The Seller of Secrets
A girl uncovers the truth about her family and community in Sheri Yutzy’s atmospheric fantasy novel The Seller of Secrets.
Bell is a scentmaker who lives on the island of Bardia, where some people have elemental magical powers. Bell has a powerful gift for controlling plants and creating magical elixirs. Meanwhile, her sister, Roza, contends with a deadly disease following a childhood accident.
One night, Roza takes Bell to the Night Bazaar—a market where unauthorized magic users sell their wares. Bell overhears a suspicious conversation between Roza’s fiancé and a guard for the mysterious Seller of Secrets. Hoping to heal her sister and save her from a controlling marriage, Bell teams up with one of the Seller’s spies to learn secrets and search for a cure.
Bell’s interactions with magic are described in evocative terms, as with descriptions of the smells of the elixirs, the clouds above them, and the feeling of Bell’s gift in her body. As her strength grows, the descriptions of magic become more vivid. In time, Bell is able to parse through the different elements of an elixir by both sight and smell.
The characters are complex and well rounded, with layered motivations. Bell is sometimes confused about whom she can trust as a result. Her friend helps her get in touch with the Seller but also has a plan to leave Bardia that makes Bell wary. Bell’s teacher wants Bell to cultivate her gift but does not want her to use illegal magic to find a cure for her sister’s illness. These contending motivations add to the book’s eerie atmosphere.
In the enigmatic fantasy novel The Seller of Secrets, a girl grows into her magical abilities amid a search for understanding.
Reviewed by
Julia Dillman
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