Saints
China, 1898. An unwanted and unwelcome fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn't even given a proper name by her family when she's born. She finds friendship—and a name, Vibiana—in the most unlikely of places: Christianity.
But China is a dangerous place for Christians. The Boxer Rebellion is in full swing, and bands of young men roam the countryside, murdering Westerners and Chinese Christians alike. Torn between her nation and her Christian friends, Vibiana will have to decide where her true loyalties lie . . . and whether she is willing to die for her faith.
National Book Award Nominee (2013); YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens - Top Ten (2014)
About the Boxers and Saints Series
Books in series order
- 1.Boxers(2013)
- 2.Saints(2013)
Reading age: 12+ years
Boxers & Saints is an innovative new graphic novel in two volumes – the parallel stories of two young people caught up on opposite sides of a violent rift. American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang brings his clear-eyed storytelling and trademark magical realism to the complexities of the Boxer Rebellion and lays bare the foundations of extremism, rebellion, and faith.
Boxers & Saints keeps alive a tradition of literature that has been known to us for centuries: the tragedy. Boxers details the life of Lee Bao, a young man who is determined to rid his country of foreign influence. Saints concentrates on the life of Four-Girl/Vibiana, a character to whom we are introduced in Boxers and from whose viewpoint we see another side of the Boxer Rebellion. Four-Girl/Vibiana is not necessarily convinced that the colonisation and missionary work of the foreigners in China is the best thing for her country; but she is also lonely and finds with the foreigners a community and even love. Through both protagonists’ eyes, readers are treated to a complex story of culture, identity, faith and love.