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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I love that Gene Luen Yang writes fiction to entertain AND educate. It drives me crazy is that so much historical fiction requires extensive background knowledge and then you can't fully appreciate the story. GLY reveals important historical facts throughout the narrative without seeming like a Scholastic True Book. He doesn't assume you already know anything about turn of the 20th century socio-politics in rural China.
This was recommended to me, and I needed to fill a prompt for my reading challenge, so I picked it up. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I just really don't respond well to graphic novels. It's not you, it's me.
2016 reading challenge: a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years
2016 reading challenge: a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Boxers is the first of a two-part graphic novel series by Gene Luen Yang about the Boxer Rebellion in China. Although it is historical fiction, it has a hint of fantasy to it where the reader has to suspend their disbelief in order to enjoy the story. Yang is a fantastic storyteller, so he is able to weave the narratively beautifully and engage readers, even if they don't normally gravitate towards historical fiction. I felt that it was an incredibly approachable way to tell the story without it being dry.
As this graphic novel is based on a rebellion and a particularly bloody one at that it can be expected that this is a violent series. Although the art style isn't overly gory, there are an incredible amount of deaths in this book whether by sword or bullet and would not be for the faint of heart. Even though it was realistic, I wish that less of the characters that we grow to know over the course of the graphic novel died - so that we could see their true development. It is true to the events of the Boxer Rebellion and there are book recommendations at the end to lead to further reading.
The main character in Boxers is Little Bao, a boy who loves the opera and the stories of the gods depicted on stage each Spring. We meet him in 1894 and part ways with him in 1900, after watching him learn and grow through struggles and triumphs. He begins the story as a likeable character that readers will connect to, unlike his brothers and we are able to experience his character development over the years. He learns from various teachers about himself, his people, and has to become a leader. It was also heartbreaking to see the repercussions of many of the decisions that he made, as you watched his innocence and childhood slip away.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and learning more about the Boxer Rebellion in an engaging format. I also like Boxers more than I liked its counterpart, Saints but it was interesting to see how the stories were interwoven and told two different perspectives of the same time in history.
As this graphic novel is based on a rebellion and a particularly bloody one at that it can be expected that this is a violent series. Although the art style isn't overly gory, there are an incredible amount of deaths in this book whether by sword or bullet and would not be for the faint of heart. Even though it was realistic, I wish that less of the characters that we grow to know over the course of the graphic novel died - so that we could see their true development. It is true to the events of the Boxer Rebellion and there are book recommendations at the end to lead to further reading.
The main character in Boxers is Little Bao, a boy who loves the opera and the stories of the gods depicted on stage each Spring. We meet him in 1894 and part ways with him in 1900, after watching him learn and grow through struggles and triumphs. He begins the story as a likeable character that readers will connect to, unlike his brothers and we are able to experience his character development over the years. He learns from various teachers about himself, his people, and has to become a leader. It was also heartbreaking to see the repercussions of many of the decisions that he made, as you watched his innocence and childhood slip away.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and learning more about the Boxer Rebellion in an engaging format. I also like Boxers more than I liked its counterpart, Saints but it was interesting to see how the stories were interwoven and told two different perspectives of the same time in history.
I am honestly not sure if this is historical fiction or non-fiction. Whatever it is, it was a great read. I am not really a history buff, nor am I particularly interested in Chinese history. The themes in this book, however, are accessible and the characters are developed.
There are few, if any, clearly good or bad characters in this book. That makes for both engaging reading and a great classroom discussion, if you wanted to use it in a class. As far as classroom use goes, it remains PG (well, except for a lot of murder — it is about a war after all), but it alludes to some adult themes without showing anything “on screen”. And it would be pretty interesting to use with non-native speakers. There are a few foreigners (non-Chinese) in the book and they all speak in scribbles (occasionally with asterisks). The few who speak in non-scribbles speak with grammatical errors or phrases, instead of sentences. It would be pretty fun to be in a class with non-native speakers and talk about that part of the text.
There are potentially sensitive topics in the book, including extreme poverty and missionaries spreading the word. The historical setting of the book helps to remove some of the immediacy of these topics, but of course, they are still highly relevant in today's world.
I suppose that's why I liked the book so well. This story of an old war in China feels relevant to many cultures and many time periods, including now. And the story is amusing with great art.
Definitely worth reading the companion book, Saints, as well. It's a quick read and adds depth to this story from another character's perspective, although I preferred this book of the two.
There are few, if any, clearly good or bad characters in this book. That makes for both engaging reading and a great classroom discussion, if you wanted to use it in a class. As far as classroom use goes, it remains PG (well, except for a lot of murder — it is about a war after all), but it alludes to some adult themes without showing anything “on screen”. And it would be pretty interesting to use with non-native speakers. There are a few foreigners (non-Chinese) in the book and they all speak in scribbles (occasionally with asterisks). The few who speak in non-scribbles speak with grammatical errors or phrases, instead of sentences. It would be pretty fun to be in a class with non-native speakers and talk about that part of the text.
There are potentially sensitive topics in the book, including extreme poverty and missionaries spreading the word. The historical setting of the book helps to remove some of the immediacy of these topics, but of course, they are still highly relevant in today's world.
I suppose that's why I liked the book so well. This story of an old war in China feels relevant to many cultures and many time periods, including now. And the story is amusing with great art.
Definitely worth reading the companion book, Saints, as well. It's a quick read and adds depth to this story from another character's perspective, although I preferred this book of the two.
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5.5 learned a lot about the boxer rebellion! interested to read more esp as a christian chinese am