Kindling

By: Traci Chee

Narrated by: Catherine Ho, Jeanne Syquia, Amielynn Abellera, Allison Hiroto, Erika Ishii, Joy Osmanski, Ferdelle Capistrano

From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a stand-alone fantasy set against a war-ravaged world where kindling warfare—the use of elite, magic-wielding teenage soldiers—has been outlawed. In this rich and evocative novel, seven kindlings search for purpose and identity as they prepare for one final battle. For fans of the classic films Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.

A Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist

A Kirkus Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far)

An ALA Rainbow Round Table Top Ten Title for Teens

An SLJ Best Book

A Booklist Editor’s Choice

Four starred reviews!

Once, the war was fought with kindlings—elite, magic-wielding warriors whose devastating power comes at the cost of their own young lives. Now the war is over, and kindlings have been cast adrift.

Violence still plagues the countryside, though, and memories haunt those who remain. When a village comes under threat of siege, it offers an opportunity for seven kindlings to fight one last time. But war changed these warriors. And to reclaim who they once were, they will have to battle their pasts, their trauma, and their grim fates to come together again—or none of them will make it out alive.

Traci Chee brilliantly crafts a gut-wrenching, introspective fantasy about seven lost soldiers searching for the peace they once fought for and the future in which they’re finally daring to believe.

Quite Depressing but Engaging

As a big fan of both Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, I was pretty clued in to how this story was going to play out, so the ending wasn't a surprise or as much of a gut punch as it was for other readers in my book club. And while Chee did a terrific job of capturing the trauma and tragedy of this classic redemption tale, she struggled to replicate the charm of the source material and the cheery comradery of the seven warriors that is so captivating in the films. I think some of this may have been because of the odd second-person POV that didn't have any discernible purpose in the story. That, along with the seven different perspectives, made the story difficult to follow for many in our group, and I did feel fortunate to have the advantage of the distinctive narrators in the audiobook. As an homage this book does succeed, but as it's own story it fell a bit flat.