must investigate an unsettling paranormal conspiracy in this spooky YA series opener by a #1 New York Times–bestselling author.

“A page-turning plot, a setting that haunted my dreams, and breathtaking prose. Truly a masterful, dark, beautiful novel.” —Ruta Sepetys, New York Times best-selling author of Between Shades of Grays

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 hard-won redemption.

“Schwab skillfully manages that rare accomplishment: a spine-tingling, supernatural, ghostly mystery that is fully believable. A writer to watch for sure—sequel please!” —School Library Journal

“As gorgeously written as it is brilliantly inventive, The Archived is that rare book that grabs you by the mind and the heart, not letting go of either once you’ve turned the last page. It’s earned a permanent spot on my Keeper shelf.” —Rachel Hawkins, New York Times best-selling author of the Hex Hall series