A Tale of Plagues and Perfumes

Twelve-year-old Nia keeps her extraordinary sense of smell secret, worried that widespread knowledge of her ability would brand her as a Sinsory, a group of people with supernaturally strong senses who use their gifts to save the world from periodic plagues. But as whispers of a new outbreak spread throughout Nia’s city of Yerat, Nia is summoned to the Cloister, a windowless desert tower in which Sinsory children train to hone their skills. There, Nia befriends Lime, a girl with uncanny taste, and Lowe, a boy who can read minds through touch. When the rumored plague strikes, Nia must help develop an antidote by determining the right blend of scents, but after her first attempt goes awry and her test subject dies, she and her friends escape the Cloister in a bold gambit to uncover the plague’s source and its cure. In this relentlessly paced adventure, previous collaborators Halpern and Kujawinski (Edgeland) explore a water-starved desert setting that’s seemingly perpetually on the edge of disaster and home to a society seized by paranoia, desperation, and fiscal inequality. A wealth of sensate details grants the story a vivid atmosphere against which intrepid heroes quest to save their friends, family, and home. Nia is described as having tan skin; Lime and Lowe read as white. Ages 10–14. Agent (for Halpern and Kujawinski): Janine Kamouh, WME. (Jan.)

Update: The text of this review has been edited for clarity.