“A stunningly original fantasy world that will blow your mind." —Eoin Colfer, #1 New York Times-bestselling author"A delightful, redolent adventure—I couldn’t put it down! . . . I’ll never sniff a spice drawer the same way again." —Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Book of BoyImpossible Creatures meets The Inquisitor's Tale in this immersive middle grade fantasy adventure that follows a girl who must use her remarkable sense of smell to save the world from a terrifying plague.Every scent tells a story.The last thing Nia wants is to be branded a "Sinsory." Where she comes from, that's just as deadly as the plagues that sweep through the land. That's why she keeps her unusually keen sense of smell a secret. Only two people in the city of Yerat know of her special abilities: her beloved Auntie and her best friend, Fox. But when the worst plague in a century hits their desert continent, all of that suddenly changes.An invitation arrives in the shape of a jar of blackcurrant jam. Nia is asked to attend the Cloister, a select and secluded school for children with heightened senses. There she meets Scentiers, like her, but also Gazers, Whisper-Gatherers, and many more, whose sensory powers go far beyond what regular folk can smell, see, or hear.It's there that Nia learns her nose knows far more than she ever dreamed . . . maybe enough to find the cure for the plague. Or even sniff out the sinister secrets hiding in the Cloister's walls.
