If you loved the multiple POVs of We Are Not Free - or in general - and don't mind some fantasy, then you have to read Kindling. Featuring a cast of characters which will make a place in your heart, Kindling is about those who were necessary, who aren't anymore. Those we needed in times of war, weapons we crafted out of necessity and cruelty, but now that we've all 'moved on' are discarded. Meant to pick up their broken pieces, to reconcile their actions with this new world, alone. Kindling is about what happens when we are promised a future and it's broken. When our violent purposes is removed, when then?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Kindling is a wonderful story with great writing and wordbuilding. The plot and story were engaging and fun.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy.

Kindling was a fun read, great worldbuilding and amazing plot.

Kindling by Traci Chee
Children waging war are also at the center of Chee’s Kindling, a story that borrows from the mythos of Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. Here, the war is over, and the children who were trained to fight in it, to wield their magical, fiery blades against their enemies, have been told to disband. There is no place for them in a world on the edge of peace. Their magic is too dangerous to be remembered. That’s where the story opens, as Leum, one of these warriors—the kindling—is traveling to the edges of his nation, hoping for something better outside its borders.

But when he rescues a young girl from being attacked, he becomes embroiled in a greater rescue mission. Now, seven kindling will have one last chance to fight for something worth saving—or give what’s left of their lives to a cause worth dying for.

The novel very much has the same historical feel as The Seven Samurai, but with magic and different politics playing out. But Chee chooses to introduce readers to that world in an innovative, second-person voice. The story is being told to Leum from the voice of his fellow kindling who died in battle, the ghosts who follow him to narrate his story. It’s not clear if he can hear them—nor if any of the kindling whose story they tell are aware they even exist. But by telling the story through the united voices of ghosts, Chee steeps the story in the death that came before, and the cost of war, especially for the young. It gives the tale—a heroic story—a richness and depth that fans of Kurosawa (or of other films that take inspiration from it, like The Magnificent Seven) will absolutely appreciate.

This has such a fascinating concept and the overall set up - I loved seeing the different character POVs and seeing how these teenagers who have been brought up in a war healed from the trauma and discovered themselves.

Kindlings once fought on the front lines of the war, their self-destructive magical powers determining the fate of the world. But sending teenagers to fight is now seen as an embarrassing relic of the past: their magic has been outlawed, and the remaining kindlings struggle to find their place in this new society. When the chance arises for them to fight one last time, seven war-scarred kindlings take their place once again to try to finally achieve peace — and hopefully make it out alive. This includes a sapphic romance and a nonbinary character.

I really wanted to like this 7 Samurai retelling, and it was cool to read a book in second person, but I couldn't differentiate the characters because of that, and I didn't care about anyone, and I just really hated this overall.

I hesitated picking Kindling up for the sole reason that it's told in second person POV. While I still did struggle with the POV, I'm very glad I read through as it's a beautifully crafted action packed tale of seven children who have been groomed to be warriors. As child warriors, they are very much aware of not just of their loss of a childhood, but also that they are Kindling - they can quickly start a raging inferno but they burn out just as fast.

It did take me a while to fall in love with this tale, especially since there are seven characters I needed to learn to love. And yet by the halfway point, I was invested in all their stories. The heartbreak each of the characters go through as the plot moves onward really blew me away. This YA novel had the best of found families written by an author who not only has richly built this unique world, but who was also unafraid to make necessary sacrifices.

(+) Japanese American author, lots of QPOC characters (sapphic, trans, etc)

I had to sit with this one a little bit after finishing it. In Kindling we follow a group of warriors (definite found family aspects in some ways) who were trained from childhood to wield magic and fight in a war. Since the war ended they are adrift in a way since that is all they have ever really known. Though the individual characters were in similar situations being Kindlings, some of them had vastly different experiences, which was really interesting to see. They are all dealing with their own issues, there's lots of touches on PTSD and what war has done to them. It's shocking to realize throughout the book that these are all teenagers, not adults, because they were dealing with and processing very difficult and traumatizing things. The only part of this book that I didn't really love (and this is totally a me thing) is that its 2nd person and that's not something I personally love. Also, I felt some characters were far more fleshed out than others, which made it feel like I didn't really know some of them, but those that were well developed were wonderful. I would enjoy seeing more in this world and seeing more world building upon what has already been established, but it's also a complete story in and of itself.

I loved this! It's not often I read a book in 2nd person POV, partially because I know it is hard to do well. The choice to have the book narrated by the ghosts of other kindlings was so powerful! I found all of the characters tenderly portrayed and the story haunting. One of the best books I've read this year!

“I’m done with violence. / “You’re a kindling. Violence is part of you, whether you like it or not.”

Kindling, the new standalone novel from bestselling author Traci Chee, transports readers into a vividly imagined world where echoes of a cruel war between Amerand and Vedran territories still reverberate through the lives of the protagonists of this story. The kindlings—magic wielding child warriors—now find themselves adrift in a society that deemed them unuseful and unlawful and unless they chose to surrender, they are bound to be outcasts that have to survive on their own, with a threat that they’ll be killed if they were to disturb the peace their society had achieved after the war. The now young adults are left to navigate this post-war existence as they battle the loss of their youth and are struggling to find their true identities and purpose whilst also finding meaning beyond the roles of being weapons which they had been forced to embody.

Amidst this backdrop of uncertainty and longing, a new threat emerges bringing together a diverse group of seven kindlings whose fates will be intertwined by their shared trauma. As they spend time in a humble village they’ve sworn to protect from this new menace, they will embark on a personal journey of self-discovery and redemption that will lead them to forging strong bonds with each other.

