about the book
Mackenzie Bishop does not have a choice. No Keeper ever does. Her father has groomed her since she was nine, telling her fairy tales of mysterious doors. In reality, he is preparing her for the Outer, the Return, the Narrow, and the Archive. The only commonality in the four places is the locked doors…and on her eleventh birthday, Mackenzie’s dad gives her a silver ring embossed with the Archive emblem and a key.
Everyone exists in the Outer, the normal world. People don’t even suspect there are the three other places, but everyone ends up in the Archive, where Librarians care for the afterlife. When a person dies, their entire existence is organized and stored in a History—a spirit-type body. Most times, a History exists in peace within the vast Archive. Once in a while, a History slips through a door into the Narrow.
In the dark, nightmarish Narrow is filled with grimy hallways, lit only by a glow from the keyholes in thousands of doors. Some doors are inactive. Some connect with the Outer or to the Archive. A Keeper’s job is to return escaped Histories; some are violent and don’t want to return. It is not an easy job.
Now sixteen, Mackenzie is a full-fledged Keeper. She and her parents are moving into a rundown apartment building that was once a hotel. Even before she steps into the lobby, she knows the place is full of escaped Histories and secrets.
Someone is deliberately changing Histories, and they are escaping the Archive in an alarming rate. This could destroy the Archive.
Who is behind it all? Could it be Wesley, the roguish other Keeper? Or is it the mysterious Owen, a History, who haunts the Narrow? He seems to understand her better than anyone else ever has. One thing is for sure. She is attracted to both!
about the author
Victoria Schwab also writes under her initials, V. E. Schwab, but she uses that name only for her adult novels. She was born on 7-7-1987 (do you suppose 7 is a lucky number for her?). She is the daughter of a Beverly Hills father and a British mother, and claims to be a southern gal through and through. (You’ll hear a lot of “y’alls” when she speaks!)
When Victoria was very young, she was in an accident that injured her left hip. They put her back together, though not very well, and by the time she is thirty, she’s pretty sure she’ll be a bionic wonder. In any case, she’s looking forward to a really nifty cane, maybe with a sword in! The hip thing doesn’t slow her down.
Victoria has written eight books, all thrillers and she’s “got a few more in the pipeline!” Her adult novel Vicious is well on its way to becoming a feature film. Rumors have it that Archive and Unbound, (Archive Book 2), may also end up on the silver screen!
This southern gal makes her home in Nashville, Tennessee. When she is not writing, she is likely wandering. (She claims her wanderlust is a disease.) She is also a cookie baker, a narwhal lover, an avid journal jotter, and easily distracted by sunlight or a good cup of Earl Grey tea.
She is also a collector of foreign words that have no English translations. A few of her favorites:
BOKETTO (Japanese) : The act of gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking;
TARTLE (Scottish) : That panicky hesitation before you have to introduce someone whose name you can’t remember; and
VERSCHLIMMBESSERUNG (German) : A supposed improvement that makes things much worse.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview : Read & Riot
Also by Victoria Schwab:
Second Chances (Everyday Angel, Book 2). Scholastic. 2014.
New Beginnings (Everyday Angel, Book 1). Scholastic. 2014.
The Unbound (Archived, Book 2). Hyperion Press. 2014.
The Near Witch. Hyperion Press. 2011.
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