Name: Archival Quality
ISBN: 9781620104705

Ivy Noelle Weir

After losing her job at the library, Cel Walden starts working at the haunting Logan Museum as an archivist. But the job may not be the second chance she was hoping for, and she finds herself confronting her mental health, her relationships, and before long, her grasp on reality as she begins to dream of a young woman she's never met, but feels strangely drawn to. Especially after she asks Cel for help… As Cel attempts to learn more about the woman, she begins losing time, misplacing things, passing out—the job is becoming dangerous, but she can't let go of this mysterious woman. Who is she? Why is she so fixated on Cel? And does Cel have the power to save her when she's still trying to save herself?

Archival Quality

Matthew Royal

Very strong perspective on medical ethics that I don't necessarily agree with, but is food for thought. I was hoping for more library art, but it was an enjoyable style.

Maggie Gordon

I mistakenly thought this book was aimed towards much younger readers, but it has a rather dark plot about the damages of ableism in regards to those with mental illness. Don't let the soft, cute artwork trick you! There's some really interesting stuff being discussed in these pages, though I do wish the author had pushed a bit far in some of the themes. Really interesting and unique find in the YA graphic novel world.

Callie Anna

Archivist is my dream job, so I thrilled to read this. Unfortunately, the story isn’t very well written so it leaves a lot to be desired. I hope the author and illustrator keep working though!

Ingrid 

** An ARC is generously provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

This graphic novel is about Celeste who starts a new job as an archivist at a museum. Strange things starts to happen at this museum and she tries to figure out what's going on. It also focuses on mental health.

The story took a while to get into, but I really wanted to figure out what was going to happen at the end. When I finally got into the story I was really enjoying it. Unfortunately I was very disappointed by the "big reveal" at the end. I didn't really care for the main character, but found some of the side characters likeable. The art style was a bit simplistic for my taste. When it comes to the mental health aspect, I feel a bit divided. I feel as though both Celeste and her boyfriend were portrayed with good intentions, even though their opinions were different. 

All in all, not for me. A good concept, but I felt that it didn't reach it's full potential.

Ken Yuen

I have fairly mixed feelings about the book. The ghost story was certainly mysterious, and the people felt real. And that was part of the problem. They felt too real. You know those friends that you're kind of friends with, but kinda not because they might have issues that kind of make them not fun to be around? It's like every character in book was one of those types.

It makes me feel bad and judgmental, but that's the impression I get from these people. Which is problematic, since the greatest fault of these characters is they're flawed human beings. It was just upsetting, because the reason there was conflict is because sometimes it sucks for people to deal with each other, and that's just how it is.

The mystery itself kind of ends unsatisfactorily. The truth is exposed to a small group of people. No one who does anything wrong is caught or punished. At best, we can hope the protagonist gets some help and becomes a more whole person in the future.

Lauren Sullivan

There’s definitely something creepy about certain old museums and libraries, and the thought of a ghost story set in one with a main character dealing with mental illness was very intriguing. While it delivers on some of my expectations, unfortunately on some, it fell short of the mark for me.

After a nervous breakdown at work caused Cel to lose her job as a librarian, she’s somewhat relieved to find an opening as an archival assistant at a museum. Surprisingly enough, it comes with an apartment located on-site, since the job has to occur at night during the museum’s off hours. While at first Cel is hesitant about it, it’s slim pickings, as she doesn’t have a degree, and it seems like the move will give her some space from her well-meaning but suffocating boyfriend. As she settles in to her job, strange things start happening – creepy noises, items moved or misplaced, weird dreams. Her new boss is strange and distant, and her other coworker is obviously not telling her everything. Is a ghost behind all the weird happenings, and if so, why has it chosen Cel?

I thought the mental illness aspect – both contemporary and historical – was handled well, and I empathized with Cel a lot. I put off therapy and medication for years, and I understood her prickly reactions to those close to her. Sometimes, the last thing you want when you’re depressed is someone who wants to “try to make it all better” or “fix you” or thinks making silly jokes will suddenly make everything alright. My favorite part was when the ghost was acting up and basically trashing the place. Aba is hesitant to help out the ghost due to her violent tendencies, while Cel disagrees with him, telling him that she’s angry – and she should be! This really resonated with me, especially with all the conversations being led by women (#MeToo, Women’s March, etc) where they’re being told the equivalent of “well, yeah, your message is good, but can’t you be more polite about it?” Sometimes, anger isn’t just understandable, it’s absolutely necessary.



Cel’s attempts to help the ghost are hindered by her own and others’ perceptions of her mental illness – that it’s all in her head. Holly, her supervisor, has the best response – helping Cel try to figure out who the ghost is won’t cause any harm, so she supports her and helps her without making her think she’s being ridiculous.

While I liked the art, it sometimes didn’t work with the creepiness of the story for me. I thought the color palette was wonderful, but the cartoony nature of it was more distracting. Just not my cup of tea for this particular genre. However, I especially loved the diverse character designs, and Holly, with her purple and blue hair and chic wardrobe, as my favorite. She also has my favorite panel in the whole comic:



The explanation for the ghost’s anger and resolution of that were hinted at very well in the story, but I found parts of the resolution ((view spoiler)[what happened with the board members (hide spoiler)]) unsatisfying. Overall, though, this was a quick and creepy read, with a lot of hidden depth.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Jelke Lenaerts

Galley provided by Netgalley

I really enjoyed this. I only feel like the ending could have had a bit more explaining as well as some characters for me to really care about them. The fact that the main character had a breakdown was mentioned so many times but we didn't really get any explenation as toward what exactly happened and I feel like we just needed that to understand her and her connection with the ghost more.