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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Simply written, simply drawn, but this graphic novel well presents the complexity of a torrid history.
Mixing magic and historical fiction, “Boxers” and “Saints” are companion graphic novels that follow 2 teens on opposite sides of the Boxer Rebellion in China, a bloody anti-imperialist uprising at the turn of the 20th century. “Boxers” follows a peasant called Little Bao and his rise as the unlikely leader of the Boxers, or the Society of the Harmonious Fists. They use martial arts to fight foreigners, Christian missionaries and converts (~secondary devils~). “Saints” follows Four-Girl/Vibiana, one of these ~secondary devils~, a teen who seeks solace in her Christian faith.
What I enjoyed
What I enjoyed
The story isn't 100% my cup of tea, but it was still fascinating! Since we skimmed over a lot of Eastern history in school, it's nice to get these stories outside of Western norms. The art and the text work together really well to tell this story. We need more stories like this in YA lit, and I'm happy to promote them.
Definitely YA - lots of blood and violence. I knew nothing about the Boxer Rebellion and this felt like a good primer. I wouldn’t read a history book about it but after reading this, I’d pick up a novel set during the same event.
Very interesting story that deals with Western influence, family, honor, and courage. This book is for mature readers only as there is quite a bit of violence and death.
I really enjoyed American Born Chinese and was therefore intrigued by Gene Luen Yang’s other work. Boxers is a compelling historical narrative about the boxer rebellion in China, an incident I knew little about. The art and writing are simplistic but effective and the use of magical realism helps to convey this story in an engaging way.
This flew by, as graphic novels do. I liked the art and color used throughout, especially when it came to the opera fighters (blanking right now). I want to know more about the Boxer Rebellion now; I knew nothing before reading this, but I'm curious as to what is accurate and what is artistic license since, after all, it's magical realism. I can see this being a gateway book for students to get into reading more about the history of other countries and cultures, even for reluctant readers. Now I need to buy a copy for my classroom library. I'll definitely be reading Saints, but probably not right away. Story wise, I wish the ending had been more satisfying...it wasn't quite what I was expecting, and a lot seemed to happen quickly in the last fifty pages or so.
Hopefully I'll remember to write a longer review later, but for now, I'll just say that I can't really separate "Boxers" and "Saints" so this is a joint rating. I liked "Boxers" a bit better but you really have to read both of them, preferably back-to-back.