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rnbhargava's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It’s about the Boxer Rebellion. The protagonist Little Bao comes to lead a group that aims to overthrow foreign interests in China. It’s his coming of age story. It’s wonderfully told. It’s emotional, it’s inspiring, it’s surprisingly quite violent in its imagery for a book aimed perhaps initially at quite young readers. However, it aims to provoke discussion. In that sense it’s exemplary and a must read regardless of age. On to the companion book Saints soon.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, War, Death of parent, Gun violence, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Confinement, Classism, Bullying, Hate crime, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Slavery, Body horror, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
All the triggers in this book are in service of showing the reality of this war but in a relatively all ages friendly manner. This is a must read and will inspire a lot of discussion of the conflicting themes and belief systems shown through this narrative. Do not miss out on this book. On to the companion book Saints soon.library_kb's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This can be a hard graphic novel to read--it deals with a tragic topic: the racism, stereotypes, and colonization that led to the Boxer Rebellion. I haven't read Saints yet, but I know that while this book follows the perspective of a rural Chinese boy who is against foreigners presence in China, the other book presents the other side of the conflict. This book definitely succeeds in having the reader understand some of the factors that led to such hatred of foreigners and any Chinese people who adopted Western religion (Christianity--though it seemed the hatred had less to do with the religion and more to do with its association with the Westerners) or ways of life. The art style is really vivid and fits well with the Chinese legends interspersed throughout--do be aware that there is a lot of violence and death depicted on page.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Minor: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
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