Read Boxers first and Saints second for the publisher's intended presentation: Little Bao's uprising is followed by Vibiana's intersecting story from the Christian side of the conflict. The two volumes can stand separately, but reading both is essential to the work's deliberately opposing perspectives.
Sources: Macmillan's official two-volume boxed set, First Second's official description.
This YA graphic novel portrays war, extremism, colonial abuse, religious persecution, massacres, executions, martyrdom, starvation, and the deaths of children and adults. Violence is shown on the page, sometimes with blood or severed bodies, and the ending is tragic rather than reassuring.
Chinese folk religion and Christianity both shape the characters' visions and choices. Neither volume supplies a simple hero, so the pair works best for mature readers ready to discuss conflicting loyalties, prejudice, faith, nationalism, and how ordinary people become involved in violence.
A young rebel leads a kung fu army against foreign oppressors, but at what cost to his own people?
2 books · Published 2013
A young rebel leads a kung fu army against foreign oppressors, but at what cost to his own people?
In a land torn by rebellion, a girl must choose between faith and survival.
There are 2 books in the Boxers & Saints series. It began with Boxers in 2013, and the newest book, Saints, was published in 2013.
Start with Boxers and follow the series order — the books above are numbered #1 through #2.
The series is best for ages 12–18, based on the age ranges of the individual books.
Boxers (Book #1) is the longest book in the series at 12,560 words (325 pages).
Saints (Book #2) is the shortest at 9,338 words (170 pages).
The people who bring Boxers & Saints to life.
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