“People are made up of so many small details. Some—like the smell of cookies baking—we can recreate. Or at least try.”
- The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
- Genre(s): Young adult, urban fantasy, supernatural, mystery
- My rating: 5/5 stars
- Began reading: December 28th, 2017
- Finished reading: January 8th, 2017
Wow.
This book was everything I could have hoped for and more. It had the same gritty, twisty plot and poignant, dark aesthetic that comes with the territory of Victoria Schwab’s books, and I was LIVING for every second of it.
The Unbound takes place right after the end of The Archived. Mackenzie Bishop, our bold protagonist, starts school at Hyde School, a prestigious private school in her city. After the events of the last book, however, we get a glimpse into her psyche–nightmares of Owen, the hungry-for-freedom History, terrorizes her dreams and further complicates and takes its toll on her well-being.
Along with very staggeringly real nightmares, Mackenzie links disappearances of regular humans–all who have come into contact with her in some way–and the Archive together in an array of mysteries that she feels she needs to solve.
One thing that I really commend this novel for is the way that Victoria is able to weave in subtle pieces of evidence while keeping up the ruse of the “unreliable narrator”. Mackenzie’s nightmares and the spiral of her mental health in this novel all add up to the air of mystery that is created in The Unbound and because she is so compromised, it really drives the reader to investigate and think of anything strange as a clue. I know for myself, I had many theories and ideas about the strange kidnapper fabricated in my mind before finding out the rest of the storyline.
Throughout the novel, there is a reoccurrence of many scenes that made The Archived so coveted in my heart. Grief and coping with loved ones that have passed away is a theme that I really appreciate, and it carries over to this sequel with such grace. Passages about Da and the gritty memories that Mackenzie has of him are interesting to read and add a dynamic to the book that really brings out the wistful melancholic undertones of the words on the page.
Another theme that I enjoyed was the idea of trust. Mackenzie and Wesley’s relationship springs to mind when talking about this, and man, I loved the slow-burn romance that went along with them, but the thing that I really enjoyed the most was the concept of trust between these two teenagers.
Character development was something that knocked this novel out of the park. While we get the dark side of Mackenzie’s struggles and how she comes to form her own opinions about the Archive and the things happening around them, we also get a softer side of Wesley; while we still get his humour and charm, we also see him really caring deeply, really being a passionate individual. Along with this, the characters that are introduced in this book really get me curious; Cash was adorable, I loved Courtney and her fascination with mysteries, and Safia grew on me by the time I’d finished reading.
Overall, this book was everything I needed and more. I know that there’s talk about a sequel some time in the near (or far) future, but honestly, even if we didn’t get one, this book ended perfectly. This is definitely going in my favourites.
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