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The National Book Awards have just announced their Longlist in the category of Young People’s Literature this morning, including Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel diptych about the Boxer Rebellion, Boxers & Saints.
Boxers & Saints is the only graphic novel to make the list. This follows Yang’s American Born Chinese, the first graphic novel ever to be a finalist for the National Book Awards.
Boxers & Saints has received critical praise from across the industry: “Read this, and come away shaking,” says Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Schmidt, while Dave Eggers calls the book “masterful.” The Guardian says it is “remarkable,” while The LA Times calls it “at once humorous and heartbreaking” and The Washington Post describes it as “epic.”
Boxers & Saints is one of the most ambitious graphic novels First Second has ever published. It offers a penetrating insight into not only one of the most controversial episodes of modern Chinese history, but into the very core of our human nature, tackling the difficult subjects of nationalism, faith, and coming-of-age.
Here’s a link to the full list of nominees: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2013.html#.UjcMh39Cxc-
Congratulations to Gene Yang!
(And if you haven’t checked out these books yet — they’re super! Now is clearly the time.)
