A review by 4saradouglas
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

4.0

Wow, that was depressing! I always like books that entertain as well as educate, and this is definitely one of them. I knew nothing about the Boxer Rebellion and wouldn't have even placed it in China. (Boxer Rebellions? Like Boxing Day, right? Apparently I suck at history...) Yang is just an amazing author. Most of the time I think graphic novels are way too short and they feel more like a chapter than a whole book. I'm not sure how Yang does it, but in a short book that is mostly pictures he managed to pack in a whole novel's-worth of history, character development, love, humor, compassion, guilt, suffering, action... it's really something. I hated the ending, but what can you do about that? It's based on true events. I definitely recommend this one, and I agree that it's even better than American Born Chinese. Looking forward to reading Saints now to get the other side of the story!