Waiting on Wednesday: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  Its purpose is to spotlight eagerly-anticipated upcoming releases.

This week I’m eagerly awaiting:

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Expected Release Date: January 22, 2013

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 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. 

(summary via Goodreads)

The fact that I really enjoyed Schwab’s debut last year meant that I was much more likely to pick up her sophomore effort.  It helps that this novel is much more my style than Schwab’s first novel.  It also helps that the novel seems to deal with librarians (or at least some form of them).  If this is anything like Schwab’s previous effort, it’ll be beautifully written, tightly plotted, and expertly paced.  I, for one, can’t wait.

What are you waiting on this week?

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