The wordbuilding of this story is easy enough to understand and the plot is interesting as well, although, at its core this is a strong character driven novel. Every single character is unique and multifaceted, each with their own intricate personalities, morals, and struggles. The author is great at making the reader feel a mix of complex emotions through the brutality, trauma and heartbreak these group of kindlings go through. Among all this darkness, there’s a beacon of hope: the power of found family. As the kindlings forge deeper bonds and relationships with one another as well as with the village inhabitants, they will find their own healing journing, confronting their own prejudices and fears along the way.

Written in the intimate second-person perspective the author invites the readers to immerse themselves fully in this world blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Whilst the choice of narrative style may be divisive—you either love or hate it—its integrated seamlessly and does serve to make the reader more participant of the story and drawing them deeper into the emotional aspect of the story.

In essence, with echoes to our current world, Kindling is a gender-bent reimagining of Seven Samurai (1954) and its remake The Magnificent Seven (1960) infused with a fresh perspective and diverse group of characters. This novel is a poignant exploration of the enduring scars of war rendered with sensitivity and nuance; a tale of loss, war, grief and healing full of yearning and angst throughout traumatic and gruelling events.

Trigger warnings: death, addiction, child soldiers, broken families…

I hadn’t read anything by Traci Chee before picking up this book, so I had no idea what to expect. I’ve heard good things about her other books, so she’s been an author I’ve wanted to read for a while.

The very first pages absolutely hooked me. Right away, I knew I was reading about a character who’d survived a war and was traveling, trying to get to a particular, important place. As the setting and history of the world became clear, I couldn’t help needing to know more about these young warriors who’d been forced to use magic in a war they didn’t choose and then cast aside and forgotten after the war ended.

The story follows seven points of view, which is pretty ambitious. That’s a lot of POVs to keep track of as a reader, and I’m sure it was a lot of details and backstories to keep straight as a writer– I’m in awe of Chee’s ability to do that.

The book is also written in second person, using “you” pronouns. For the most part, I loved that. It made me feel like I was right there in the middle of the book. Like the narrator was talking directly to me, relating what was happening as it went down. I think because the last quarter or so of the book is essentially an extended action sequence, this helped keep that from being exhausting or feeling like it dragged at all.

The only downside, to me, is that I had a really hard time keeping track of some of the characters. I didn’t feel like I got a lot of visual details about any of them, because it’s like, as the reader, you’re looking out through your eyes into the story, if that makes sense

I love that the author shared this reimagining of The Seven Samurai– and I especially love that she chose to recreate the story without male main characters. It’s so rare to see a cast like this, and I enjoyed that a lot. I think Chee took a lot of risks in the way she chose to tell this story, and for me, they really paid off. I think readers who enjoy fantasy inspired by Japanese history or folklore will enjoy this one.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

An amazingly complex story. It's slow and contemplative, a bit meandering. The stakes are high but this isn't reflected in the pacing. Instead, it's entirely character driven, each chapter digging deep into a character's thoughts and motivations. Their damage. It's a book to linger over and contemplate.

A group of Kindling soldiers come together to fight one last battle. These teenagers have been trained to wield magic that can burn them out but they have a strong sense of duty and each have their own reasons for joining this last fight. Overall, an emotional story told from many points of view that shows they have something to prove but are also just looking to live and find peace. The book is told in second person and switches points of view, which can be confusing at first as the characters are introduced.

I love Traci Chee with all my heart. She has delivered such a fascinating world, and the narration is so unique.

Kindling is different from Chee's previous novels. It was slower in pace and not as quick to grab my attention. However, this did not make it any less consuming. I was fully absorbed into the lives of all seven kindling: Leum, Amity, Ket, Emara, Kanver, Ben, and Siddie.

Kindling are children with magical abilities and forced to become soldiers at the expense of their lives--each use of their magic shortens their lifespan. With the war over, they are forced to become civilians again, expected to readjust to a life they no longer remember or never had. One by one these seven kindling are gathered together to fight one last battle to save a village from outlaws.

The book is a heartwrenching one as each shares their story. They try to keep their feelings hidden from one another, but they are all so similar. The restlessness. The feelings of uselessness. The fear of letting others in. I badly wanted them to find solace in each other. Eventually, their shared experiences and the trauma they carry unite them, and they gradually become a family without realizing it.

One of the hardest parts was coming to care for each character and knowing that Traci Chee has is not afraid to kill off characters--my heart still aches from The Reader trilogy after all this time. I was terrified because the characters had embedded themselves in me so deeply I felt their pain, their longing for companionship, for belonging, and most of all for a place to call home. By the end, I was bawling.

I have yet to be disappointed by anything Chee writes. Kindling is no exception. A retelling of Seven Samurai, this is perfect for those who seek out character-driven novels and stories that center trauma and searching for belonging. (4.5 stars rounded to 5 stars)

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

Kindling is a YA fantasy perfect for those who love the Hunger Games and Iron Widow. What happens to soldiers once the war is over? Kindlings fought as children because their magic was prone to burn out and they would die before they were out of their teens. A diverse group of these heroes find themselves facing down a group of bandits to protect a small village. Each of them have their own reasons for being there, and they know they might not see the end of the battle.

I really wanted to finish this book but I could not get past the 2nd person POV. It was especially confusing since every chapter is a new character and there are multiple characters. The story was so promising too. The writing style just wasn’t for me.

I was intrigued by the second person, greek chorus-esque voice of this one, but it blurred the distinctions between the ensemble cast, which quickly became confusing. cool concept, but i didn’t end up connecting with the execution.