Sentence Sneak Peek - The Archived

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

The first sentence from each chapter of The Archived, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

“THE NARROWS remind me of August nights in the South.”

“THERE IS NOTHING fresh about this start.”

“I’m ELEVEN, AND you are sitting across from me at the table, talking under the sound of dishes in the kitchen.”

“GET WHAT YOU WANTED from the car?”

“BEYOND THE BEDROOM, the apartment is still, but as I slip into the hall I see a faint line of light along the bottom of my parents’ door.”

“I TRACE MY FINGERS over the dates, and it is last year again and I’m sitting in one of those hospital chairs that look like they might actually be comfortable but they’re not because there’s nothing comfortable about hospitals.”

“I YAWN AS ROLAND leads me back through the Archive.”

“I AM ELEVEN, and you are stronger than you look.”

“I AM A MESS.”

“THERE IS A GIRL sitting on a bed, knees pulled up beneath her chin.”

“I LINGER A MOMENT in the garden after Wes is gone, savoring the taste of our confessions on my tongue, the small defiance of sharing a secret.”

“YOU HOLD OUT the slip of paper you keep rolled behind your ear.”

“THE NEXT DAY Melanie Allen.”

“CLASSICAL MUSIC WHISPERS through the circular antechamber of the Archive.”

“LIST CLEARED, I head back to the coffee shop, ready to save Wesley Ayers from the perils of domestic labor.”

“ANGELA PRICE is easy enough to find, and despite her being very upset, and mistaking me for her dead best friend, which of course only adds to her distress, I usher her back to Returns with little more than cunning lies and a few hugs.”

“I CAN’T EVEN TELL if the sun is up yet.”

“I TENSE.”

“MOM SAYS there’s nothing a hot shower can’t fix, but I’ve been steaming up the bathroom for half an hour and I’m no closer to fixing anything.”

“I TAKE THE STAIRWELL up to the roof access door, which looks rusted shut, but it’s not.”

“I PEER OUT the Narrows door and into the hall, making sure the coast is clear before I step through the wall and back onto the third floor of the Coronado, sliding my ring on.”

“I’M SITTIN ON THE SWINGS in our backyard, rocking from heel to toe, heel to toe, while you pick slivers of wood off the frame.”

“I GASP AND JERK MY HAND BACK, but it’s too late.”

“I CANNOT STAY HERE forever, buried under Owen’s touch.”

“WESLEY AYERS is being too nice.”

“FOR ONE TERRIBLE, terrifying moment, I don’t know what to do.”

“I KNOW THIS ROOM.”

“WESLEY IS LATE.”

“WESLEY SLAMS the stairwell door, and I turn and punch the wall, hard enough to dent the faded yellow paper, pain rolling up my hand.”

“THE WEEK before you die, I can see it coming.”

“A SCREAM RISES in my throat as Owen pulls the knife free and Wesley collapses to the concrete.”

“THE DAY BEFORE YOU DIE, I ask if you’re afraid.”

“THE DAY YOU DIE, you tell me I have a gift.”

“AGATHA, THE ASSESSOR.”

“BISHOP’S IS PACKED with people.”