The Scent Keeper

Book cover of The Scent Keeper

Book description

Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won't explain are the mysterious scents stored in the drawers that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them.…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Scent Keeper as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rachel Herz

Author

My reading list this year led me to discover that my favorite books blend science with fiction, and never has a book done it better for me than The Scent Keeper.

This is a lyrical coming-of-age adventure married to an ode to the sense of smell. I was initially afraid to read this book because I didn’t want to find scientific errors or to be preached at, but I discovered the exact opposite. This book captures the personal experience of scent more evocatively, accurately, and insightfully than anything I have ever read, either in science or fiction.

I was…

From Rachel's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Kerry Anne King

Author

This is such a gorgeous and immersive book. Emmeline’s love for both her father and the remote island they live on called up for me my adoration of my own father and the farm of my childhood. But what’s particularly glorious about this book is the way the author explores the way fragrance has the power to call up memories—and turns it into magic. The Scent Keeper has all the other essential elements of books that I love as well—beautiful writing, a touch of romance, flawed characters growing into themselves and a deeper understanding of the world, and, of course,…

From Kerry's list on set on atmospheric fictional islands.