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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love historical fiction and [author: Gene Luen Yang]'s artwork, but I had a hard time connecting with Bao. At first I rooted for him as an underdog, but the atrocities he ended up committing ruined him for me. He became the enemy he feared.
Loved this half of the book as well. The way Bao’s anger came to control and overcome him. The way he became so buried in his anger but u couldn’t really blame him. From the awful murder of the Red Lantern to his brothers untimely death…all of this pushed him towards his path of accepting the fire. But the way his god couldn’t save him in the end either…and that he left him in his final moments. I really liked this side of the story and I found it reminiscent of the poppy war
"Boxers" and "Saints" are two companion books by the same author. They tell the parallel stories of two (fictional) teenagers involved in the Boxer Rebellion in late-nineteenth-century China--one a boy who is on the side of the Chinese nationalist boxers, one a girl who is a Chinese Christian convert, part of a group that incurred the wrath of the boxers.
The characters are both pretty interesting, and their imaginative relationships with Chin Shih-Huang and Joan of Arc (respectively) add a really cool quasi-fantastical element to the story. That said, some plot elements seemed out-of-character for the protagonists, and the ending was pretty sad.
The characters are both pretty interesting, and their imaginative relationships with Chin Shih-Huang and Joan of Arc (respectively) add a really cool quasi-fantastical element to the story. That said, some plot elements seemed out-of-character for the protagonists, and the ending was pretty sad.
I have read American Born Chinese, and although I enjoyed the art in that book, I found the story difficult to follow, and I didn't really enjoy the story itself.
Boxers and Saints, however, are completely different. The art is just as lovely as in ABC, but these books tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion, something I remember hearing about in passing, but never really learned about either in school or on my own. Boxers tells the story from the point of view of a Boxer (obviously), a Chinese person who resents the presence of white people in China and who is willing to fight to keep China exclusively Chinese. Saints, on the other hand, tells the story of a person who converts to Christianity and welcomes the influence of the white people in China. Through both stories, the reader can see that, regardless of which side one believes is right, the conflict created a big mess and caused a lot of suffering and death.
I would easily recommend this book to my students. As it is, I can barely keep it on my shelves; I don't have to do the readers' advisory when my students do it for me. :)
Recommended for: teens, tweens, adults, fans of historical fiction
Red Flags: violence
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
Boxers and Saints, however, are completely different. The art is just as lovely as in ABC, but these books tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion, something I remember hearing about in passing, but never really learned about either in school or on my own. Boxers tells the story from the point of view of a Boxer (obviously), a Chinese person who resents the presence of white people in China and who is willing to fight to keep China exclusively Chinese. Saints, on the other hand, tells the story of a person who converts to Christianity and welcomes the influence of the white people in China. Through both stories, the reader can see that, regardless of which side one believes is right, the conflict created a big mess and caused a lot of suffering and death.
I would easily recommend this book to my students. As it is, I can barely keep it on my shelves; I don't have to do the readers' advisory when my students do it for me. :)
Recommended for: teens, tweens, adults, fans of historical fiction
Red Flags: violence
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
This graphic novel--while beautifully illustrated and told with Gene Luen Yang's characteristic magical realism and inventive storytelling--never quite got off the ground for me. In short, I wanted to like it far more than I ended up being able to. It felt as though despite getting both sides of the story, we never quite get the full context or a historical framework for the Boxer Rebellion. I came to this read with a lot of background knowledge about the period thanks to several college classes on Chinese revolutionary movements, but I found myself longing for a little less imagination and a little more information. I did find Boxers to be a little on the long side, and found myself wishing that the two halves of the novel had been more balanced in perspective. Still, its well worth reading and I'm a total Gene Luen Yang fan girl, so I'll read whatever he writes next too!