A TALE OF PLAGUES AND PERFUMES

A girl must use her supernatural sense of smell to stop a plague.

People born with magically powerful senses are known as Sinsories, a corrupted form of the original word, Sensories, which reflects superstitious views that they’re “sinful and evil.” Fear of violence has made Nia hide her powerful nose her entire life—conveniently, the masks people wear as protection against sand and dust keep others from noticing when it twitches. But when the Ghost Ship brings a new plague, Nia is recruited to the Cloister, a Sinsory school that uses students’ gifts to combat plagues. This new scent-based plague requires Sinsories to identify and counter its component odors to create a curefume. The worldbuilding is phenomenally enjoyable, inventive, and thought-provoking while providing plenty of tension; scientific approaches to combating illness as well as supernatural versions of the real world, including sensory experiences (synesthesia, eidetic memory), coexist in a society that’s heavily rooted in superstition. Further tension comes from the Cloister’s interpersonal politics. When the first attempt at the curefume tosses additional obstacles in the way of Nia and her Sinsory friends, they’re forced to undertake drastic measures to find a cure in time to protect loved ones on the outside. The suitably heroic ending protects the young characters despite the plague’s death toll. Black-haired, tan-skinned Nia has experienced extreme poverty. Sometimes the book’s plentiful racial diversity is linked to in-world geography, which doesn’t map to real-world parallels.

A refreshingly original magical medical mystery that’s also just plain fun.