I liked Boxers better after I read Saints---they *can* stand alone, but they shouldn't.

I liked the main character so much, and Joan of Arc was just wonderful. The twist at the end was very fitting and strong in its way, but I didn't have an immediate emotional connection to it because "sacrifice your life for others' salvation" is not a deeply-rooted story for me. (Too Jewish. :P) I think my favorite part of both books was the parallel eye-hand mythologies, however.

It's hard for me to avoid reading things through a Jewish lens, of course, and most of the time I don't see why I should take it off. It helps me see the Christian-default holes in stories a lot more clearly. However, I think I owe Boxers and Saints a re-read where I try harder not to let that color my opinions of the Christian characters. ( )

This epic graphic novel pair tells the concurrent stories of a young boy and girl with very different experiences during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Powerful tales with an engaging illustration style that meet up in a climatic finish.

These two books put together are very interesting. I want to start with the artwork on the covers. It matches both in the box and if you lay them down side by side. I find this to be very unique and I loved looking at it when I wasn't reading. The story itself was quite interesting. I am not sure which order the books should have been read, but I read Saints and then Boxers. It made sense this way, but I believe it would also make sense the other way. I think Saints gives a bit of background information for Boxers. I liked how it talked about Chinese culture and ideas. The idea of it all going back to the "opera" was different, but it was easily understood by readers that may not have previous background information. ( )

2015 (review can be found at the link - which is a LibraryThing page)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/185746#5109832 ( )

This two-volume graphic narrative set against the historical events of the Boxer uprising in turn-of-the-century China tells the complementary tales of Little Bao, an adolescent Chinese boy who leads the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist in defense of his homeland against British and European imperialists, and Vibiana, an adolescent Chinese girl who converts to Catholicism in an effort to seek a sense of belonging. Their stories intertwine in plausible and compelling ways that force us to examine the reasons why adolescents—even in the most dire of circumstances—value community and peer support.

Without taking sides, Yang masterfully depicts his protagonists as flawed but sympathetic teens who earnestly attempt to grow, learn, and develop their principles amidst a backdrop of political and religious conflict. Both Little Bao and Vibiana experience mystical encounters with spiritual beings who guide them through their ordeals; the magical realism infuses their stories with metaphysical resonance and calls to mind the ancient Greek epic of the Iliad, during which the gods fought alongside mortals. Joan of Arc appears as Vibiana’s spiritual guide, foreshadowing Vibiana’s sad fate.

In addition to the rich history covered in these two volumes, Yang addresses issues of gender through his depiction of the Red Lanterns (the distaff counterparts of the Society) and Vibiana herself, a strong-willed tragic heroine who stumbles upon her faith almost accidentally but ultimately comes to value it over all else.

I highly recommend these narratives for their engaging depictions of complex adolescent protagonists as well as their value as historical texts that tell a story unfamiliar to most Western teens. ( )