Saints

by Gene Luen Yang

Genre: Historical fiction graphic novel
Age: 12+
This book is actually part of a long novel, Boxers & Saints, in two parts, Boxers and Saints. They are from different sides of the story in the Boxer Rebellion. This one is supposed to come second, but if you read it first it also makes sense.

Four-girl was born in China as the fourth daughter to her mother on the fourth day of the fourth month. In Chinese, "four" is a homonym of "death," so her family treats her not-so-nicely. They didn't even bother to give her a name! Her grandfather especially. He thinks she's a devil. So she tries to become a devil. She "freezes" her face in a "devil face" and is taken to a doctor who helps her stop. But then she causes a tragedy. One day she finds a person in the woods - a person who is a girl but looks like a boy and is wearing armor. She tells the doctor about it, and he takes her to the priest. Four-girl becomes a Christian, and finally she gets a proper name... Vibiana.
But China during the Boxer Rebellion is not a safe place for Christians like Vibiana. Will she stay true to her new faith, or will she abandon it to be safe?

This book had a really unusual ending to me. It was definitely out of the ordinary. But it fit the story very well, so I'm not complaining or anything. I think my favorite part of Saints was the epilogue. It felt so strong and... it was a great epilogue for this book. I think the theme of religion was also really strong, and I liked how Vibiana traveled through her faith... I thought it was very true-to-life. Overall this book stayed with me for a long time after I read it. It gave me a lot to think about.