Smoke

Smoke is set in an alternate 19th century England, where people's sinful thoughts and feelings are manifested in different types of smoke emanating from their bodies. Society is ruled by the noble elite, who supposedly do not smoke, while everyone else is doomed to be stained by the evidence of their unworthiness.

Three of the main characters are boys in an elite school where they are supposed to learn to control their smoke–their clothes are inspected each day for evidence of failure, and punishments are meted out. The fourth main character, Livia, is the daughter of a highly prestigious family who has nearly mastered her smoke when the three boys from the boarding school arrive at her home.

It's hard to categorize the story. It is partly a mystery, because the main characters learn that what they have been taught about their history and religion is not true. They are led to question what smoke really is, and how England's powerful elite have turned it to their benefit. It is partly an adventure story or a quest, because the three friends set off to try to learn more about some of the mysterious aspects of their society and to uncover any wrong doing if they can. There are aspects of romance and horror, too.

The characters' view of the nature of smoke becomes more nuanced as the story progresses. The friends meet coal miners who are not phased by being covered with soot, and one in particular who says he looks forward to sharing his sweetheart's smoke on their wedding day. Later in the story there is a character who truly doesn't smoke–he is unable to–and he is pitied.

I'm not sure questions are answered by the end of the book, but it's imaginative and well written. I really enjoyed reading it.