In this atmospheric thriller, the afterlife is like a library, where the Histories of the dead are stored as bodies in drawers and maintained by a network of Librarians. Sixteen-year-old Mackenzie is a Keeper, charged with tracking Histories who have awoken, returning them before they escape into the outer world. Her new territory is the Coronado, an old hotel turned apartment building, full of secrets and shadows. When something disrupts the Archive and the dead wake in ever-growing numbers, Mac teams up with the roguish Wesley to fix things, but she may not be up for the job, haunted by the death of her brother and distracted by the charms of the mysterious Owen. From the unusual premise to the dark, evocative narration, Schwab's (The Near Witch) novel skillfully blends fantasy and mystery, bringing the Coronado to life and making the setting as vital as the characters. While the setup is a little convoluted, there's a musty, yearning charm to this story. Ages 12-up. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.
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The holiday season is a tough, pressure-filled time for all, because how on earth do you find that perfect gift for every loved one? And by “perfect gift,” I obviously mean “perfect book,” because I’m not a monster. The choice is hard, so rather than make it myself, I tortured 15 fabulous YA authors with the question: […]
What better way to learn more about a people (or, in Divergent’s case, a faction) than by studying its most cherished books? To that end, we’ve risked life and limb to bring you this top-secret list of required reads for all 5 factions of Veronica Roth’s bestselling Divergent trilogy. Do you consider yourself Dauntless, but secretly […]
More than half of the young adult books sold in the US are bought by adults—adults who 78% of the time are buying the books for themselves, not a teen. So why are you still hiding your copy of Divergent under a dust jacket for the latest Louise Erdrich? We know that’s not Nietzsche on […]
In 2011, The Near Witch appeared in bookstores—the debut novel by a young author named Victoria Schwab. Though it received some enthusiastic early reviews—and found devoted fans—it was quite unlike the books that were hitting the YA bestseller list at the time, and didn’t perform strongly enough to warrant the publication of a sequel. Within […]
Throughout her career, V.E. Schwab proven to have a keen grasp on the elements that make fantasy fascinating. Inspired by the tropes of comic books, the Villains series churns with the malevolent energy of the antihero. The Shades of Magic trilogy focuses on scope—the story plays out across the challenging playground of four parallel Londons—but doesn’t […]