Sixteen-year-old Mackenzie Bishop is a Keeper; she works with the Archive, where Histories (the bodies of the dead) are filed away in a huge library. Periodically, a History will wake and try to get back to the Outer (our world) through the Narrows, a maze of hallways with doors that lead into both the Outer and the Archives' Returns. Keepers are charged with preventing them from reaching our world and sending them back to their sleep. The Archives are ruled by Librarians, who maintain order by sending Keepers to dispatch escaped Histories. Mac is torn between Wesley, a fellow Keeper, and Owen, a mysterious History who seems to understand her better than anyone. The nonlinear exposition includes the unexpected death of Mac's little brother, Ben, and her beloved grandfather championing her training as a Keeper. Schwab gently but determinedly examines the impact of grief on a family, as Mac and her parents struggle to accept the death of a child. It's an intriguing view of the afterlife, and the thoughtful exploration of death and our reactions to it will draw readers and promote discussion.

Mackenzie's job is to return the wakeful dead to the Archive, a repository of all human memory. Persuading the dead to return to their rightful resting place often involves kick-ass combat, but this is no common policing-the-supernatural romantic thriller: Schwab writes of death, sorrow, and family love with a light, intelligent touch and inventive vigor.

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. (Jan.)

Gr 9 Up-Mackenzie was just 11 when her Da passed along the heavy responsibility of being a "Keeper": one in charge of returning Histories to the Archive. A History is a sort of ghost, but more like a copy of a dead person's life. Librarians keep every History on a shelf, in a complex and rigid order. But every once in a while one slips (becomes restless and crazed) and escapes the orderly Archive into the chaos of the Narrows-a lightless series of corridors filled with doors. A Keeper's role is to return the Histories to the Archive lest they escape into the real world. When her family moves to an old hotel turned apartment building called the Coronado after the tragic death of her beloved little brother, Mac's workload of wandering Histories begins increasing exponentially. Plus, she meets a strange-looking Goth guy named Wes who shocks her by confessing that he, too, is a Keeper, and she begins to bond with him. Soon the ordered quiet of the Archive is booming with the noise of escaped Histories, and there appears to be a saboteur. Mac uncovers a dark secret held in the walls of the Coronado. Something terrible happened there and great lengths have been taken to cover it up. Stranger still is Owen, whom Mac encounters in the Narrows, a History who is not on her list and somehow has not yet slipped. Schwab skillfully manages that rare accomplishment: a spine-tingling, supernatural, ghostly mystery that is fully believable. A writer to watch for sure-sequel please! Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