The City of Plagues and Perfumes - by Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

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 devastating plagues that sweep through their 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 for Nia 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.

The Inquisitor's Tale meets Impossible Creatures 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 perilous plague.

About the Author

Jake Halpern is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose work can be found in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. With co-author Peter Kujawinski, he has written five young adult novels, including the New York Times bestseller, Nightfall. He is also a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and This American Life and teaches journalism at Yale University in New Haven, where he lives.

Peter Kujawinski is a journalist, author and former American foreign service officer who is a frequent contributor to The New York Times. With co-author Jake Halpern, he has written five young adult novels, including the New York Times bestseller, Nightfall.