From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a standalone 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.

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Now the war is over, and kindlings have been cast adrift--their magic outlawed, their skills outdated, their formidable balar weapons prized only as relics and souvenirs.

Violence still plagues the countryside, 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.

From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes 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.

Author: Traci Chee
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 02/27/2024
Pages: 432
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9780063269354
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2024
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2024
Booklist 02/01/2024 pg. 60
Publishers Weekly 02/19/2024
School Library Journal 03/01/2024 pg. 91