A brilliant pair of graphic novels explores events surrounding the Boxer Rebellion in early twentieth-century China through two characters who age from childhood to young adulthood and stand on different sides of the conflict. Saints tells the story of Four-Girl, who feels unloved by her family and starts receiving religious instruction from a kind Chinese Christian acupuncturist (although her greater motivation, at least initially, is the snacks served by the man's wife). Taking the saint's name Vibiana when she converts to Christianity, she has a powerful connection to Joan of Arc, witnessing Joan's faith and struggles through visions, and sometimes conversing with her. Vibiana joins a priest named Father Bey inside a walled Christian mission community, helping care for orphans as rumors of a group called the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist spread. The Boxers, as they are also known, attack and kill Christian missionaries and converts, whom they perceive as devils. Boxers follows the story of Bao, a boy eager to learn martial arts. His older brothers scoff, but a mysterious teacher secretly instructs Bao, and eventually sends him to be trained in the ritual by which he can embody a god when he fights. The death of his teacher at the hand of British soldiers inspires Bao and others to form the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist, to destroy the soldiers, missionaries, and Chinese Christians who are undermining the economy and Chinese religious and cultural traditions. Bao and his followers attack Vibiana's mission before continuing to Peking, where the final, tragic standoff between the Boxers and the British takes place. Gene Luen Yang's dazzling pairing features scenes of the same events from vastly different perspectives while offering equally respectful depictions of religion and spirituality. The actions inspired by religious beliefs are open to criticism but the beliefs themselves are not, so that the Boxers embodying their gods as they go into battle is no different from Vibiana's visions of and conversations with Joan of Arc. The conflicting motivations, beliefs, and desires of Bao and Vibiana are revealed but never judged. The books can be read in either order, but reading them both is essential to garner the full impact and insights. Yang's clean-lined visual style and sense of humor both lighten this remarkable look at history, religion, and culture that is substantial but never weighty. (Age 14 and older)

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress’s fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. His graphic novel American Born Chinese, a National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner, has been adapted into a streaming series on Disney+. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the LA Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award finalist. His nonfiction graphic novel Dragon Hoops received an Eisner Award and a Printz honor. His other comics works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), as well as Superman Smashes the Klan and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series (both with Gurihiru). In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.



A New York Times bestseller

China, 1898. An unwanted fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn't even given a proper name by her family. 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 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.
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Boxers & Saints is a groundbreaking graphic novel in two volumes. This innovative format presents two parallel tales about young people caught up on opposite sides of a violent rift. Saints tells Vibiana's story, and the companion volume, Boxers, tells the story of Little Bao, a young man who joins the Boxer Rebellion. American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang brings his trademark magical realism to the complexities of the Boxer Rebellion, and lays bare the universal foundations of extremism, rebellion, and faith.